“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair” — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Dickens’ memorable opening captures a dynamic that feels familiar to observers of the world of contemporary Jewish day school education. What do you believe are the two greatest strengths and two greatest challenges in modern Jewish day schools and yeshivas from a cultural and curricular point of view? What are your concrete ideas to address the challenges? Please respond in no more than 1,500 words.

Our fellowships and scholarships are funded by generous donors, and our funding is limited. We want to make this degree possible for as many people as we can, so we ask each applicant to carefully consider what percentage of tuition he/she is able to pay.

Our funding also comes with responsibilities to teach Lobel curriculum or support the work of the Lobel Center, with more hours asked of those receiving higher amounts of funding.