National Education in a Context of Preserving Identity of Jewish Communities of Podillia

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to determine the role of the national education of Jewish communities of Podillia in the preservation of the original culture of the Jews of the region. The authors study the place of the traditional education in preserving national identity of the Jewish communities of Podillia in comparison with the functioning of the national education of Jews in Ukraine. The methodology of the research is basedon the use of comparative-historical, statistical,  structural-functional, terminological methods taking into account the axiological (value) approach, which allowed to consider Jewish national education as a self-sufficient formation with a system of certain values that are important for the functioning of the national culture of the Jews. The scientific novelty is to substantiate Jewish national education as a cultural phenomenon, which contributed to the existence of the original culture of Jewish communities in the region during a long historical period. The article claims that one of the most powerful Jewish regional communities of Eastern Europe was formed on the territory of the region, which represented the subethnos of Jewish people – Ashkenazi. The Jews of Podillia, who lived in a discriminatory policy aimed at destroying the foundations of national life, managed to preserve their national identity and national culture. The article states that before the inclusion of the territory of Podillia in the Russian Empire, the traditional national system of education was here. It was based on the strict connection of studying with the religion and traditions of the Jewish people. For centuries, this Jewish national community preserved its national identity and avoided complete assimilation. Along with religion, education traditionally protected the Jews from losing their national-cultural life and national peculiarities of the life of community. The authorities of the Russian Empire tried to encourage Jews to receive general state education, hoping to overcome the isolation of Jews and form loyalty to the Empire in this way. However, the vast majority of Jews in Podillia traditionally continued to study in Cheders and Talmud Torahs. The Soviet government has taken the course of destroying religious education institutions and displacing Hebrew as a language of instruction. At the same time, she considered for a while Jewish national schools with the Yiddish language of instruction as an element of Sovietization of Jews. However, since the late 1940s, it introduced the course for assimilation of Jews and the destruction of elements of national life. New opportunities for the reconstruction of the national education of the Jews of Podillia appeared with the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence. National education and religion has become the main elements of preserving the national life of Jews at the present stage. Jewish national education is a certain cultural and social phenomenon that has helped the Jews for a long time in conditions of the absence of the state to preserve the integrity of their people. The education that was inextricably linked with religion played a major role in preserving the identity and national culture of the Jewish communities in Podillia.