Mandel Center News & Events -I- November 2022

Doctoral Fellows Program

Announcing Third Cohort

MCSJE is pleased to welcome Andrew Ergas, Julie Golding, rafa kern and Sarah Ossey as the third cohort of the Doctoral Fellows Program.

MCSJE’s Doctoral Fellows Program provides intellectual and professional support to a small group of current doctoral students in North American and Israel-based universities whose research is, in one form or another, related to Jewish education. The current cohort is led by Dr. Ilana Horwitz, Assistant Professor and Fields-Rayant Chair of Contemporary Jewish Life at Tulane University. To learn more about the fellows and the program visit the MCSJE website.

Launch of MCSJE Podcast

MCSJE is thrilled to announce the launch of its brand-new podcast. People will now be able to listen to past events and conferences while they are on the go! The podcast is available on Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

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 selected current and past MCSJE research:

Portraits of Adult Jewish Learning Project

What do we mean by “adult Jewish learning?” Where is contemporary adult Jewish learning taking place? And what kinds of learning matter to adult Jewish learners in the twenty-first century? The Fellows of the Portraits of Adult Jewish Learning (PAJL) project tackled these questions through exploration of various learners’ experiences in diverse circumstances. Under the leadership of Diane Tickton Schuster, the Fellows used the social science methodology of portraiture to describe the wide range of participants, settings, subject matter, and ways of meaning making that characterize adult Jewish learning today. Their work, published in the book Portraits of Adult Jewish Learning: Making Meaning at Many Tables, is designed to help educational leaders, clergy, policymakers, philanthropists, teachers, and adult learners to think “outside the frame” about program planning, curricula, pedagogies, and venues that encourage meaningful adult learning.

Jonathan Krasner, "American Jewry at Risk: A Time to Act and the Prioritization of Jewish Education" Contemporary Jewry 36.1 (2016)

In November 1990, the Commission on Jewish Education in North America released a study entitled “A Time to Act” that was designed to revitalize the American Jewish education system. The study, which brought together a "who's who" of American Jewish philanthropists, communal leaders, and educators, also encouraged a climate of donor collaboration that was crucial to the launching of programs and institutions that would transform American Jewish education over the next few decades, including Birthright Israel, the Foundation for Jewish Camp, and the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education. This article contextualizes the Commission on Jewish Education and "A Time to Act" in the wider American and Jewish educational landscapes. It also traces the development of the Commission and the crystallization of its recommendations, with a special emphasis on its prime movers, philanthropist Morton Mandel and educator Seymour Fox. Finally, it discusses the impact of "A Time to Act" on the field of American Jewish education.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Learning About Learning

A Conversation with Professor Judah Cohen:

How Debbie Friedman (and CAJE) Gave Jewish Education a New Soundtrack

Date: Thursday, Nov. 17

Time: 2 - 2:30 p.m. ET via Zoom

In this session, Judah Cohen will discuss his recent article on the crucial role that Debbie Friedman played in making song leading a core part of the Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education (CAJE). He will also address the changes in Jewish education that resulted from this alliance, and why it still matters.

Learning About Learning

A Conversation with Professor Ziva Hassenfeld

Why Jewish Day Schools Should Teach Students to Read Torah

Date: Wednesday, December 7

Time: 1 - 1:30 p.m. ET via Zoom

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 will discuss 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.

PAST EVENTS

Learning About Learning

A Conversation with Professor Meredith Katz:

How Do Jewish Day School Kids Think About the Holocaust?

Holocaust education is a staple of Jewish day school education. What messages do day school students take from this education? In this session, Meredith Katz discussed her recently published study, which explored how a group of day school kids navigated questions of particularism and universalism, and how Holocaust education helped them to see themselves as civic actors in the broader community.

Portraits of Adult Jewish Learning Book Launch: A Conversation with Diane Tickton Schuster

Portraits of Adult Jewish Learning: Making Meaning at Many Tables brings together the work of a dozen Jewish education scholars and practitioners who present colorful narratives about a highly diverse range of adult Jewish learners. In this conversation, book editor Diane Tickton Schuster and moderator Miriam Heller Stern (Hebrew Union College) discussed the book and its impact with a panel of esteemed experts – Shira D. Epstein (Jewish Theological Seminary), Rabbi Josh Feigelson (Institute for Jewish Spirituality), and Miriam Raider-Roth (Mandel Teacher Educator Institute).