Source: eJewish Philanthropy
In a move that will dramatically expand the number of Jews in Israel, the US and around the globe connecting one-to-one online through substantive Jewish content, Project Zug an online learning start-up – is moving in-house to Mechon Hadar. The initiative will now be called: “Project Zug: Connecting through Global Jewish Learning, powered by Mechon Hadar.”
Founded two years ago by American rabbinical student – Benjamin Ross – and an Israeli educator – Hagit Bartuv, Project Zug has achieved considerable start-up success, pairing more than 200 people of diverse backgrounds for weekly online learning sessions.
Mechon Hadar offers Project Zug a home in an established and well respected Jewish learning institution, access to visionary leadership, and a base of alumni and organizational partnerships which hold out the promise of increasing Project Zug’s reach from hundreds to thousands of participants each year.
Project Zug’s online 10-12 week educational course allows a pair of learners – typically one in Israel and one in America – to learn a topic in paired study. Each session lasts roughly 45 minutes, although participants often expand the time, moving beyond the course’s guiding questions. Courses range from traditional topics – such as rabbinic literature and philosophy – to more contemporary subjects, such as cinema and Israeli pop music. Jews of all backgrounds with all levels of learning from all over the globe participate in Project Zug. To date Jews from more than 10 countries have used Project Zug as a platform to learn and connect with other Jews.
The courses are taught by leading faculty in Israel and America and curated by the leaders at Midreshet, an Israel-based organization that promotes the study of “Jewish wisdom” in contemporary contexts.
In the next few years, Project Zug aims to grow its course library, as well as invest in technology to synthesize its platform of online learning. Ultimately, with the support of Mechon Hadar, Project Zug aims to engage thousands of Jews across the world in learning and one-to-one relationships.
For more information, including registration for classes being offered by Project Zug this Fall, click here.