Shenirer, Sarah

Sarah Shenierer (sometimes also Sora Shenierer ) (1883–1935, Kraków ) is a figure of Jewish education in Poland, best known for creating a network of orthodox schools for girls called “ Base Yaakov ”.

Shenirer, Sarah
polish Sarazenzenr
The only known photograph of Sarah Shenirer
Date of Birth	1883 ( 1883 )
Place of Birth	Krakow
Date of death	March 1, 1935 ( 1935-03-01 )
Place of death	Krakow
Citizenship	Poland
Occupation	creator of the network of Jewish orthodox schools “ Beit Yaakov ” (“Beis Yaakov”)
Father	Bezalel Acoen from Tarnow
Mother	Scheine Feige

The traditional Jewish education system included teaching boys Jewish subjects. Girls, as a rule, did not receive religious training, except at home. For the first time, a school where Jewish and secular subjects were combined appeared in Halberstadt in Saxony in 1796 , since 1827 the school also hosted girls. There was nothing like this in Eastern Europe, sometimes girls received a secular education from home teachers or at a public school. In some places there were headers for girls.

As a result, this led to a noticeable discrepancy in the educational level of men and women, in addition, with the advent of modern culture, there was a noticeable departure from the Jewish tradition, especially among girls. ^{[1] [2]}

In 1900, the Aratensky scandal erupted when a Jewish girl from a religious family, Michalina Aratan, fled to a Catholic monastery and was baptized. This case once again showed the need to create a network of schools for girls, where they could get a modern education, without departing from the Jewish tradition.

Second graduate of Beit Yaakov School in 1934 . Lodz , Poland .

Tombstone of Sarah Shenirer in Krakow. It was destroyed by the Nazis, restored in 2003.

All this led Sarah Shenyrer, a modest dressmaker from Poland, to the idea of ​​creating a Jewish religious school for girls. The teaching of r. Samson Rafael Hirsch “Torah Derech Eretz” (a combination of religious precepts with participation in the life of the surrounding non-Jewish society), the teachings of Rabbi Hirsch Sarra met when she lived during the First World War in Vienna . ^[3] Initially, the idea seemed revolutionary and caused considerable resistance and ridicule. But Sarah managed to secure the support of such prominent rabbis as the Gursky Rebbe and Hafets-Khaim . Around 1917, the first Beit Yaakov schools opened (The House of Jacob, in Ashkenazi pronunciation, Beis Yaakov). A critical breakthrough occurred in 1919 , when the school system received support from the Agudat Israel movement. ^[four]

The program, developed by Dr. Leo Deutschland (1888-1936) from Germany ^{[5] [6]} , included the study of the Torah , Tanach (Hebrew Bible), Siddur (prayer book), Halacha (Jewish law) and its spirit from the books of rabbis Sch R. Hirsch , Moshe Chaim Lutatto , Joseph Breuer , as well as Hebrew , including grammar, Polish and German , the basics of pedagogy and psychology, needlework and physical education. ^[four]

By the death of Sarah Shenirer in 1935, hundreds of schools were already operating, encompassing about 35 thousand students. Schools then spread to the United States and Israel . Currently considered traditional schools, a bastion of Jewish orthodoxy with an ultra-orthodox shade. In Poland itself, the system was destroyed during the Holocaust . Sarah herself got married late and died of cancer at age 52, she did not have her own children.