了解澳门威尼斯人网上赌场

Our History

学院四分之一世纪的进步

By Rabbi Shlomo Rapoport
March 1967

当时，美国正处于一场全面的生存战争之中. The Nazi and Japanese hordes had made inroads into the free countries of Europe and the far-flung islands of South East Asia. The United States had declared war in December 1941 against the two dictatorial powers of German and Japan, in order to preserve American freedoms and to ensure the continuity of western civilization.

While the great statesmen of the United States were engaged in an all-out military struggle for the physical survival of the American people and their free institutions, while the fate of liberty was being determined on the battlefield, a group of men in the city of Chicago met together to safeguard the spiritual survival of the Jewish community. In the early summer of 1942, eight men of “vision,” leaders from the Associated Talmud Torahs and Hebrew Theological College, gathered to discuss what could be done to intensify the educational program of the Jewish schools and thus insure the continuity of traditional Jewish life in the city. 出席这次历史性会议的有亚历克斯·爱森斯坦, Rabbi Ephraim Epstein, Rabbi Jacob Greenberg, Rabbi Samuel Siegel and Rabbi Saul Silber (all of blessed memory), and Max Chen, Rabbi Leonard C. Mishkin and Rabbi Menachem B. Sacks. They expressed the fear that the superficiality of the Hebrew school system of education would not guarantee the continuation of Jewish scholarship. Many boys were dropping their Jewish studies when they reached the age of Bar Mitzvah. Just as they were beginning to reach intellectual maturity and the age when they could first comprehend and appreciate the teachings of our sages, 他们就会终止希伯来语的学习.

The plan proposed by this committee was to establish a high school which would combine under one roof the secular subjects taught in the public schools of Chicago with Jewish studies and observances, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, so that students would not have to attend a Yeshivah or Hebrew High school late in the afternoon, or evening, when they are tired and unreceptive, after a hard schedule in high school. Such a school would perhaps attract and hold the finest of Jewish youth during their adolescent years. 他们曾经在高中阶段接受希伯来语教育, 他们可能会继续在Yeshivah级别上进行更高的学习, and from this learned youth would come our future rabbis and teachers. Or, 即使他们不会成为犹太专业人士, they would remain educated laymen and serve the Jewish community by raising the standards of Yiddishkeit wherever they live. It was envisioned that they would be the ones who would attend services regularly, 他们将成为犹太教堂的官员, 他们将领导犹太团体遵循真正的Torah传统, 并将丰富犹太人的生活. 他们将成为未来犹太社区的典范.

It was unanimously agreed to establish the new secondary school of Jewish learning under the auspices of both the Associated Talmud Torahs, the central agency for Torah education in Chicago and the Hebrew Theological College, 在中西部的犹太高等学府, “开国元勋”代表哪些机构. Instead of starting with the first year of high school it was decided to develop the school by gradual stages, by starting off as a co-educational junior high school with grades 7, 八年级和九年级，然后每年加一个年级. Obtaining the students at the 7th grade level would serve a twofold purpose. First, 父母更愿意在这个阶段送孩子, 而不是高中水平, and secondly, 学校会在成年礼之前给他们上课, and thus there would be a greater possibility for the boys to continue their Jewish studies after the age of thirteen. 学校的名字是芝加哥犹太学院, and the budget of the school was to be guaranteed by the Associated Talmud Torahs and the Hebrew Theological College.

It should be noted that this was essentially a pioneering venture in Chicago. Although the Hebrew Parochial School was originally organized in 1928, it had remained an independent, unaffiliated institution which struggled for its existence through the years. (It was only after the establishment of the Academy that the former school began to experience some measure of success.) Furthermore, the fact remains that in 1942, the year of the Academy’s founding, there were only seven Hebrew Day Schools located outside of New York. In 1939, at the eve of the Second World War, there were only 19 such schools in all America. 超过90%的日制学校是在1940年以后建立的.

The specific purpose of the Academy, as stated by its founders, was “to integrate secular studies with a thorough Jewish education, in order to foster Torah learning and religious living among American Jewish youth.” It would seek to provide for them an integrated program of traditional Judaism and general education which would prepare them for creative and successful living in the America Jewish community. It would offer standard secular courses combined with an intensive program of Jewish studies and Torah practices.

Also, 因为班级规模较小, the student would gain from the individual attention and personal guidance of his rabbis and teachers. Close association with friends and companions of a common religious background would also tend to strengthen his Jewishness and develop his character and personality. But the all-important benefit for the Jewish boy or girl would be a training in the traditions and observances of our Torah heritage, a basic background for the future laymen and leaders of our communities.

In September 1942, the Chicago Jewish Academy opened its doors to 42 students. 希伯来神学院的建筑, 然后位于道格拉斯大道和St. 路易斯大道，是学校的第一个家. From the very beginning of its establishment, the Academy made amazing progress. The courses offered were more than adequate to meet the desire of all parents for a very good Jewish education as well as a regular public school program for their children. 此外，高水准的世俗和犹太研究, daily religious services were held, 哪里特别强调犹太教堂的礼仪, earnestness in prayer, 以及希伯来祷告及其内容的社会含义. A Student Council, whose purpose was to plan the activities of the student body and promote the general welfare of the school was organized to offer opportunities for practical experience in democratic living and leadership. Other features of the educational program singled out for special distinction were the publication of a school paper, 建立监控系统, a program of lunch hour activities, charity drives, the conducting of various assembly programs and holiday observances.

Throughout the early stages, there was a constant desire to integrate both departments of the school in course materials, through combined faculty meetings, and in the cooperation between the teachers of religious and secular subjects on working on common projects. The teachers of both areas recognized the challenge of discovering a realistic relationship between religious and lay experiences and of inspiring the students to realize them for enriched daily living.

The need for expansion of the Academy and the urgency of gaining official standing as an accredited high school were the driving forces in the purchase of a large and spacious building, the Metropolitan Masonic Temple, in the Garfield Park area. On May 7, 1945 (V.E. Day to be exact), the Associated Talmud Torahs obtained its new center as the future home of the Academy. Two years eventually elapsed before the school occupied the building because of the delay in the remodeling process, due to wartime conditions.

In September 1945, the Academy opened as a complete six-year secondary school (junior and senior high school) in the final stage of its development. In June 1946 the Commencement Exercises of the first graduating class of the Academy, representing the culmination of the first stage in the development and growth of the school, 是在犹太民族研究所的礼堂里举行的. 9名学生同时获得了英语和希伯来语文凭, and all of the graduates were accepted by various colleges and universities. The Senior Class had also published an Annual in English and Hebrew, “The Academy Memoirs,” the yearbook which portrayed the activities of the student body, 特别是毕业班的学生, in picture and story.

The year 1947 was an important milestone in the history of the Chicago Jewish Academy. 在耶和华殿里放了五年, and on June 22, 1947, the new Associated Talmud Torahs Center was dedicated as the future home of the school. The three-story edifice had been remodeled and converted into a completely modern school plant with all the necessary facilities. The difficulties inherent in moving an entire school to a new plant were minimized by a planned procedure beginning with the summer months of July and August, 所以当秋季学期开始的时候, the school began to function as smoothly as possible under the circumstances. Although there were a few technical difficulties connected with the operation of a school in a new building and the setting up of the classrooms with the necessary furnishings and equipment, 学院的两个部门都立即运作起来.

At the end of the school year, (on June 2, 1948), the Academy was visited by Dr. T.C. Hood, Assistant High School Visitor, and was granted official recognition by the University of Illinois and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 该学校也于10月20日接受了检查, 1955 by Roy Clark, 公共教育助理总监, and in March 1956, 在中北部协会的年会上, the Academy was placed on the official list of accredited high schools in the State of Illinois.

With the rapid deterioration of the West Side neighborhood and the Wilcox Street location, 由于环境原因，学院不得不在隆冬搬迁, between semesters (February 1961), to the Torah Center. This building became available when its Torah Day School merged with the Hillel Day School. 搬家是一项不小的工程, 尤其是这事发生在几天之内. 一天用来打包，两天用来实际搬家. The process of setting things up and making adjustments in the physical facilities of the building was a gradual one, but with the passing of time, quite successful. 另外还建了一间教室和一家商店, lockers were installed, the school plant was redecorated, and a stage curtain was installed. Through a government loan, a new physical science laboratory was built. All the necessary changes in converting the school plant from an elementary day school building to one housing a modern high school were made during the first year.

Some of the advantages of the Torah Center over the former location were that it was situated in a better geographical area, 这座大楼有更多的现代化设施, 这所学校有一个体育馆, the kitchen was much more spacious, the office had a much larger area, 总的来说，结构本身更加紧凑. Also, since the majority of the student body lived in the greater North Side area, the Lake Shore location of the Academy was more accessible to them and at the same time could still serve students from the South Shore and other outlying areas.

与此同时，学院也搬迁了, primarily because of the long distance involved in transporting the boys, a Yeshiva High School was established in Skokie on the campus of the Hebrew Theological College as a branch of the Academy, for the out-of-town boys and those Chicagoans who would reside in the dormitory. The educational program of the Yeshiva High School was to be parallel to that of the Chicago Jewish Academy, 除了塔木德的研究将会加强.

In order to relieve somewhat the congested conditions in the main center of the school, and at the same time to satisfy the needs of those parents desiring separate facilities for girls, a 9th grade girls’ class was opened at the Beth Shalom Synagogue building in September 1963. 这是学院第三分部的核心, the Girls’ High School, in addition to the Academy proper and the Yeshiva High School in Skokie.) Since then, 女中分校已成为一所四年制学校, 目前位于宗教犹太复国主义中心.

The moving of the Academy into the Torah Center was considered only as a temporary expedient. The need for the construction of a new building as a permanent home for the school became more apparent with the passing of each day. The structure was seriously inadequate because of space limitations, 教室和专用教室数量不足. There was excessive congestion in the building because of the narrow corridors, small library, and small lunchroom, which were not able to accommodate the large numbers of students in the high school. There were many desirable and necessary facilities which could not be provided, and educational practices which could not be introduced because of the space problem. The Academy was in desperate need of additional “lebensraum” for growth and expansion, 随着招生人数的不断增加. There was also no play area or adequate playground space; students were confined to the interior of the building all day in spite of an extra-long day schedule. Furthermore, since the overwhelming majority of the students hailed from the far sections of the North Side (including suburbs), it was felt that they lost much valuable time in traveling to and from school and became fatigued in the process. A more centrally located site would eliminate this transportation problem and attract more students.

In the early months of 1964, 买下了西罗杰斯公园中心的土地, a center of Jewish population, the Associated Talmud Torahs formally announced to the Jewish community, 在获得当地犹太福利基金会的许可后, that a new education center would be constructed to house the Academy. The Associated Talmud Torahs proclaimed a campaign of a million and a half dollars to erect a school plant which would accommodate 750 students. 这所学校将以澳门威尼斯人网上赌场的名字命名, 这多亏了克朗家族慷慨的慈善事业.

Twenty-five years have elapsed since the establishment of the Chicago Jewish Academy as a secondary school for religious and secular studies. During this period of its existence, the school has surpassed all the expectations of its founders and has become one of the outstanding institutions of its kind in the entire country. In student enrollment alone, 学院的人数增加了十多倍, 到目前为止，它的学生总数超过475人. 在其教育计划的每个阶段, 这所学校取得了显著的进步, and has, as a result, acquired a national reputation.

The Academy through the years, has maintained very high scholastic standards. The fact remains that the Academy wins a larger number of scholarships in proportion to its school population than most of the other high schools in the Chicago area. The high percentage of scholarship awards attests to the success of the academic program. The school, indeed, enjoys an excellent reputation in colleges and universities of the Chicago area, as well as Yeshivot, throughout the country, and even in Israel.

The Academy has up to date over 1,000 alumni, many of whom have already distinguished themselves in the sciences and professions and made their mark upon the community as lay and professional young Jewish leaders, in Jewish communal work, in Jewish education, and in the rabbinate. In Chicago, 学院提高了犹太教育的标准, and many of its products have entered the field as teachers and administrators.

Although the educational future of the Academy is well established, 该机构将有进一步发展的机会. 因为它是一家独特的创业公司, the school will continue to challenge the vision and understanding of all those who have participated in its growth and operation. With this long-range policy in view, the new edifice now under construction by the Associated Talmud Torahs will house the Ida Crown Jewish Academy. In its permanent home, the school will make additional strides in its enrollment expansion and educational progress and become an even greater asset to the Chicago Jewish community.