MCSJE News & Events -I- February 2026

NEWS

Mandel Center Faculty Launch Boston-Area Initiatives

Professors Ziva Hassenfeld, Jonathan Krasner, and Jon Levisohn are bringing their breadth and depth of knowledge in Jewish education to Boston-area teachers and communal leaders with three new projects: on teaching Jewish texts, the American Jewish experience, and guiding principles in Jewish education. These projects have been designed to strengthen teaching and learning in Jewish educational settings, including congregations, day schools, and other organizations that serve the Jewish population in the greater Boston area.

Announcing a New Book on the Jewish Cultural Arts

Professors Laura Yares and Sharon Avni, co-leaders of the Mandel Center's Jewish Learning Through the Cultural Arts project, have recently completed their study of how Jews and non-Jews learn about Judaism through participation in cultural, digital, and leisurely spaces. The resulting volume, Judaism Mediated: Learning About Jewishness Through the Cultural Arts, is now available to pre-order from NYU Press.

MCSJE RESEARCH

Research on the Current Reading Crisis

Mandel Center Professor Ziva Hassenfeld has published two new articles. She and Lucia Rachel Shpuntoff make the case in The MRA Beacon that reading is an "irreplaceable human practice vital to the development of reflective, imaginative, and morally attuned selves." And she and Kaylin Gangi reflect on the possibility of "a one-size-fits-all solution to the complexity of teaching reading," in Language Arts. Both articles are a part of Ziva's Reading Religiously project, which seeks to understand the teaching and learning of texts in educational contexts that embody a religious attitude where written text is primary.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish Education

Why Teaching Jewish Texts is not Enough

Professor Jon Levisohn

Date: Thursday, February 26

Time: 1 - 1:30 ET via Zoom

The heart of Jewish education, it seems, is the study of the Jewish textual tradition, or what insiders call “learning Torah.” There are good reasons to think about Jewish education that way. But there are also some reasons to question that assumption, based on the history of Jewish textuality and the history of Jewish culture. In this session, Jon A. Levisohn will discuss a recent book chapter where he argues that we need to think more broadly about how and why Jewish education helps young people engage with a wide range of Jewish cultural practices.

Spotlight on Israel Education Research

Date: Monday, March 2

Time: 1 - 2:15 ET via Zoom

What, if anything, can be considered “best practice” in Israel education? What are the challenges of learning about Israel in every stage of life? In this session, we will explore what a team of scholars learned about research and practice in Israel education through a process of carefully sifting through the existing literature in the field. Through conversation, these experts will share what their experience writing a recent article in the Journal of Jewish Education taught them about building a knowledge base about Israel education, and about Jewish education more broadly.

Panelists include Alex Pomson (Rosov Consulting), Matt Reingold (Rosov Consulting), and Sivan Zakai (HUC-JIR), with Jonathan Krasner (Brandeis University).

Co-sponsored by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University and the Journal of Jewish Education.

PAST EVENT

Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish Education

Jewish Educators' Responses to "You Never Told Me"

Professor Benji Davis

In this session, we explored insights into how Israel educators from Jewish high schools across the denominational spectrum approach teaching modern Israel in response to the "you never told me" phenomenon: graduates expressing disillusionment that criticisms of Israel were not covered in their high school education. Benji Davis discussed his recent study and shared how educators intentionally incorporate both Zionist and Palestinian perspectives to deepen students' Jewish identification with Israel and the Jewish people, while preparing them to engage in conversations about Israel on campus.

Stay Connected with the Mandel Center

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education is on Facebook and LinkedIn. Stay connected with us and hear about our upcoming events and innovative research by connecting with our pages.

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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. Watch our videos on our YouTube channel or listen to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon, or Apple.