Challenges and Issues in Modern
Orthodox Education:
An On-Line Library of R.
Shalom Carmy's Essays
Teaching and learning are
inseparable. Not only because preparing a class
furthers the teacher's understanding, but because
the more you know, the more intensely you think,
the better your teaching will be. The age of your
students doesn't matter--whether they are elementary
school kids or sophisticated adults.
That's why reading the best of our community's
writers on issues of educational importance is an
invaluable aid to teaching well. Even if you don't
assign these writings in class, the ideas acquired
accompany the educator in the classroom setting. With
this in mind, we present to the community of educators
these essays of educational import selected from the
work of Rabbi Shalom Carmy.
Rabbi Carmy has long been considered one of the
ablest practitioners and writers of Jewish Thought. Many
educators, including quite a few of his students, have
drawn on his teaching and writing. Other readers have at
times struggled to understand the full subtlety
of his writing and the complexity of his thought. The
following introductions to our selection of his articles
should make the going easier as they summarize the
essential arguments and highlight key points to look for
when reading the original. Most valuably, they locate the
various essays within the context of larger educational
questions, issues, and challenges that Jewish educators
face every day.
Surveying these essays, and others, leads us to a few
conclusions about the nature of Rabbi Carmy's
contribution, and its value for the Modern Orthodox
educator. As a student of both Rabbi Joseph B.
Soloveitchik ztz"l and Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein
yl"h, he understands that truth often entails
holding multiple perspectives in dialectical tension.
Rabbi Carmy consistently strives for a balanced approach
that avoids oversimplified one-sidedness. For example, he
argues that wholesome religious life requires appreciation
of both general and individual providence, supports
employing the tools of academic Jewish studies
without adopting problematic academic attitudes, explores
the interaction of intellect and emotion in prayer,
and outlines a theory of life in exile (galut)
that finds religious meaning in that life without turning
it into the ideal.
Even educators who utilize a variety of traditional and
other sources in their own teaching will be struck
by the wide range of Rabbi Carmy's reading. The broad
scope of Jewish literature and Western thought are
surveyed in the quest for the "truth that edifies."
Like his teachers, and unlike many spokesmen for modern
Orthodox culture, his religious orientation leads him
to favor non-Jewish thinkers committed to traditional
religious belief, writers like Kierkegaard, Newman, and
Eliot. Rabbi Carmy believes that Christian writers, who
share many of our religious presuppositions, are more
likely to prove instructive to us. His curiosity and
interest in the wider culture does not entail chronic
capitulation to the fashions of Western culture and
academic popularity. On the contrary, Rabbi Carmy often
employs Western thought as a basis for a more penetrating
criticism of contemporary society.
These essays--just a small sample of Rabbi Carmy's
writings--reveal a thinker who refuses to bifurcate
between his intellectual analysis and his personal
religious commitments. In contrast to the academic
ideal of detachment, Rabbi Carmy approaches each topic
from the perspective of a passionately committed Orthodox
Jew. At the same time, he aspires to fairness and
objectivity in discussing adversaries of Orthodox
Judaism and difficulties in his own positions.
Teachers often need to be reminded that jingoistic
boosterism for one's religious team is sometimes as
great a danger as the neutral aridity of some
university professors.
As students of Rabbi Carmy, entering his classroom
years ago, we were struck by the note appended to the
syllabus he handed out: "As always, our goal is to
grow as thinking religious people." That
formulation--an alternate take on "Torah on one
foot"--left an indelible mark on us and so many
of his talmidim, and has guided our own
teaching. Indeed, it is no surprise that so many
of Rabbi Carmy's students have chosen the
professional path of Jewish education. The reason
for this, and the worldview that shapes much of
what is written in these essays, is hinted at in
a statement he made a few years ago ["Symposium on
Orthodoxy," Tradition 33:2 (Winter 1999), p. 31]:
Each day brings with it the prospect of
discovering a new facet of Torah or a new
way of communicating to others what I have
already gained. Each day brings with it the
possibility that my Torah study, to a lesser
extent my other reading, and my interaction
with talmidim will help to make me a
different person for the better. The excitement
of learning, the shudder of insight, the
awareness of commitment to my students, and
the inspiration I draw from them (including
those whose path is not always smooth)--these
driving feelings often seem palpable: as if
the Torah were nourishment, and its transmission
electric.
Rabbi Carmy's work provides important models
for the thoughtful Modern Orthodox educator.
Modern Orthodoxy, at its best, appreciates the pull
of opposing ideals, employs the best of Western
culture while maintaining a critical distance
from that culture, and mixes good judgment in
argument with engaged commitment. We hope that you
will discover insights and approaches which will
aid your understanding of some of the more complex
and subtle challenges facing Orthodox Jewish life,
learning, and teaching. Grappling with Rabbi
Carmy's treatment of these issues will enhance
your teaching--both in the classroom and in
counseling students.
-Rabbi Yitzchak Blau
-Rabbi Jeffrey Saks
Click here
for the Table of Contents.
Rabbi Carmy would be glad to respond to your questions.
He can be contacted at
carmy@yu.edu.
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