Shows
Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 33: Using Both/And Thinking to Repair a Rift in Jewish Education | Dr. Tali ZelkowiczThe field of Jewish education has now been split into two sub-fields, referred to as “formal” or “informal” (or “experiential”) education. But this division is artificial and proving profoundly limiting, distorting, and even harmful. What might be the ultimate potential of the field were we able to employ a balanced and integrated use of the full range of educational competencies, across all settings? In this session, Tali Zelkowicz shares recent work, in which she applies both/and thinking to surface a more expansive and integrative vision of Jewish learning that can empower and endure.Originally recorded: 2/27/25At the Man...2025-03-1327 minLearning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 31: Jewish Creativity: An Essential Aspiration for Jewish Education | Professor Miriam Heller SternHabits of creative thinking have sustained the Jewish people through centuries of crisis and opportunity. How might the enterprise of Jewish education reclaim and teach creativity? Weaving together a wide range of theory and research, including affective neuroscience, Jewish philosophy and education, and studies of creativity and arts education, Miriam Heller Stern discusses a framework for fostering Jewish creativity that can be pursued across the Jewish educational ecosystem.Originally recorded: 11/7/24At the Mandel Center, we are committed to advancing the field of Jewish educational scholarship, especially scholarship on teaching and learning, in order to make...2024-11-2630 minLearning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 21: Navigating Ideological Differences in Pluralistic Jewish Schools | Dr. Esther FriedmanHow and why does the ability to navigate ideological differences within classrooms matter to Jewish education — and beyond? In this session, Esther Friedman discusses her recent study on the lived experiences of Orthodox teachers who teach Bible in pluralistic community schools and the institutional-level challenges they face.Originally recorded: 12/7/23At the Mandel Center, we are committed to advancing the field of Jewish educational scholarship, especially scholarship on teaching and learning, in order to make a deep and lasting difference on the lives of learners and the vibrancy of the Jewish community. That’s our mission. 2023-12-1332 minLearning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 20: Spotlight on Jewish Learning: Past, Present and FutureWhat have we learned about Jewish learning in the past, where are we today, and what do we still need to learn for the future? Join MCSJE for this special Spotlight Session in honor of Brandeis University’s 75th anniversary, at which Brandeis scholars of Jewish education share some of the most important developments in the field of Jewish education and why they matter for the flourishing of individual students and the vibrancy of the Jewish community.Panelists: Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Ziva Hassenfeld, Jonathan Krasner, Jon Levisohn, and Joe ReimerOriginally recorded: 11/30/23At the Ma...2023-12-121h 04
The DybbukastStudying Sacred TextsIn the concluding episode of our five-episode series in partnership with the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University and of our third season, we investigate the ways in which students respond to Jewish sacred texts. Throughout the episode, we present readings from the Torah and accompanying responses from students.Dr. Ziva Hassenfeld, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Assistant Professor of Jewish Education, discusses her work in studying how children develop interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, sharing about both the tensions and the opportunities that exist within learning environments.
2023-06-0928 min
Pardes from JerusalemKi Tisa 5783: Accepting FailureAre we too judgmental towards Ahron? Join Rabbi Brent Spodek and Professor Ziva Hassenfeld in an exploration of the weekly parsha as they examine the tragic life of Moses's brother Ahron.
Credits: Rabbi Brent Spodek and Professor Ziva Hassenfeld - Pardes North America Faculty2023-03-0529 minPardes from JerusalemYitro 5783: Getting to the BeyondIn Yitro, we see Moses learn that it takes more to be a public religious leader than simply being a person of faith. How does Moses learn to be a person who has experienced faith on a personal level bring it out and share it with others? Join Brent and Ziva as they explore the deeper values and ideas of this week's Torah portion.
Credits: Rabbi Brent Spodek and Professor Ziva R. Hassenfeld - Pardes North America Faculty2023-02-0536 minPardes from JerusalemShemot 5783: The Child MiriamJoin Rabbi Brent Spodek and Professor Ziva Hassenfeld as they discuss the first parsha of Shemot and explore the topic of Miriam the Prophetess as a young girl.
Credits: Professor Ziva R. Hassenfeld and Rabbi Brent Spodek2023-01-1219 minLearning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 13: Why Jewish Day Schools Should Teach Students to Read Torah | Professor Ziva HassenfeldJewish 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 discusses her soon-to-be 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.Originally recorded: 12/7/22At the Mandel Center, we are committed to advancing the field of Jewish educational scholarship, especially scholarship on teaching and learning, in order to...2023-01-1127 min
Pardes from JerusalemHanukah 5783: Rediscovering the Minimalism of HanukahDuring a holiday where there is both darkness and light, where we retreat indoors and shine brightly from the windowsill, go on a journey with Pardes North America to find meaning in the discord within our tradition.
Night 2 - Rediscovering the Minimalism of Hanukah
Featuring Professor Ziva R. Hassenfeld
Learning how to reclaim the simplicity of the mitzvah of lighting the Hanukkah candles.
Music Credits: Klezmer by Crowander is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.2022-12-1904 minPardes from JerusalemVayeshev 5783: Temptation and DesireIn this week's parsha, we learn the story of Yosef and Potiphar's wife, and the events leading up to Yoseph's imprisonment. Just what happened between Yosef and Potiphar's wife? Did Yosef desire her, and if so, did he actually give in to that temptation?
Credits: Rabbi Brent Spodek and Professor Ziva Hassenfeld - Pardes North America Faculty
2022-12-1320 minPardes from JerusalemParashat Vayera 5783: Examining Our Own NarrativesAre we blinded by our reading of the text? When we read about characters that are often portrayed negatively, such as Ishmael, are we truly giving them a chance? And what about our heroes? Are we allowing figures, such as Abraham, to be fully complex figures, both positive and negative?
Credits: Rabbi Brent Spodek and Professor Ziva Hassenfeld – Pardes North America Faculty2022-11-0654 minPardes from JerusalemYom Kippur 5783: Everything is ContingentHow do we approach the complicated dynamic in the High Holiday liturgy? What is the dynamic between Rosh Hashana's haftarah reading of the Binding of Isaac and Yom Kippur's reading of the Book of Jonah?
You can also enjoy reading an article written by Rabbi Brent Spodek on the topics discussed in this podcast here.
Credits: Rabbi Brent Spodek and Professor Ziva R. Hassenfeld - Pardes North America Faculty
2022-09-3034 min
Prizmah Podcasts: Podcasts by Prizmah Center for Jewish Day SchoolsResearch Corner: What We Learned from Online LearningNow that Covid is waning and classrooms feel close to the old normal, what have we learned from two years of online and hybrid pedagogy? Despite the challenges and drawbacks, are there things that remote learning enabled that we might preserve as we move forward? Hear a university researcher and two day school educators reflect on what was achieved during the pandemic.
Featuring: Michal Bessler has worked at Maimonides School in Boston for 27 years, where she now serves as the elementary school principal. Aviv Matzkin teaches Jewish Studies at Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School in P...2022-03-0843 min