Mandel Center News & Events -I- January 2022

NEWS

Undergraduate Fellows Program The MCSJE Undergraduate Fellows program offers professional learning to Brandeis undergraduates who are working in supplemental Jewish education. Working in collaboration with other student fellows, under the mentorship of master educator Robin Kahn, they explore their own Jewish journeys, reflect on their teaching, develop new inquiry skills, and gain insight into their students’ learning. Five fellows (pictured here) have been selected for the 2021-22 cohort. Read an interview with Robin and some of the fellows about the program and its impact.

MCSJE Research Professor Jane Kanarek’s paper, “Coverage and Comprehension: Rabbinical Students and the Study of the Babylonian Talmud” was published in volume 87 of the Journal of Jewish Education. An affiliate scholar of the Center, Rabbi Professor Kanarek will also be a panelist in MCSJE’s upcoming Spotlight event on Daf Yomi. She conducted this research as part of the Center’s Talmud and Rabbinic Formation research project.

The Journal of Jewish Education has published a December special issue featuring five papers from MCSJE’s Online Jewish Education project. The introduction to this special issue discusses the project and its significance. The five papers include:  “Dropping the Mic Online: How Educators End Class Well,” Daniel Olson “Text Discussion in a PreK–1st Grade Virtual Bible Classroom,” Hadassah Stanhill, Natalie Ann Fenwick, Geraldine Marie Alexandrine Bogard, Gavriella Troper-Hochstein & Ziva Hassenfeld “Face to Interface: Instructional Strategies of an Online Talmud Class,” Joshua S. Ladon “Meaningful Zoom Israel Education?: A 2020 Coronavirus Case Study on Emotionally Engaging Israel Learning,” Matt Reingold “Teachers Learn and Learners Teach: Enacting Presence in Online Havruta Text Study” Mindy Gold, Miriam Raider-Roth, & Elie Holzer

MCSJE in the News MCSJE professors’ thought leadership recently featured in the media: A Local (Somewhat Brief) History of Jewish Day Schools by Jonathan Krasner Why Jewish Day School by Ziva R. Hassenfeld

UPCOMING EVENTS

Spotlight on Daf Yomi Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022 Time: 1 - 2:15 p.m. ET via Zoom

Rabbi Professor Jane Kanarek (Hebrew College), Rabbi Avi Killip (Hadar), Professor Barry Wimpfheimer (Northwestern), Sara Wolkenfeld (Sefaria), moderated by Professor Jon Levisohn (Brandeis University).   Daf Yomi is the practice of studying one page of Talmud a day on a seven-and-a-half-year cycle. For decades following its invention in 1923, Daf Yomi was practiced by experienced, mostly haredi Talmud scholars, and criticized by many as well. Over time, the practice grew in popularity in that community. But in the 21st century, the practice has expanded dramatically, both in terms of the background of the participants and in terms of the very concept of what it means to “do the daf.”   In this session, four highly experienced educators will help us think about what Daf Yomi means, now, as a Jewish cultural or spiritual practice. What does it mean as a unifying practice (everyone who participates is "on the daf") that actually comprises many distinct and diverse practices? What does Daf Yomi represent, as a mode of engagement with the Jewish tradition that is both continuous and discontinuous with traditional modes of study? How does it bring people together in shared purpose? How does it meet individual needs or advance individual goals?

Learn more and register

PAST EVENTS

Learning about Learning A Conversation with Professor Miriam Heller Stern How the Study of Jewish History Informs the Arts Miriam Heller Stern has explored how a theatre company drew upon Jewish history to wrestle artistically with universal human questions. At this event, Professor Heller Stern shared more about how the model of a creative company can be a powerful way to conceive of adult Jewish learning. Watch the video from this event.

Spotlight on Adult Jewish Learning Adult Jewish learning is flourishing in synagogues, JCCs, board tables, leadership cohorts, service cohorts, and of course, online. This virtual session featured a group of experienced educators discussing what they’ve learned from their studies of adult Jewish learning opportunities—who the learners are, why they participate, what happens, and how they grow or develop through the experience. Watch the video. This Spotlight included the following participants: Sarra Alpert (Avodah), Rabba Yaffa Epstein (Wexner Foundation), Dr. Jane Shapiro (Orot: Center for Jewish Learning), Dr. Diane Tickton Schuster (Mandel Center) and Professor Jon Levisohn (moderator)

Stay Connected with the Mandel Center   Did you know the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education is now on Facebook and LinkedIn? Stay connected with us and hear about our upcoming events and innovative research by connecting with our pages. Received this newsletter from a friend? Sign up here. The Mandel Center offers a robust schedule of events to convene scholars, practitioners, and policy makers to advance thinking, generate new questions and, in some cases, generate new work for future publication. See our full list of recent conferences and events, or watch videos of our past events.

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