Mandel Center News & Events -I- January 2023

Mandel Center Working Groups

How can we bring together smart and committed scholars and practitioners to focus on important but under-developed areas of topics in Jewish education? This year, the Mandel Center has created a new Working Groups Program, seeding small cohorts of scholars from diverse backgrounds who come together over the course of 1-2 years to explore topics and produce scholarship that builds our understanding of that topic. We have launched with two pilot working groups, one that focuses on Jewish spirituality led by Joe Reimer and one on Hebrew language and culture led by Vardit Ringvald. Read more about the working groups here.

MCSJE is committed to sharing its research findings broadly with other scholars and practitioners in an effort to strengthen the field of Jewish education scholarship. To that end, please find links to past MCSJE research:

Bridging Scholarship and Pedagogy in Jewish Studies

This project was a multi-year research initiative grounded in the following three convictions:

1. Teachers of Jewish studies at all levels and settings share common questions and may productively engage in collaborative inquiries, even if they arrive at different answers.
2. Jewish education ought not to be isolated from the academic pursuit of Jewish studies scholarship.
3. Meaningful research into the practice of pedagogy in Jewish studies can and should be conducted by teachers at all levels and settings, both within and outside of academia. The sub-fields of Jewish studies will benefit from the development of a "scholarship of teaching," much as has occurred in the fields of mathematics, history, and elsewhere.

The Bridging Initiative convened research seminars and conferences, generated almost 30 working papers, and produced an edited volume, Turn It and Turn It Again: Studies in the Teaching and Learning of Classical Jewish Texts, edited by Jon A. Levisohn and Susan P. Fendrick and published by Academic Studies Press in 2013. That volume is available for free via open access.

Wondering where to start? We recommend the following chapters:

Jon A. Levisohn, "Introducing the Bible: The Comparative Orientation in Practice," in which Levisohn compares how one professor of Bible teaches in a university classroom and an adult education setting.

Sarra Lev, “Teaching Rabbinics as an Ethical Endeavour and Teaching Ethics as a Rabbinic Endeavour,” which takes the reader inside Lev’s classroom at RRC as she helps her students struggle with the ethically challenging material.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Learning About Learning

A Conversation with Dr. Anna Hartman:

Children's Theories About Judaism

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 8

Time: 1 - 1:30 p.m. ET via Zoom

Children’s ideas about the world are rich, nuanced, sometimes amusing and surprising, and for Anna Hartman, always fascinating. In this session, she will share her doctoral research in the field of early childhood Jewish education, in which she explores the theories about Judaism that are held by young children, and provides a window into their process of exploring and participating in Jewish life.

Spotlight on Mahloket

Date: Tuesday, February 28

Time: 1 - 2:15 p.m. ET via Zoom

Mahloket—that is, dispute or principled debate—has long been celebrated as a Jewish ideal. This is not only within Jewish texts (where sages debate laws, interpretations and principles) but also within the practice of engagement with those texts as well (where, for example, students might engage in debate about laws, interpretations or about principles). What does Mahloket look like at its best? How does Mahloket function as a kind of signature pedagogy (or at least a signature practice) within Jewish education? What does it mean to “educate for Mahloket,” and what are the benefits and challenges of doing so? In what ways is Mahloket a model for substantive engagement across difference?

Aaron Dorfman (A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy), Robbie Gringas (educator, performer and writer/For the Sake of Argument), Orit Kent (Pedagogy of Partnership), Abi Dauber Sterne (For the Sake of Argument), and Mike Uram (Jewish Federations of North America), moderated by Jon Levisohn.

PAST EVENTS

Learning About Learning

A Conversation with Professor Ziva Hassenfeld:

Why Jewish Day Schools Should Teach Students to Read Torah

Jewish day schools expend significant time and energy in teaching Torah. But what are they trying to accomplish in this work? In this session, Ziva Hassenfeld discusses her recently published research on students’ learning to read Torah, in order to argue that Jewish day schools can induct students into a way of reading texts that will serve them in all endeavors, from their academic studies to text messaging with friends. Watch the video or listen to the podcast on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, or Google.

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.

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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. See our full list of recent conferences and events, watch videos of our past events,or listen to our podcasts on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, or Google.