Visit to school

Conversation with not indifferent people
“I wasn’t going to be the school’s director,” Leonid Bard and I were stunned by the first sentence of r. Asher Altshul, when in the office of the director of the Elite Jewish High School in Brooklyn, we started a conversation about Jewish education and upbringing in the Russian-speaking community in New York. - David Dubrov is to blame for everything! He brought me here! (David Dubrov - the president of the school, a famous businessman and philanthropist, supporting the Jewish education of children from the Russian-speaking community. - M.N.)
In this school, we were not accidental. The idea of ​​the Jewish Diplomacy and Advocacy program matured long ago in the American Forum of Russian-speaking Jewry. We needed a basic school for the program, and a search led us to this wonderful educational institution.
“Who are you, Rabbi Asher Altshul?” - We asked this young and energetic man.
- I am in America relatively recently, about ten years. And invited me here r. A. Katsin. Before that, I lived in Israel, worked as a programmer, and my wife worked at the university. We all, as they say, was in order. We knew Rabbi Katsin before, and he told me a lot about his Sinai Academy school. And when I came to America, he invited me to tell students about myself. The next day he invited me to school again, and then asked me to replace a sick teacher ... It was the last quarter of the school year. That's when he suggested that I stay to work as a teacher. My wife lives in America parents, we thought - and stayed!
- By this time you already had the title of Rabbi?
- Yes of course. I became them in Israel. He served in the army in the intelligence of the Central District. In the IDF, I was engaged in high technology, and immediately after the army I was employed by a company whose equipment I was engaged in in military service. I worked in it until 2002.
- I wonder where you come from, the rebbe? Something adventure is in your story.
- I am from Odessa. All good people come from Odessa. (Laughs.) And I became a religious person even there. I was 14 years old. In the synagogue he met his future wife. The rabbi in Odessa was then Shaya Gisser. The synagogue at that time was "give a damn about me." But it was so interesting to me with Rabbi Shay that everything went by itself, and in 1992, I left for Israel, leaving school in Odessa. He studied there for five years in a yeshiva, served in the army for four and a half years, then worked as a programmer, in parallel graduated from the Jerusalem College of Technology with a degree in computer science, etc.
In New York, while I was working at Sinai Academy, several students asked me to deal with them additionally with subjects of the Jewish tradition. They came to my home, and we taught with them conceptual and philosophical things. It was interesting to me and the guys!
Together with us, we studied the famous Dr. Raisa Auklander, who was a member of the synagogue located not far from my house. From this moment begins the history of our community.
The synagogue at the corner of Avenue V and East 23 fell into disrepair. The rabbi was a very old man, and the number of parishioners inevitably fell. There came a young American rabbi, a little older than me, and this woman introduced me to him. And he offered me to do my classes not at home, but in the synagogue. Gradually, the number of students began to grow, and soon we became a large community. We now even publish calendars with a circulation of at least 10 000 and distribute them for free. All this is fully sponsored by members of our community.
- As a school principal, are you also the rabbi of this very synagogue?
- Absolutely. Our community is called Ora Zion (Light of Zion). We have our own website. How did the community develop? This is a separate story.
Our first communal Passover came. My wife and I lived in a small apartment. And we were all called and asked whether it was possible to come to us on Passover. I replied that I have very little space at home!
And only when Raisa Auklander brought four boxes of wine, I decided to conduct a public community seder. I simply had no choice, but there was a place - a synagogue. We ourselves otkocherovali kitchen, the wife with the assistant cooked everything. They joked at us: “None of the Russians will come!” We did everything for free. On the first night, the 50 man arrived, on the second, 30. The following year, there were already at least a hundred people in Seder. And in Purim there were already more 300 - more than the hall can accommodate. There were so many people that even politicians who wanted to come to us could not get into the hall!
After that we decided to make all the events paid. And again they laughed at me, predicting failure. But, strangely enough, there were registered and paid 180 people on Pesach. Everything went fine. And from now on, we do everything on registration and for a fee.
I remember our first autumn holidays. My wife and I printed flyers for the autumn holidays, put them on poles and so many people came to Yom Kippur on Izkor that they themselves were surprised by this. Then the American rabbi almost panicked. He came to me with the question: “What to do with so many people?” And the 300 man came. There were almost no prayer books. I couldn’t know how to sing, and I don’t know how to do it, but prayers on Yom Kippur should be sung! Close ones, if I start singing, everyone runs away, but there was no choice, and I myself spent the whole prayer. People stood in complete silence, not understanding what was happening, and the only person who knew when and what to answer the rabbi’s prayer was my wife!
We immediately invited people to Sukkot, built a bitch, and we had to hold two feasts so that those who wanted could sit and have a meal in it.
- And at this time ...
- At the same time I continued to work as a teacher at Sinai Academy. I worked there for six years. In the synagogue I had to expand the schedule of classes, add Hebrew lessons. There were many who wanted to be with us. Hanukkah came, and then we realized that the community was born. Today 300 – 400 is a person at an event for us the standard we constantly focus on.
Once a man came to the synagogue for the feast of Purim, his name was David Dubrov. David introduced himself as president of Elite Jewish High School and asked if I wanted to become the headmaster of his school. I replied: “David, let's have a drink first, as it should be, and then we'll talk!” This was our first meeting. However, as you understand, we had a great drink on Purim, and after Purim, there was a parent meeting in Sinai Academy. And at this meeting p. Katsin unexpectedly announced me the director of the school where we are now. Well, where are you going?
David Dubrov entered the office enters the conversation:
- I asked for recommendations from p. Katsina. They were more than positive.
- When, David, you first heard about p. Altschule?
DD: Three years ago from the previous director. For various reasons, some school administrators went to another job, and we, after carefully looking at the r. Asheru, they decided to offer him the place of the principal. At that time, the school had 27 children. By the end of the school year, 19 remained. These were only boys.
- When did the girls appear at school?
A.A .: David is to blame for this. I had a different plan ... But David, in agreement with my wife, decided not to wait for the grace from nature, and immediately decided on the issue of enrolling girls in school. As it turned out, they were right. In the first year, we had only three girls, and now there are many more.
- Reb Usher, tell us about the school.
AA: The school is called Elite Jewish High School. This is a private Jewish school. The idea of ​​the school is unique to America. Here there are yeshivas for Russian-speaking Jewish children. The goal of the yeshiva is to bring them closer to the religious way of life. I do this only in the synagogue, on a community basis, with more than 20 years of experience. I went through it myself.
Our school does not have an American board of directors that defines goals and objectives. We clearly understand who our customers are. They are the same as we are, we are all from that time, from the same places, we are the same Russian-speaking Jews. And in our environment there has always been a cult of education - a good higher education. We perfectly understand that here, in the USA, for Russian-speaking parents it’s important that the children succeed. Parents do not regret anything for them. For these parents, we made our school.
- And how do children become your students?
- We take children in competition, do not take students in the middle of the school year. We need children to receive an excellent education, so we do not accept everyone in a row, we have a psychometric test that determines the intellectual level of the child. We have to justify the name of our school.
We work a lot with parents. They are all the time in touch with the school, and we are with them. We strive to have no more than 15 children in the classroom. The school has been rebuilt, and its level is such that children from Bay Academy, Mark Twain, Bambi Academy and other prestigious schools have come to us in 9 grade.
- Have you already had releases?
- We 95% of graduates go to four-year colleges, universities in New York and other cities. There are children who have received scholarships from Columbia University and other prestigious universities in America. Two years ago, one of their graduates went to study in Moscow, to a diplomatic school, and successfully studied there.
- David, what do parents say about school, what are your contacts with them?
JJ: We have parent meetings. I get feedback on the changes that are happening in school, they are all positive. Changed opinion about our school. Parents say she grew up and is moving in the right direction.
- I know, David, that every school, especially a private one, always suffers a financial deficit. Do you have this problem?
JJ: Is there a problem with a financial deficit? Of course there is! Parents pay money, there are no people who would not pay for their child. Annual tuition fee - 8 000 dollars. For the Jewish school it is a little money. Some organizations and sponsors help us educate capable and talented children if parents are not able to overpay the annual fee.
AA: Our children participate in various olympiads. For us, the Olympics are a way to assess the level of knowledge of our children in comparison with other schools. Our school has a number of special classes and programs that allow students to receive loans for college, which then reduces the period of study at the university and reduces the cost of education.
* * *
Our conversation was long and interesting. We talked about teachers and class schedules, about educating a fighting character among graduates of Jewish schools, who should always be ready for discussion battles in defense of the Jewish community and the State of Israel on campuses. They touched upon the bureaucratic and bureaucratic attitude of the missions of the State of Israel to the problems of Jewish upbringing of children in diaspora communities, in particular, in America.
Leaving, we looked into the classes. Pupils diligently wrote something, discussed problems - everything was like in a regular school. Only the school itself is unusual.
She is Jewish.
PS Asher Altshul became the winner of the International Contest of Jewish Teachers in Moscow in 2011, and received the title “Teacher of the Year”.
Interviewed by Mikhail Nemirovsky
and Leonid Bard