בין מדעי היהדות למחשבת ישראל: תרומת לימוד והוראת מחשבת ישראל לחינוך ולתרבות

Prof. Eliezer Schweid has invested much time and energy writing about educational matters, as well as attempting to establish a new institute for training Jewish-Humanistic teachers — 'Kerem'. Thus, this article examines the mutual relationship between Israeli academic Jewish studies and the educational system, and asks whether there is reciprocation between them. Both systems are not only alienated to each other, but also to the urgent need to renew their concepts and images of the students and teachers they have and those they wish to have. Moreover, the very way of learning, its methods and means froze many years ago and has not been reviewed. The author believes that the time is ripe for a major change, which will yield a strong bond between academic institutions and the educational system. The curriculum of Jewish Studies as well as its means and the body of teachers must change and be more relevant to our life as Jews here and now. In order to maintain a constant flow of ideas and methods of studies between the Departments of Jewish Thought in our universities and the educational system, the university faculty must be directly involved in the ongoing process of teacher training and in the actual teaching in our schools nation wide. We should not limit ourselves to esoteric studies but open our research to the crucial questions of what should be the nature of the Jewish state and what are the essential agreements that should be reached between holders of different world views, in order to build a solid ground for future generations to stand upon.