Ailin Vilches Arguello
As Germany grapples with rising antisemitism, schools across the country are set to receive Jewish religious education textbooks for the first time since the Holocaust, marking the latest effort to strengthen Jewish life and deepen understanding of Judaism among a new generation.
Signaling a new chapter for Jewish religious education in Germany, the eight-volume German-language series will introduce students ages 10 to 16 to the Torah, Tanach, prayer, Jewish ethics and law, holidays, life-cycle traditions, and Jewish history.
Set to debut in classrooms with the start of the new school year, the first volume of Da’at Hadorot — “Knowledge of the Generations” in Hebrew — focuses on the Torah and lays the groundwork for the volumes that will follow.
The textbooks are designed for both Jewish and non-Jewish students, seeking to foster greater knowledge of Jewish faith and traditions at a time when Jewish communities across Germany are confronting rising hostility and antisemitism.
Produced by the Central Council of Jews in Germany with major schoolbook publisher Ernst Klett Verlag, the series will provide comprehensive materials for Jewish religious education, with seven additional volumes planned for annual release covering topics including the Tanach, prayer, ethics, halachah, Jewish festivals, the Jewish life cycle, and Jewish history.
Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, called the initiative a major milestone for Jewish life in the country, saying that after many years, Jewish religious education now stands “on equal footing with Christian religious subjects.”
Until now, Jewish religious education in Germany has lacked the modern, curriculum-aligned textbook series long available for Christian instruction, leaving a significant gap in educational resources for Jewish students.
Intended for students and teachers alike, the textbooks will be used in Jewish schools as well as state schools across all 16 German federal states where Jewish religious education is offered.
The books are designed to align directly with Germany’s official curriculum for Jewish religious education, organizing each volume around the subjects which students are expected to learn at each age. Rather than requiring schools to change their existing programs, Da’at Hadorot provides the textbooks and teaching materials needed to support the curriculum already in place.
Beyond making Jewish religious education more engaging for students, the series is also intended to ease the burden on teachers who have often had to piece together their own lessons from scattered resources. Until now, educators have relied on a mix of translated primary-school worksheets, an upper-secondary ethics textbook, and materials they created themselves.
“A systematically structured teaching resource was needed that not only provides reading material but also encourages active participation,” Shila Erlbaum, head of the Politics and Religion Department at the Central Council of Jews in Germany and one of the project leaders, said in a statement.
“In ‘Da’at Hadorot,’ students can solve picture puzzles, explore Moses’ life events in a dice game, or test their religious vocabulary on their mobile phones using a QR code,” Erlbaum explained.
Throughout the series, Hebrew terms are used to strengthen students’ familiarity with Jewish language, concepts, and identity, while translations and transliterations ensure that those without Hebrew knowledge can follow and participate fully.
The initiative comes amid growing concern over antisemitism in German schools and just days after Felix Klein, Germany’s Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life and the Fight Against Antisemitism, called for mandatory antisemitism training for teachers.
Klein argued that educators must be prepared to recognize and confront anti-Jewish hatred as Jewish students continue to face mounting harassment and hostility in schools.
“Anyone susceptible to antisemitism has no place in the teaching profession,” he said, adding that teachers who express antisemitic views in the classroom should face disciplinary measures.
According to Klein, school curricula should portray Jewish life in a more positive and comprehensive way, ensuring students do not view Judaism primarily through the lens of antisemitism, the Middle East conflict, or the Holocaust, but develop a broader understanding of Jewish history, culture, and life.
