When 8-year-old Ellie Brody woke on Sunday morning, she knew it wasn’t going to be a regular day. After all, she’d been studying for months, and the big moment was finally here.
Together with 30 other contestants, Ellie was participating in the JewQ event at Chabad of Dix Hills on Long Island, N.Y. Starting back in September, more than 500 children who attend Hebrew-schools across Nassau and Suffolk counties had been participating in the competition before whittling down a select group of contestants, Ellie among them.
JewQ is an annual program organized by Chabad of Long Island under the leadership of Rabbi Tuvia Teldon. The program aims to tackle a longstanding issue faced by many a Hebrew-school teacher: How to best maximize engagement with students.
“Competition always brings out the best in anyone, and JewQ capitalizes on that,” says Rabbi Dovid Weinbaum, associate rabbi at the Dix Hills Chabad who runs the program. “It unites all of Long Island’s Hebrew-school students and gets their competitive juices going. Last year, eight schools participated in the competition, and this year, the competition has expanded to include 16 schools.”
At the beginning of the school year, Jewish students from the third through eighth grades who attend one of Long Island’s part-time Hebrew-school programs were handed a curated curriculum covering a range of topics and ideas in Judaism. From the 13 principles of faith articulated by Maimonides to the lesser-known portions in “Writings,” all the way through the full gamut of prayers, students get a broad grasp on many topics.
Over the course of the school year, the children study and review the material, and are then tested three times. The three students with the highest average from all three tests in each grade are chosen to represent their school in the grand JewQ competition.
‘A Great Place for Her to Be’
For many kids, Hebrew school is one of the only links to their Jewish education, essentially building the foundation of their Jewish literacy for life. The need for real engagement cannot be overstressed.
JewQ has met that need with forceful impact, say its organizers.
“We hear stories from parents who ‘caught’ their children with flashlights under the covers late at night to be able to get more time studying for JewQ. The overall excitement about learning Torah topics this program has brought to these children is incredible,” Weinbaum told Chabad.org.
Some of the Hebrew schools teach the entire curriculum during school hours, while others opt to give much of the work to students to do on their own time. Some have even implemented optional additional hours for those who wish to get ahead in their studies.
“We were concerned that it would be a nerve-wracking experience for Ellie,” said her father, Sagi, “but the teachers of the Hebrew school at Chabad of Dix Hills really connected with my daughter and made sure she was very familiar with the material.”
He and his wife, Margo, are new parents to the Dix Hills school. “Our children are so engaged and excited about their studies; it’s so refreshing. This competition has brought out our daughter’s spiritual side, as she is so invested in the studies. It’s a great place for her to be!” he practically gushed.
‘Truly a Family Project’
On Sunday, the stage was set and the hall filled with parents, friends, teachers and community members. Four judges sat at the dais as they fielded questions, gauged answers and moderated a talented field of contestants.
Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, director of Suite 302—part of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and which provided the curriculum for JewQ—was brought in to be a judge at the event.
“Entering the hall, it was just so special,” he said. “Of course, seeing children in all parts of the room getting in last-minute review time was a sight to behold, but something else captured my imagination.
“Parents and grandparents were present, and you could see that this was truly a family project—an excitement that swept through the entire extended family. This was a powerful demonstration of ‘Judaism on the offense,’ where every participant and the audience was rooting for Judaism and giving it all they got.”
With students chanting the names of their respective schools, and judges interacting with both contestants and the audience, the frenzy for Torah was something to behold.
“Today, there’s so much competition for a child’s attention. Disney and Nickelodeon are billion-dollar industries investing untold resources to win this game. Yet here was age-old Jewish tradition—from the Twelve Tribes to the daily prayers—clearly capturing the hearts and minds of these young children,” said Kotlarsky.
Indeed, he noted, such ownership and excitement of Judaism in the hands of youth is precisely what the Rebbe envisioned so many years ago. In countless public talks and numerous documented personal directives, the Rebbe pushed for and inspired the creation and growth of Tzivos Hashem, a veritable “Army of G‑d” whose soldiers would not be trained militarily, but armed with the power of Torah and Jewish wisdom to combat the forces of darkness in the world.
“The entire event was so professional and beyond anything we had imagined,” said Sagi Brody. And by the end of the day, the family had even more reason to be proud of their winning daughter.
With beaming smiles, the newly minted Long Island team is set to participate in the international JewQ competition to be held in New York City on March 15.
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