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Sending a child to a Jewish day school ever though our family is pretty secular

My wife and I have a son who will be entering middle school next year. We have a myriad of issues in our school, many involving antisemitism and some other political stuff that I would rather not discuss here. So long story short, we are investigating some private school options and one that seems rather feasible for us is a local Jewish day that is conservative. We have heard great things about it academically and the logistics and price seem doable.

My concern is really that my wife and I are not really religious. I grew up in a pretty secular household that belonged to a conservative synagogue but we really only went on the high holidays. My family kept the major holidays, but we weren’t shomer shabbos and we didn’t keep kosher. I had what I consider a pretty typical Jewish American upbringing. Hebrew school until bar mitzvah, Jewish sleepaway camp and then nothing.

My wife grew up in a reform household and her parents were very involved in their congregation. Her dad was the president at one point in time and her mom was involved with the sisterhood. She went to a specifically reform Jewish camp, took trips to Israel, etc. But she wasn’t shomer shabbos and didn’t keep kosher. So similar to me but in some way different.

Nonetheless, we are both extremely concerned about the rise in antisemitism and some of the things that are happening in our local school district. Bottomline, do you think sending my son to a Jewish day school would make him feel entirely like a fish out of water? Do you think our family would be looked at as weirdos or something by the other families? I’d appreciate any advice.

submitted by /u/babastart
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