Comments, Insights, Reflections on Specific Sections of Our 21st Century Vision

A central way that Jewish ideas and norms continuously evolve is through commentary. By way of example, the Mishnah, a rabbinic guide to Jewish practice, was codified in approximately 200 C.E. Over the next 300 years, rabbis studied and questioned and debated the Mishnah. Their expansive commentary, in turn, was codified. That layer of commentary is called the Gemara. Together the Mishnah and the Gemara constitute the Talmud.

After we completed our core 21st Century Kaplanian Vision of Jewish Education, we invited rabbis, educators and Kaplan scholars to reflect on the vision. We are delighted by the rich and varied comments we received pertaining to specific sections of the Vision. The commentaries differ in perspective, style and substance, but they are all access points to our unfolding exploration of a) the relevance of Kaplan to Jewish education today and b) the role of Vision in Jewish education today.