MCSJE News & Events -I- November 2024

NEWS

Jon A. Levisohn to Serve as a Fellow of the American Jewish Civics Seminar

Jon A. Levisohn, director of MCSJE, has been invited to participate in a new project, the American Jewish Civics Seminar, which will bring together thought leaders over the course of the 2024-25 year to develop a framework for American Jewish civics education. The project is a joint venture of A More Perfect Union and the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America.

MCSJE Senior Fellows Publish Essays

MCSJE is pleased to share the culminating thought pieces from two members of the inaugural Senior Fellows cohort. Jewish Creativity: An Essential Aspiration for Jewish Education, by Miriam Heller Stern, and Using Both/And Thinking to Lead Transformative and Enduring Learning in Jewish Communal Life, by Tali Zelkowicz, are now available to read and share.

Working Group Members Analyze Data about Adult Jewish Learners

In September, members of the MCSJE Working Group on Adult Jewish Learning gathered to analyze transcripts of extensive interviews with adult Jewish learners from around the country. During the coming year, these leading practitioners will develop reflective essays in which they draw upon the stories that these learners shared.

MCSJE IN THE NEWS

Two New Reviews of Books in the Mandel-Brandeis Series in Jewish Education

In her review of The Second Conversation: Interpretive Authority in the Bible Classroom, Kate E. Soules calls Ziva Hassenfeld's book "a skillful blend of theoretical discussions, personal reflections, and classroom accounts." And in her review of Making Shabbat: Celebrating and Learning at American Jewish Summer Camps, Adina L. Bankier-Karp calls Joe Reimer's book "highly readable for both lay and scholarly audiences."

MCSJE RESEARCH

A Continued Study on Teaching During a Time of Crisis

MCSJE faculty member Ziva Hassenfeld shares an update on her study of Israeli teachers, which she launched three weeks after October 7th, 2023, and which continues this fall.

UPCOMING EVENT

MCSJE events are free and open to the public. Registration is required.

Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish Education

Jewish Creativity: An Essential Aspiration for Jewish Education

Professor Miriam Heller Stern

Date: Thursday, November 7

Time: 1 - 1:30 ET via Zoom

Habits of creative thinking have sustained the Jewish people through centuries of crisis and opportunity. How might the enterprise of Jewish education reclaim and teach creativity? Weaving together a wide range of theory and research, including affective neuroscience, Jewish philosophy and education, and studies of creativity and arts education, Miriam Heller Stern will discuss a framework for fostering Jewish creativity that can be pursued across the Jewish educational ecosystem.

PAST EVENT

Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish Education

How Educators Can Overcome Barriers to Engaging with the Conflict

Dr. Keren Fraiman

There is a growing consensus that successful and holistic Israel education demands a sophisticated and nuanced engagement with critical questions within Israel, and in particular, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This feels especially pressing in a post October 7th world. Despite this critical need, many educators continue to express reticence about conflict education. In this session, Keren Fraiman explored why educators are hesitant to engage in conflict education, highlighting the greatest sources of challenge and a typology of barriers to entry. Importantly, she shared what we can do to support our educators, educational systems, and the community more broadly.

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.