Although modern Hebrew schools and college courses now provide many opportunities to learn Hebrew, the private Hebrew tutor, the melamed , continues a 3,000-year tradition of bringing religious and language teaching into Jewish homes. Sometimes kids cannot commute to their synagogue after school, they don't belong to a shul or they need extra help.
Tutors are flexible enough to work around a busy person's schedule.
Many tutors interviewed were unwilling to discuss all aspects of their job. And none would disclose their fees, for fear that colleagues might underbid them. But they struck some common themes in describing the work they do. Sometimes parents participate more actively in private lessons than in Hebrew schools. A tutor's visits are many families' sole contact with Jewish culture.