Why Orthodox Jews Separate Boys and Girls in School

When I tell people that I went to an all-girls school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, they are usually surprised. Then when I explain that my sons go to all-boys schools with only male teachers, and my daughters go to all-girls schools, they are really surprised.

But single-sex education is not just an Orthodox Jewish quirk. It is deeply rooted in Torah values, and there is a fascinating history behind it.

torah-source">The Torah Source

The importance of separating the sexes in Judaism comes from the Torah itself. In Devarim (Deuteronomy 23:14), the Torah says: "Your camp must be holy, so that He will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you."

The Mishnah (Sukkah 5:2) tells us that a major correction was made in the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple) during the Sukkot holiday. The Talmud explains that this correction was building a balcony above the men's section so that women could stand separately without mingling in the crowd with the men. If the Holy Temple itself required separation, how much more so our schools.

Keeping our "camp" holy means avoiding situations where mingling between boys and girls could lead to inappropriate interactions. In the Orthodox world, this principle extends to education, prayer, social gatherings, and celebrations.

Elementary School: Cheder and Bais Yaakov

Most Orthodox Jewish schools separate boys and girls from elementary school onward. Some very strict communities begin gender separation from the earliest preschool years, though many have co-ed preschools since the youngest children do not require separation.

Boys and girls do not just sit in different classrooms. In most cases, they attend entirely different schools:

• Boys' schools are called cheder, Talmud Torah, or yeshiva
• Girls' schools are called Bais Yaakov (Beth Jacob)

In Hasidic communities, the separation extends to teachers as well. Boys will only have male teachers, and girls will only have female teachers. In other Charedi communities, while the school itself is single-sex, you might find male teachers in girls' classrooms and vice versa.

The Sara Schnirer Revolution

Here is something that surprises many people: until about 100 years ago, Jewish girls did not attend school at all. Boys went to cheder and yeshiva, while girls stayed home to help their mothers and learned whatever Torah knowledge their mothers passed down to them.

This changed because of one extraordinary woman: Sara Schnirer.

Sara Schnirer was a seamstress from Krakow, Poland who saw that young Jewish women were leaving the faith because they had no formal Jewish education. The boys spent their days immersed in Torah and Talmud, developing deep connections to their heritage. But the girls? They were educated only in secular subjects or not at all, and they were drifting away.

In 1917, Sara Schnirer opened the first Bais Yaakov school in her apartment with just 25 students. She faced enormous opposition at first. Many rabbis were skeptical. But the Chofetz Chaim, one of the greatest rabbinical authorities of the time, gave his blessing, arguing that by the twentieth century, formal Torah education for women was not just permissible but necessary.

The movement spread like wildfire. Within a decade, there were Bais Yaakov schools across Poland and beyond. Today, Bais Yaakov is the standard educational system for Orthodox Jewish girls worldwide. Sara Schnirer's revolution is one of the most significant developments in Jewish education in the last century.

High School and Beyond

In high school, single-sex education continues across nearly all Orthodox communities, with the exception of some Modern Orthodox schools. There is one notable difference at the high school level: while there are absolutely no female teachers in any ultra-Orthodox boys' high school, there may be male teachers in Bais Yaakov high schools. The exception is ultra-Orthodox Hasidic schools, where there are no opposite-gender teachers at any level.

After high school, the paths diverge further. Hasidic and Yeshivish young men continue to full-time yeshiva study. Young women attend seminaries, often in Israel for a year, before returning home for marriage and careers. Most do not attend secular colleges, though specialized programs have emerged in fields like accounting and education.

In the Modern Orthodox world, young men and women attend universities. Yeshiva University, the flagship institution, has gender-segregated undergraduate classrooms but co-ed graduate programs. It is uniquely designed to serve students who want both rigorous Torah study and a full academic education.

Why It Works

I know single-sex education is debated in the broader world. But in the Orthodox community, it is not a debate at all. It is simply how things are done, and the results speak for themselves.

Boys thrive in an environment where they can focus entirely on their studies without social distractions. Girls develop confidence and leadership in spaces where they are not competing for attention with boys. And both groups develop a deep, focused relationship with Torah learning that shapes the rest of their lives.

As someone who went through this system and now teaches in it, I can tell you: it produces remarkable young people.