MCSJE News & Events -I- November 2025

NEWS

Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship Expands to Two New Cities

MCSJE's Undergraduate Teaching Fellows (UTF) program offers professional learning to undergraduates who are working in supplemental Jewish education. This year, we have launched cohorts in Boston and Providence, alongside continuing our Brandeis cohort. 16 students from Brandeis, Brown, Emerson, and Northeastern are participating in the program.

The students work in collaboration with other fellows, under the mentorship of master educators Robin Kahn, Laura Hyman, and Alison Weikel. They explore their own Jewish journeys, reflect on their teaching, develop new inquiry skills, and gain insight into their students’ learning.

MCSJE Doctoral Fellows Win Association Awards

Mazel tov to Steven Feldman and Malki Poryes on their recent awards. Steven is the winner of the Graduate Student Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and Malki is the winner of the Harold Wechsler Award for Emerging Scholars from the Network for Research in Jewish Education. Malki and Steven are members of the current cohort of Doctoral Fellows.

MCSJE RESEARCH

Now Available: New Writings on the Learning Journeys of Adult Jews

MCSJE is pleased to share a collection of essays, available for free download, from the members of the Adult Jewish Learning Working Group. In Learning from the Stories of Adult Jewish Learners, the authors model how to be curious about, and to learn from, the stories that our learners tell.

Two Research Articles from Ziva Hassenfeld

Professor Ziva Hassenfeld recently released two new articles: on Jewish literacy practices, published in Religion & Education, and on Hebrew instruction, published in Review of Religious Research.

New Research from Jon Levisohn on the Legacy of Seymour Fox

In a newly published book chapter, Professor Jon A. Levisohn analyzes and offers a critique of the thinking of Seymour Fox, z”l, about what philosophy of Jewish education should do for educators and how to pursue it. The chapter is in a new volume published by the Magnes Press at Hebrew University in honor of Jonathan Cohen.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Spotlight on Jewish Education Two Years After October 7

Date: Today, November 4, 2025

Time: 1:30 - 2:45 ET via Zoom

Two years after October 7, that date seems to mark a watershed in Jewish life around the world, including in North America. In this session, we will explore how American Jewish educators and Jewish educational institutions have responded, how the changed environment has affected their work, and how they might need to think differently about the work of Jewish education in the days and years to come.

Panelists include Nina Bruder (Jewish New Teacher Project), Alex Pomson (Rosov Consulting), Matt Reingold (Rosov Consulting), Miriam Heller Stern (BJE: Builders of Jewish Education), with Jon Levisohn (Brandeis University).

Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish Education

How the Conflict Shapes the Israeli Classroom

Professor Ziva Hassenfeld and Dr. Hadar Fisher

Date: Thursday, November 20

Time: 1 - 1:30 ET via Zoom

In this time of continued war and exhaustion, how are teachers in Israel teaching, and what do they prioritize in their classrooms? In a longitudinal study, scholars Ziva Hassenfeld and Hadar Fisher asked these questions of 41 teachers in Israel, beginning just three weeks after October 7 and continuing with a group of 12 for another two years. In this session, they will share insights into these teachers' ethic of care and how they enact in their teaching varied ideas surrounding their diverse understandings of students' well-being.

PAST EVENT

Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish Education

What Rabbinical Students Say They Need From Their Training

Cantor Laura Stein

Spiritual formation has long been considered an important part of theological education for seminary students in Christian contexts, but what about students in Jewish seminaries? In a recent study of Jewish seminarians' perspectives of their formation needs, scholars learned that rabbinical students at a progressive seminary seek training in areas such as mental health, diversity, and social justice; relational spaces for cultivating virtue capacities; and opportunities for meaningful reflection and processing of their growth. In this session, lead researcher Laura Stein will discuss with Professor Hassenfeld what can be learned about the future directions of Jewish clergy students' formation, and what can be done to address their evolving needs.

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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.