Overlooked Modernization: Traditional Heder and the Educational Ideals of Ordinary Jews in Late Imperial Russia.
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| Title: | Overlooked Modernization: Traditional Heder and the Educational Ideals of Ordinary Jews in Late Imperial Russia. |
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| Authors: | Oleshkevich, Ekaterina |
| Source: | Jewish Social Studies. Winter2026, Vol. 30 Issue 3, p102-136. 35p. |
| Subjects: | Jewish religious schools, Curriculum change, Educational change, 20th century Russian history, Teaching methods, Hygiene, Jewish communities |
| Geographic Terms: | Russia |
| Abstract: | In this article I examine the traditional heder (Jewish religious school) in the late Russian Empire. I argue that, despite the common perception of the heder as a static and unchanging institution, it underwent significant transformations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this article I explore these changes in three key areas: curriculum, sanitary conditions and physical layout, and the educational background and pedagogical methods of melamdim. I demonstrate that in each of these areas, the heder evolved in ways that brought it remarkably close to a modern school. However, contemporary Jewish intelligentsia largely failed to recognize these developments, even though they often aligned with their own educational aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | In this article I examine the traditional heder (Jewish religious school) in the late Russian Empire. I argue that, despite the common perception of the heder as a static and unchanging institution, it underwent significant transformations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this article I explore these changes in three key areas: curriculum, sanitary conditions and physical layout, and the educational background and pedagogical methods of melamdim. I demonstrate that in each of these areas, the heder evolved in ways that brought it remarkably close to a modern school. However, contemporary Jewish intelligentsia largely failed to recognize these developments, even though they often aligned with their own educational aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00216704 |
| DOI: | 10.2979/jss.00036 |
