Temple Chai educator to be honored on retirement
Jeff Kondritzer, director of education at Temple Chai, a Reform Jewish Congregation in Long Grove, is retiring after an exceptionally successful career at the Temple where, for nearly 16 years, he has guided its education program.
But if “Dr. K,” as he is known, had not owned a car when he was a graduate student at Indiana University in Bloomington, his career at Temple Chai would not have begun.
While Kondritzer was earning his doctorate in comparative literature at that university, his prime outside interest was the radio, hosting classical music programs on the university radio station, WFIU.
One day, a professor asked Kondritzer if he owned a car. He did. The professor told him of an opportunity to teach Hebrew at the Board of Jewish Education in nearby Indianapolis. Dr. K declined, preferring to continue the radio shows.
Then the director of the BJE learned that Kondritzer owned a car, and urged him to commute to Indianapolis and accept a teaching position. He reluctantly agreed. His life in Jewish education had begun.
After serving as director of education at Oak Park Temple in Oak Park, followed by becoming director of education at Emanuel Congregation in Chicago, Kondritzer became Temple Chai’s director in 1994. Under his guidance Temple Chai’s religious and Hebrew schools became models for a successful temple educational program.
When he came to Temple Chai, he quickly embraced its excellent and strong faculty, and its well-loved rabbi, Stephen Hart. Kondritzer was able to mentor several of his staff into their own Jewish education positions in the Chicago area. The school has also fostered students who have gone on to study to become rabbis or have become rabbis.
During his time at Temple Chai, Dr. K learned that educators must quickly embrace and use current technology if they are to effectively teach today’s digitally oriented students.
“Kids today communicate in online social networks and teachers must adapt to using methods that the kids understand,” Kondritzer said. “Today’s kids can also easily ‘Google’ and find sources discussing Jewish topics like Passover, but they may not know when their sources are uninformed or worse, possibly anti-Semitic.”
Kondritzer said it is the teacher’s responsibility to help students to evaluate sources and to identify source bias.
“Technology can be an outstanding benefit in schools if monitored by teachers and used wisely,” he said. “But our young people must be taught to carefully balance their everyday, somewhat isolated digital relationship with face-to-face relationships, or we risk losing our ability to form and participate in compassionate human communities.”
For all of its educational benefits, Dr. K recognizes that technology has its drawbacks. He recounted how he met and exchanged ideas with outstanding scholars at Harvard, Yale and Princeton while researching for doctoral thesis.
“Today’s students’ research in isolation,” he said. “It is fast and efficient, but there is also the irreplaceable loss of exciting face-to-face dialogue with scholars who are leaders in their field.”
Dr. K, who became an educator because he owned a car, will be missed at Temple Chai. His outstanding contributions to Temple Chai will be celebrated with a gala in his honor at 6:30 p.m. April 30 at Temple Chai, 1670 Checker Road, Long Grove. All are invited.
Contact Deborah Greenswag at (847) 537-1771 for more information.