Eli, I can’t talk for Chabad and their policies, but I think you are missing the point. It’s not about knowing Hebrew- it’s about learning Torah. You can’t separate the Mitzvos from Torah, and Torah cannot be learned in translation- translations are good for a start, and as an aid, but are not a replacement for learning Torah as it was given in Loshon Hakodesh. Each morning we say in davening “eleh devarim” where we discuss various mitzvos and their rewards, and the conclusion is “talmud torah k’neged kulam”, learning Torah is equivalent to all of them. I’m wondering why you are so angry at the chidon for discouraging your son from learning, but not at his school for not giving him the proper tools to do so.
By the way, it’s ok for a 12 year old to not want to learn extra in his free time. But he should be developing the skill set so he can do so when he wants to as he matures.
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