As part of their education and training to be Modern Orthodox leaders of the future, Straus Scholars are encouraged to take summer jobs, internships, and fellowships that allow them to build on their Straus Center studies. Many Scholars have spent this summer participating in programs where they study aspects of public policy and philosophy relevant to their academic and personal interests. In the coming weeks, we will highlight some Scholars who have taken advantage of such programming this summer, many of whom have produced novel and important research and analysis in areas of particular concern to American Jews. First up, an interview with Yonatan Kurz, a recent graduate of Yeshiva College and the Straus Center, who has spent his summer diving into the intellectual world behind Jewish classical education -- past, present, and future.

How did you spend your summer?

I served as a fellow in the Beren Summer Fellowship at the Tikvah Fund. After three weeks of engaging in intensive seminars, I undertook two related projects this summer. In one, with the guidance of Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, I wrote a white paper surveying the landscape of Modern Orthodox high school Judaic Studies curricula and religious programming, examining and identifying the distinctive values offered by each institution. Based on this research, I proposed a model that aims to enrich the religious and spiritual lives of Modern Orthodox high school students while advancing a set of core values and principles. I presented it to Tikvah’s working group on Classical Jewish Education. In my other project, guided by Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, I analyzed Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’s commentary on the idea of Torah-im-Derekh-Eretz as well as his biblical commentary related to that idea. One particular focus was R. Hirsch’s exegesis of the phrase “May God enlarge Japheth” found in Genesis 9:27, which R. Hirsch understood to mean that there is much to learn from the nations of the world. The paper explores how R. Hirsch was able to incorporate these ideas into his pedagogy and substantive teaching to his community. The paper also examined other exegetical commentaries (especially R. Hirsch’s contemporaries) on the concept of Torah-im-Derekh-Eretz, as well as alternative movements and perspectives within the recent history of classical Jewish education. It then examined the reception and evolution of R. Hirsch’s ideology and its various offshoots, particularly the American iterations, before concluding with an assessment of the ideology’s current position in today’s society.

What led you to join the Beren Summer Fellowship?

I became interested in the program after noticing the fascinating speakers and intriguing curriculum, which strongly resembled the works we studied in the Straus Center. It hit the sweet spot of Jewish and secular intellectual inquiry. Beren Fellows are pushed to see themselves as heirs to multiple great traditions, as Americans and Jews, and to see ourselves as part of the grand sweep of history. 

From which mentors have you learned most this summer?

Tikvah brought in a host of Jewish intellectuals to give seminars and speak with us individually. I’ve especially learned from Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, Eric Cohen, Leora Batnitzky, Ruth Wisse, Samuel Goldman, Yuval Levin, and Rabbi Soloveichik. They are all trained differently -- some as historians, some as political theorists, some as rabbis -- so they all brought different angles to the discussion and helped me see how many competing ideas there were about the purpose and practice of humanities education generally and Torah Umadda-centered education specifically.

Tell us more about these different angles.

My teachers and mentors have given me a greater appreciation for the evolution and landscape of classical Jewish education. That has happened on both the “classical” and “Jewish” fronts. I had a lot to learn about theories of education, why classical curricula are built the way they are, and what they’re trying to accomplish. I also learned a lot about the challenges facing contemporary Jewry, both in America and in Israel, and the competing ideas of how to go about advancing a thriving Jewish future.

Aside from your particular area of focus, which areas of study expanded your thinking about the Jewish and American future?

Our discussions have centered around various topics concerning the Jewish future in America, including the state of Jewish ideals in modernity, Jewish peoplehood and religious Zionism, the mission of American Jewry, and the most significant aspects shaping American Jewish life today. We’ve also been covering the interactions between political action and political philosophy, religion, freedom, and national responsibility, Zionism, Israel, and U.S. foreign policy. While I have some ideas about where I stand on those themes, the discussions left me wanting to learn and think more about how these recurring questions influence all kinds of issues in our politics, culture, and even how we go about passing our ideals down to the next generation.

How has your summer reinforced, enriched, or put into perspective what you have learned through the Straus Center?

The summer has served as an incredible reinforcement of everything I learned while a member of the Straus Center. Time and time again, I found myself quoting something I learned in class from Rabbi Soloveichik, Rabbi Dov Lerner, or Dr. Neil Rogachevsky during their seminars, and I found that my Straus classes served as incredible preparation and groundwork for these discussions, both during the seminar sessions and outside of them.