Once Opposed, Now Thriving

Joyous children decked in Kipaahs and Tzitzis, holding small prayer pamphlets, singing on top of their lungs with Jewish pride, is the scene in dozens of shuls in New York’s five boroughs, every Wednesday afternoon.

While today, the 187 volunteers gathered children from 79 public schools, is a given, in the mid-20th century it was the focus of much controversy. Throughout this period the program received special attention of the Rebbe Rayatz and the Rebbe.

It would be an uphill battle for the Rebbe Rayatz, whose Yahrtzeit is marked today, to be able to bring Yiddishkeit to American Jewish youth. In the 1940 American Jewish atmosphere, the need to bring Yiddishkeit through various channels was understood by the Rebbe Rayatz. The efforts included establishing Jewish day schools and producing top notch children publications.

It was in this effort that the Rebbe Rayatz established the Released Time program for Jewish children. Bachurim from many Yeshivahs across the New York city would gather each week and travel to shuls across the city teaching the youth about Yiddishkeit.

Under the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE), thousands of Jewish children would gather on a weekly basis. Over the years the influence of the program had a huge effect on the children and many of them retained their Jewish semblance because of the programs.

As the Rebbe wrote that the program, “has proved of immense value to the thousands of Jewish boys and girls of Grater New York and elsewhere benefitting from it.”

Rabbi JJ Hecht, OBM, who headed the Released Time program from 1945, would say: “Some of them have become Jewish teachers who themselves teach Torah to Jewish children. Some have even become rabbis!”

However, the program over many years would be challenged under the clause of separation of Church and State. In 1949 the program came before the Supreme Count and was upheld. However, fierce opposition still stood, especially in the echelons of the liberal Jewish community.

The Rebbe, whose acceptance of leadership we mark today, chose to utilize the 1960 White House Conference on Children and Youth, to pass a resolution on the Released Time program. In the historic delegation was Rabbi JJ Hecht, David B. Hollander, Zalman Posner and Dr. Nissan Mindel.

The Rebbe over the years spoke highly of the program and in 1966 on Yud Shvat wrote, “I hope that on the Yahrtzeit of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, you are doing all that you could to establish more branches of Released Time in your area. This is a project that the one whose Yahrtzeit is today placed much effort in and encouraged every individual to become involved in it… It is of great merit for all those that do on behalf of the program.”

However, there was fierce opposition at the conference. “Such a proposal was opposed by every other Jewish group represented at the conference,” reported the Jewish Post. “Three attempts to promote unified action and opposition to the resolution among the majority Jewish groups were notably unsuccessful.”
However, the four Chabad delegates at the end won the fierce battle, with a majority of 206 voting for the resolution that read:

“That children and youth be granted greater opportunities for specific religious education in many weekday activities, including released time or dismissed time from public school for programs under the supervision of local religious bodies.”

Under the headline CHASIDIM SPEARHEAD PROPOSAL Released Time Resolution Passed At White House Youth Parley the newspaper summed up the Chabad delegation’s success as, “They came; they saw; they conquered.”
It is today that we have a chance to join in to continuing to make this program a success.

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