r/JewsOfConscience • u/AutoModerator • Nov 27 '24

AAJ "Ask A Jew" Wednesday

It's everyone's favorite day of the week, "Ask A (Anti-Zionist) Jew" Wednesday! Ask whatever you want to know, within the sub rules, notably that this is not a debate sub and do not import drama from other subreddits. That aside, have fun! We love to dialogue with our non-Jewish siblings.

Please remember to pick an appropriate user-flair in order to participate! Thanks!

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u/ScottTheMonster Atheist Nov 27 '24

It seems to me that Jewish culture advocates for education and vocational training. Is this an unfair or inaccurate stereotype?

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u/specialistsets Non-denominational Nov 27 '24

Jews from all over the world, even when extremely poor and persecuted, have always had near universal literacy. In the Ashkenazi communities of Europe, boys were first taught at age 5 to read and write the Hebrew alphabet (for both religious Hebrew and Yiddish, which uses Hebrew script) in small schools called "cheder" (Hebrew for "room"), and girls were taught to read and write at home by their mothers.