By Anash.org reporter <\/p>\n
Under a new statewide curriculum approved by the Texas State Board of Education, Texas public school students will be required to read selections from the Bible in school.<\/p>\n
While efforts to bring G-d and Biblical values back into public schools may appear to be a positive and much-needed development, the Rebbe explained that making the Bible part of the curriculum could have unintended and far-reaching consequences.<\/p>\n
The required reading list, approved Friday by a 9-5 vote, will affect more than five million public school students and is expected to begin taking effect during the 2030-31 school year. Unlike the recent law requiring displays of the Ten Commandments<\/a> in Texas classrooms, this new measure places portions of the Bible directly into the public school curriculum.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are bringing the Bible back into schools this week for the first time in 60 years,\u201d Brandon Hall, a Republican member of the State Board of Education, said during the debate.<\/p>\n The reading list begins in the early grades and continues through high school. First graders are assigned the story of Noach. Second graders study Dovid and Golyas. Third graders read about Daniel in the lion\u2019s den. Fifth graders learn about Moshe at the burning bush and Krias Yam Suf.<\/p>\n In seventh grade, students are assigned Tehillim 23 together with George Washington\u2019s letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport. In eighth grade, students study Koheles 3 and Eichah 3, with Eichah appearing alongside Holocaust-related readings. High school students are assigned selected passages from Iyov and the story of Adam and Chava in Bereishis.<\/p>\n Julie Pickren, another Republican member of the board, said the readings are intended to give students \u201cimportant insight into the moral and philosophical traditions that have shaped Western civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n While many people understandably welcome efforts to restore G-d and moral values to public education, the Rebbe explained that Bible study in public schools carries consequences that are often overlooked. Once the Bible becomes part of the classroom curriculum, there is no principled way to limit it to the Jewish Bible alone. Other religious groups will naturally insist that their own sacred texts be included as well. <\/p>\n The Rebbe explained that this is not a hypothetical concern but an inevitable outcome.<\/p>\n \u201cBible reading in the public schools be resolutely opposed for various reasons,\u201d the Rebbe wrote in a letter dated 26 Nissan 5724<\/a>, including \u201cthe obvious reason that the reading of the Koran and the New Testament will arouse dissension and strife.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, the Rebbe consistently advocated for a short, strictly non-denominational prayer at the beginning of the school day, one that acknowledges the Creator without teaching from or favoring any particular religion.<\/p>\n