Are there puffy bags under your blood-shot eyes? Does the mention of any new "smart" spending device leave you shaking with fear? Do you get nostalgic for those good old days when all you had to worry about was nuclear annihilation?

Then you must be a Jewish parent.

Quick! Take a fistful of Valium and settle down with "Issues in Torah Education" - we've got ALL the answers! Everything will be okay now! Guaranteed...or your money cheerfully refunded.

Um...well...maybe we've got SOME of the answers. Or, perhaps...perhaps we know which questions to ask...sometimes.... But rest assured: reading further won't add a cent to your debt load and is absolutely tax and cholesterol free!

Either way, welcome to "Issues in Torah Education." Our host, Pirchei Shoshanim, has asked me to lead a regular discussion of ideas and issues relevant to the Jewish parent and the Jewish teacher. In each session, we'll examine some aspect of "chinuch" (Jewish education) from a practical and ground-level perspective. No ivory towers here.

Both public and private questions and all forms of interaction are welcome, and can be submitted via e-mail, but we reserve the right to edit published correspondence for content and length.