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Stephanie Ives

Educating the Spiritual Child

Years ago, when we were deep into our middle school design process, I visited a secular, progressive school I had heard about for years. After a day of observations, I spent time with the head of school, and we discussed our shared commitment to “whole child education.” He shared that he was envious that I work in a Jewish school because he believed educators in religious schools are empowered to truly consider a whole child, not just academically and emotionally but also spiritually.


I always think about that conversation, and I feel grateful that he pointed this out to me. I feel lucky that our children are growing up in a religious structure that values a whole person- their physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual beings all at once. I am grateful for the built-in schedule of rituals that remind me to be attuned to each of these parts of a whole person. Living in a community that is guided by the Jewish calendar also means that our children start reflective practices from a very young age and become adept at expressing not only their feelings and ideas but also their spiritual desires and obligations. As if this were not enough blessing, we kick off the new school year in the context of Jewish high holidays each September. We begin our new academic routines in the context of spiritual reflection, atonement, and goals.


This year, we are experiencing an extra measure of blessing in spending a whole month in school before the high holidays start. It gives us even more time to delve into spiritual preparations for the high holidays and the new year. As a fly in the corner of many classrooms this week, here’s some of the beautiful whole-child learning I witnessed in the context of Jewish learning …

  • Classes stand in quiet contemplation while the shofar is blown each morning. In one class, students were deeply moved and expressed how much awe they felt after hearing it. 

  • Children study Jewish texts about laws of apologizing and taking responsibility, then practice with their neighbors.

  • Children study Mishnayot related to the laws of Yom Kippur and ask how the physical restrictions might impact a person’s capacity to atone. 

  • A group of preschoolers discusses the meaning of the morning prayer “Modeh Ani” and shares the things in their lives for which they are grateful. 

  • Children prepare mazal tov wishes for a student’s bat mitzvah and write welcome-back and “refuah salesman” notes to another student who recently returned from the hospital. 

  • Younger children repeat each word of berachah after their teacher says it, and older children pray for the release of hostages using words already memorized.

  • Children study this week’s parashah and learn the concept of “maaser” (tithing) and discuss mitzvot in the Torah that require a community to care for its most vulnerable. 

  • Younger elementary students in their early stages of learning Chumash contemplate the elusive meaning of the phrase “Tohu Va-Vohu,” which the Torah uses to describe reality before Creation.

  • Eighth graders think about the word “mitzvah” as an obligation to take action and ask themselves what they, as Jews, are obligated to do for others.


This week, I am grateful for the way our Jewish calendar and rituals train us to engage children in deep contemplation from a young age. As Jewish educators, we truly are blessed to be able to educate a “whole child” with all the beautiful gifts that each person brings intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually at every age.

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