ABSTRACT
According to the tradition, it is the duty of parents to educate their children. When the ancient Israelites returned from the Babylonian exile, the Bible records that Ezra gathered the people and taught them the law. During the period between the completion of the Talmud (sixth century ce) and the Enlightenment, the majority of male Jews received some sort of education. This was generally limited to the study of sacred texts; however, in some periods secular subjects were also included. During the period of emancipation non-Orthodox rabbinical seminaries were established in the United States. Thus, in the last quarter of the nineteenth century the Reform seminary, the Hebrew Union College, and the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary were created on the pattern of their predecessors in Berlin and Breslau. In recent years there has also been a large growth in traditional yeshivot for post-high school students, particularly in Israel and the United States.
