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PDF FormatThe worthy member of Israeli society. In all education, and especially education for citizenship, we must not forget the concept which lies at the foundation of everything: “In the beginning there was man.” If we truly and sincerely want the members of Israeli society to maintain the cultural continuity of Israel, then we must recognize that this will not follow automatically from the fact that we are a Jewish state that calls itself the State of Israel. Rather, this involves endless toil and well-guided efforts. First, we must set ourselves the goal of truly being “Israel.” We must dedicate ourselves to internalizing, in ourselves and in the schools, all the characteristic virtues of the people of Israel that permeate our cultural and historical existence. The rule of “that which may be done in Israel” and “that which must not be done in Israel” must be the guiding educational principle in the schools.
However, the character of the “worthy member of Israeli society” is not only an issue of education. It also requires study and knowledge, study and knowledge that lead to education. We should teach the way of goodness. “And you shall do that which is right and good” (Deuteronomy 6:18)ׁif we want this to be actual practice, and not mere rhetoric, we must study and reflect on this. For generations, pupils in the heder were taught Talmud, focusing especially on the Order of Damages, which deals with tort law. The tractate of Avot, “The Wisdom of the Fathers,” which is founded on the directive to “do that which is right and good” between human beings, is included in the Order of Damages. This encapsulates a profound educational principle. The study of the fundamentals of the judicial system regarding the individual’s relationship with his fellowman, his property, his work, and his security provides a person, from his youth, with a firm foundation for interpersonal relations.
And it seems to me that we should abandon the practice of basing such relations solely on stories and parables; we must also teach laws pertaining to a proper society, to man’s obligations to his fellow, to the individual and the collective, to Israel and the world. The high-school civics curriculum should include a “book of Jewish law,” which will include the laws governing relations between man and his fellow, between the individual and society, and between Israel and the nations.
We must therefore take pains, in addition to establishing education for citizenship as a general principle, to also designate these three specific topics as areas of reflection and study in high school. And if students learn to understand their world through the knowledge they acquire, through critical inquiry, in a thorough and scientific manner, in order that they may be able to make rational assessments of their world and adopt a responsible attitude towards it, we will succeed in imbuing them with the fundamentals of citizenship. Students will be aware of themselves and confident in their path as citizens of the state, as loyal sons of the Jewish people, and as worthy members of Israeli society. Through these three elements, I am certain, we will find the way to educate the citizens of Israel, to educate the new generation of Jews living in their own state, the State of Israel, so that they will have the spiritual and emotional resolve necessary to carry out the immense responsibilities that history has placed upon them, and the great struggles that await us in the future.
* The term “worthy members of Israeli society” is used here as a translation of adam b’yisrael, which literally means “a man of Israel.” This term refers to a person who is exemplary in his dealings with his fellowman, in accordance with the dictates of the Jewish tradition. It is perhaps most accurately translated as “mensch,” but in the context of this essay, Dinur is focusing not only on the character traits of such a person, but on his role within Israeli society.
