Samson Benderly

Samson Benderly (1876–1944) was a major figure in promoting Jewish education in the United States.[1][2] He was born in Safed, Palestine, later emigrated to the USA, arriving in Baltimore 23 September 1898.

He studied medicine and became a doctor, but he abandoned medicine, and Jewish education soon became his all-absorbing passion. He saw variety of forms of Jewish education, “a hodgepodge of congregational schools, khayders, community Talmud Torahs, and private tutors.” [3] His “research into the finances of the various Jewish schools convinced him that the Talmud Torah system constituted the ‘line of least resistance’ to reform. Despite their precarious finances and historical assocxiation with the impoverished, the schools enjoyed community support. They were generally governed by local boards of directors and supported through a combination of donations, charity benefits, and tuition collections.” [4] His model of education has also been called the "Protestant Model",[5] "a philosophical belief that state-funded schools should teach patriotism, civics, and critical skills while separate denominational-sponsored supplementary school should teach religious doctrine and practice".[6]

In 1910, he began the Bureau of Jewish Education in New York.[7] “He was the American organizer of Ivrit be-Ivrit pedagogy – the use of Hebrew as the language of instruction.”[8] This "teaching Jewish content in Modern Hebrew... reconceptualized Hebrew education not only as a form of language acquisition, but as a means of defining and giving shape to American Judaism for the Jewish immigrant community at that time."[9]

Benderly was inspired by the writings of Johann Pestalozzi, Herbert Spencer, and John Dewey, and the concept of cultural Zionism. His goal was to modernize Jewish education by making it more professional, “creating an immigrant-based, progressive supplementary school model, and spreading the mantra of community responsibility for Jewish education.”[10]

Unlike some branches of traditional Jewish education, Benderly stressed cognitive learning and “continued to view as core knowledge Hebrew and Judaism’s classical texts.”[11] He also supported the founding of the Jewish Teachers Association, seen as “a counterweight to the immigrant dominated Agudath Ha-Morim Ha-Ivrim, the Hebrew Teachers Union of New York.”[12]

The cadre of young men that he encouraged, mentored, and taught went on to be leaders of Jewish education in the USA and became known as the “Benderly Boys”.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Holtz, Barry. "How One Man Shaped American Jewish Education". Forward. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  2. ↑ Shargel, Baila. "Reinventing Jewish Education for the Twentieth Century: Samson Benderly and His "Boys"". H-Net. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  3. ↑ Krasner, Jonathan. 2011. Introduction. The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education. Brandeis.
  4. ↑ p. 91. Krasner, Jonathan. 2011. The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education. Brandeis.
  5. ↑ Sarna, Jonathan. 1998. American Jewish education in historical perspective. Journal of Jewish Education 64(1-2):8-21.
  6. ↑ p. 125. Avni, Sharon. 2016. Hebrew learning ideologies and the reconceptualization of American Judaism: Language debates in American Jewish schooling in the early 20th century. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 237: 119–137.
  7. ↑ David Kaufman (January 1999). Shul with a Pool: The "synagogue-center" in American Jewish History. UPNE. pp. 148–9. ISBN 978-0-87451-893-1.
  8. ↑ Jewish Encyclopedia article
  9. ↑ p. 119. Avni, Sharon. 2016. Hebrew learning ideologies and the reconceptualization of American Judaism: Language debates in American Jewish schooling in the early 20th century. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 237: 119–137.
  10. ↑ Krasner, Jonathan. 2011. Introduction. The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education. Brandeis.
  11. ↑ p. 191. Krasner, Jonathan. 2011. The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education. Brandeis.
  12. ↑ p. 213. Krasner, Jonathan. 2011. The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education. Brandeis.
  13. ↑ Krasner, Jonathan. 2011. Introduction. The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education. Brandeis.

Relevant literature

External links

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