Getting out of the Ghetto... sort of.

This past week we received our tuition packet for our son's school for next year. We are very excited (except for the money part) that he is starting at his first Yeshiva which will educate him in both the ways of the secular world as well as instill and reinforce the Jewish values and practices that we observe in our home.

Of course part of the logic behind placing him in an immersive religious environment is that he will be surrounded by kids who's parent's come from similar backgrounds and want similar education and values for their kids. But the other part of me wonders if I wanted to raise him in a sheltered environment, why did I move out of Brooklyn - where our entire block could have been comprised of Orthodox jews?

Part of me likes to think that he would be exposed to kids of other backgrounds to some extent. We current send him to a secular playgroup in our area, where his friends are ethnically and religiously diverse. The point is to et him to undersatand and appreciate the virtures of our religion, while at the same time being cognizant, that we are a minority in the world, and we need to interact with others all around us.

Maybe I can find a way to put him into a little league for baseball or hockey (of course finding one without Saturday games will be rough).