Shows
Prizmah Podcasts: Podcasts by Prizmah Center for Jewish Day SchoolsResearch Into Practice in Israel Education: How Students Understand Politics in and about IsraelResearch into Practice in Israel Education Series
Learners undergo a series of developmental stages as they move through childhood and early adolescence, in their attempt to make sense of political systems and political issues in Israel and about Israel (in global politics). In this recorded webinar, gain insight into facilitating developmentally sensitive conversations about tricky political questions with day school students at the elementary and middle school levels with special guest Sivan Zakai and host Matt Reingold.
2025-11-2051 min
What Gives? The Jewish Philanthropy PodcastDr. Keren Fraiman and Dr. Sivan Zakai - The Future of Israel EducationEpisode 72 of What Gives?—the Jewish Philanthropy Podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, Andrés speaks with Dr. Keren Fraiman, Dean and Chief Academic Officer of Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, and Dr. Sivan Zakai, Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and director of the Children’s Learning About Israel Project. Both are leading researchers in Jewish education whose work examines how young people form their understanding of Israel, identity, and Jewish life. And both are recent recipients of the Ilia Salit...
2025-10-1653 min
Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 37: Bringing the Big World into the Little ClassroomWhat issues in the contemporary world matter most to Jewish children, and how do children make sense of these issues? How do educators make sense of children’s ideas and their implications for the work of Jewish education? American Jewish 4th and 5th graders have concerns about many important world issues—climate change, homelessness, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, political polarization, and so much more—and their teachers face the complexities of addressing political issues, shifting cultural norms, and more. In this session, scholars Lauren Applebaum and Sivan Zakai discuss their findings from a coll...
2025-10-0630 minLearning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 30: Spotlight on Jewish Education after October 7The attack on October 7th, the ensuing war, and the changed environment in the US have all led to questions about how American Jewish educational institutions have responded, and how they should. What do we know about the impact of the last year on schools, synagogues, camps, Israel trips, and other initiatives? How have educators been affected? How have children? What new trends are emerging? In this session, a group of scholars and educational leaders offer ideas for educators and educational institutions one year into this new environment.Panelists include Jonathan Krasner (Brandeis University), Matt Reingold (community...
2024-11-181h 05Prizmah Podcasts: Podcasts by Prizmah Center for Jewish Day SchoolsResearch Encounter: Teaching IsraelThis podcast, based on the volume Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field, edited by Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, focuses on Israel teachers in the classroom. Who teaches our students about Israel, and in what contexts? How do Israel educators think about their role--as an "explorer" or "exemplar"? What happens when a "micromoment" arises, when a student struggles to understand or is deeply troubled by something they've learned? And how are Israel classrooms adapting to the reality of our post-October 7 world? What has changed, and what hasn't, in this work? (Recorded on 9/27)
Special guests
2024-10-0155 min
New Books in Middle Eastern StudiesSivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, "Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field" (Brandeis UP, 2023)Today I talked to Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold's their book Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field (Brandeis UP, 2023).In this discussion we discuss best teaching practices for Israel Incorporating Israel educators from inner-city nontraditional college classrooms, the US marine core university, Jewish day school high schools and pre-schools, and more. The approach almost across the board is learner centered where exploration and questioning are encouraged. Matt discusses how this volume provides opportunities for teachers to learn not only from settings that are similar to their own but also from settings that differ - a next...
2024-09-1541 min
New Books in Jewish StudiesSivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, "Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field" (Brandeis UP, 2023)Today I talked to Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold's their book Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field (Brandeis UP, 2023).In this discussion we discuss best teaching practices for Israel Incorporating Israel educators from inner-city nontraditional college classrooms, the US marine core university, Jewish day school high schools and pre-schools, and more. The approach almost across the board is learner centered where exploration and questioning are encouraged. Matt discusses how this volume provides opportunities for teachers to learn not only from settings that are similar to their own but also from settings that differ - a next...
2024-09-1541 min
New Books in Israel StudiesSivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, "Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field" (Brandeis UP, 2023)Today I talked to Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold's their book Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field (Brandeis UP, 2023).In this discussion we discuss best teaching practices for Israel Incorporating Israel educators from inner-city nontraditional college classrooms, the US marine core university, Jewish day school high schools and pre-schools, and more. The approach almost across the board is learner centered where exploration and questioning are encouraged. Matt discusses how this volume provides opportunities for teachers to learn not only from settings that are similar to their own but also from settings that differ - a next...
2024-09-1539 min
New Books in Higher EducationSivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, "Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field" (Brandeis UP, 2023)Today I talked to Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold's their book Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field (Brandeis UP, 2023).In this discussion we discuss best teaching practices for Israel Incorporating Israel educators from inner-city nontraditional college classrooms, the US marine core university, Jewish day school high schools and pre-schools, and more. The approach almost across the board is learner centered where exploration and questioning are encouraged. Matt discusses how this volume provides opportunities for teachers to learn not only from settings that are similar to their own but also from settings that differ - a next...
2024-09-1539 min
New Books in EducationSivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, "Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field" (Brandeis UP, 2023)Today I talked to Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold's their book Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field (Brandeis UP, 2023).In this discussion we discuss best teaching practices for Israel Incorporating Israel educators from inner-city nontraditional college classrooms, the US marine core university, Jewish day school high schools and pre-schools, and more. The approach almost across the board is learner centered where exploration and questioning are encouraged. Matt discusses how this volume provides opportunities for teachers to learn not only from settings that are similar to their own but also from settings that differ - a next...
2024-09-1541 minLearning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 27: Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field | Sivan Zakai and Matt ReingoldHow do educators from differing pedagogical orientations learn, undertake, and ultimately improve the work of teaching Israel? In this conversation, Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field editors Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold discuss the complex issues facing those who teach about Israel, along with respondents Lisa Grant (Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion) and Alex Pomson (Rosov Consulting), and moderator Sharon Feiman-Nemser (Brandeis University). Sivan Zakai is Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles. She directs the Children’s Learning About Israel Project and codirects Pr...
2024-06-171h 04
The College Commons PodcastDr. Sivan Zakai: Taking Children Seriously on IsraelDr. Sivan Zakai uncovers the world of children’s opinions and insights about Israel, in peace and in crisis.
Sivan Zakai, Ph.D., is the Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles. A thought leader in Jewish and Israel education, Dr. Zakai is the director of the Children’s Learning About Israel Project and co-director of Project ORLIE: Research and Leadership in Israel Education and the Learning and Teaching about What Matters Project. She also serves as a senior editor of the Journal of Jewish Education and as a member of the faculty at the Mand...
2024-02-2722 min
Adapting: The Future of Jewish EducationHow to Talk to Children About Israel TodayDuring this time of war, it's imperative that educators and parents remain a calm presence for children. In a webinar held by The Jewish Education Project, Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath holds a conversation with Israel educator and mother Dr. Sivan Zakai on the importance and best practices on talking to children about Israel and the current situation.Watch the webinar here and visit our Israel in Crisis Resource Hub.This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben.Th...
2023-10-2059 min
Perfect Jewish ParentsIsrael at War —Being the Jews We Want to BeThe ongoing war with Hamas has flooded our communities with grief, sorrow, and anger. In a series of special episodes, Perfect Jewish Parents hosts Masua Sagiv and Joshua Ladon explore the core questions and values these difficult moments illuminate so that parents, caregivers, and educators can navigate complex conversations with young people and meet this important moment.This is Perfect Jewish Parents: Israel at War.In this first episode recorded on October 16, Joshua and Masua respond to the evil of Hamas's attack by asking, "What are the positive values we want to bring to t...
2023-10-1930 min
Perfect Jewish ParentsHow Do We Talk About Israel?Israel can be a source of great joy but also the subject of tough conversations that either inflame passions or are so daunting that we avoid them altogether. Scholar, teacher educator, and educational consultant Sivan Zakai, the Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, joins hosts Masua Sagiv and Joshua Ladon to explore how and what we can talk about when speaking with our children about Israel.
2023-08-1733 min
Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 10: My Second-Favorite Country Book Discussion | Professor Sivan ZakaiIsrael has long occupied a prominent place in the lives and imaginations of American Jews, serving as both a symbolic touchstone and a source of intercommunal conflict. Sivan Zakai's book, My Second-Favorite Country: How American Jewish Children Think About Israel, is based on the major findings from her research project with MCSJE on Children's Learning About Israel. This project is the first longitudinal study of how American Jewish children come to think and feel about Israel, tracking their evolving conceptions from kindergarten to fifth grade.In this event to mark the publication of the book, Zakai and...
2022-11-101h 06Prizmah Podcasts: Podcasts by Prizmah Center for Jewish Day SchoolsResearch Encounter: Embracing the Joys and the ”Muckiness” of Israel EducationDebby Artz-Mor, director of Jewish learning at the Brandeis School in San Francisco, and Rabbi David Stein, Judaics studies principal at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles, join Sivan Zakai to discuss her new longitudinal study of Israel education , My Second Favorite Country. They consider understandings of "age-appropriate" learning that can impede educational engagement and exploration, discuss the relationship between school mission and student influences, and consider pedagogy that opens up student curiosity and discovery.
Presenters
Debby Arzt-Mor is the director of Jewish learning at The Brandeis School of San Francisco. Raised in Jerusalem, Debby has been li...
2022-08-291h 04
Impolite Company"Call it what it is--it's the erasure of Jews."In this episode, we talk about the massacre of eleven Jews during Shabbat services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
We discuss the right-wing rhetoric--starting with the president--that currently encourages intolerance, racism, anti-Semitism. We talk about how to discuss anti-Semitism with children without also scaring them unnecessarily. And we talk about why the argument that "this was about anti-religiosity" isn't just foolish but also immoral in that it seeks to erase Jews from the narrative.
If you want to support the show financially--for as little as $1 per month--please visit our Patreon Page to...
2018-11-0155 min
The College Commons PodcastCharlottesville: HUC has SOMETHING to SAYHere are the voices of HUC-JIR scholars and students, reflecting on Charlottesville - giving context to our shared experience.
Included are:
Rabbi Rachel Adler, Ph.D.
Rabbi Adam Allenberg
Meir Bargeron
Dr. Sharon Gillerman
Rabbi Richard Levy
Rabbi Michael Marmur. Ph.D.
Rabbi Aaron Panken, Ph.D.
Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Ph.D.
Sheryl Stahl
Rabbi Dvora Weisberg, Ph.D.
Dr. Yaffa Weisman
Henry Wudl
Dr. Sivan Zakai
2017-08-2133 min