Search results for: Lookstein Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora – Bar Ilan University

The breathtaking pace of change brought on by the pandemic has generated extraordinary excitement and possibilities as well as a fair amount of anxiety—is the change too fast, without considering the positives of what was before? This issue of the journal looks at what we have learned from the crisis as we look forward.

Jewish text educators are tasked with the ongoing challenge of balancing skill development and content mastery on the one hand and creating meaningful Jewish learning experiences on the other. This delicate balance of seemingly opposing goals requires skill, proper planning, and support. In this series, we will explore a student-centered approach to Tanakh and Talmud/Rabbinics study where the skills and content learned will aid students in their personal construction of meaning. The Bootcamp, between June 24 – July 11, 2021, will explore various strategies for achieving our meaning-making goals including historical, literary, analytical, and inquiry-based approaches.

The topic for this journal, making Jewish learning meaningful, touched raw nerves in so many people from an extraordinary range of the community. The response to the Call for Papers included submissions from community schools to Orthodox schools, formal and informal educators, academics, leaders in central agencies for Jewish education, classroom teachers, researchers, communal Rabbis, and school heads. The urgency of the topic demanded that we publish the double issue before you.

Looking for resources to help teach about Pesach virtually? The Lookstein Center’s newly updated Pesach resources page include Haggadot, Seder tips, lesson plans, videos to use in any educational setting.