Building Our Children’s Moral Foundation

In conjunction with The Rabbi Sacks Global Day of Learning

“If we care for the future of democracy, we must recover that sense of shared morality that binds us to one another.”

— Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

With fraying civility, erosion of trust, and social media shaping the hearts and minds of the rising generation, the formation of principled and morally courageous young people has never been more important. Parents, educators, and religious leaders all have roles to play in the moral development of our children. How, at this fraught moment in Jewish history, can parents and educators build for our children an unshakeable moral foundation?

In November 2024, leading social psychologist Dr. Jonathan Haidt and Sacks Scholar and religious leader Dr. Mijal Bitton joined Tikvah’s Dr. Jonathan Silver at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York to explore the impact of American culture and digital media on children’s character development.

They discussed what empirical research suggests about strengthening moral agency and how parents and educators can work together to raise young adults with a sense of civic responsibility. They also examined how Jewish wisdom can guide our sons and daughters as they come of age.

The speakers

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