Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education

We are facing a unique time as a Jewish people when the mitzvah of pidyon shvuyim, redeeming the captives, is top of mind as 134 hostages are still held by Hamas in Gaza. What can you as an educator be doing to help the captives? In this extremely timely episode, Clare Goldwater and Elyssa Moss Rabinowitz discuss their educational campagin, Everyone Counts, which they started during the war in par...

This week's multi-faceted conversation between David Bryfman and Jonathan Cannon demonstrates that even deeply religious and Zionist schools are not immune to the ripple effects of October 7th. In times of heightened antisemitism, they too need to empower their students more than ever.    As part of a limited series, Israel Education in a Post-October 7th World, this forward-looking episode o...

How has October 7th impacted your connection to Israel? Since then, is there someone you have been holding in your heart? These are just some of the questions Dr. Jonathan Golden incorporates in his Israel education paradigm of using the heart (feelings), head (questions), and hand (thoughts) to have these important conversations.   In the second episode of our series, Israel Education in a Post-O...

This episode kicks off a new series: Israel Education in a Post-October 7th World. Stay tuned for more episodes in this series. In the aftermath of October 7th, it's clearer than ever before that there is a need for both advocacy and education to bring about the changes necessary in independent and public-school education. David Bryfman and Laura Shaw Frank of AJC discuss teaching history and...

"Each and every tree has something important to say. If you listen closely, you might too hear their whispers." Rabbi Jackson Mercer creates intentional spaces as a song leader. He is also the author of Wise Friends, a children's book that's really a book for everyone, filled with millennium-old Hebrew teachings. He also just happens to be this week's guest on Adapting!  ...

According to Rabbi Danny Burkeman, the congregation is the beating heart of Jewish education, a driver of change which brings community together and inspires Jewish learning. So how does a synagogue adapt to keep Jewish education stimulating?    In an inspiring conversation recorded before October 7th, Rabbi Danny Burkeman and David Bryfman discuss innovative ways to engage people in their Judaism...

In the midst of war, the essential and timely work of Jewish educators must continue. That is why on this week's episode of Adapting, David Bryfman discusses the ongoing hot-button issue of Artificial Intelligence and its role in education.   On the cusp of 2024, educators don't have a choice: they must embrace this technology, or else they're going to fall behind. At least that&apo...

During the eight nights of Hanukkah, Jews all over the world publicize the miracle of the holiday by lighting menorahs by the window for everyone to see. However, this year feels different, as we grapple with the horrors of October 7th and the current climate of antisemitism in the midst of war.  In this special Hanukkah episode of Adapting, here to discuss this topic with David Bryfman are The Je...

During a time of war, it's so important to maintain and uphold our spiritual selves as well as community, two traits that are essential to Judaism. As the first yeshiva of its kind in Israel, the BINA Secular Yeshiva serves as a place where young adults can do just that while promoting Jewish pluralism and social justice.    This week's episode of Adapting finds David Bryfman speaking wi...

Imagine that you work on a U.S. college campus today while Israel is at war. Meanwhile, your Israeli cousin texts you from her mamad (safe room in an Israeli home) asking if you're okay given the rise in antisemitism on college campuses. That's what happened to Merav Fine Braun, executive director at Hunter College Hillel in New York City, given the staggering rise in antisemitic inciden...

Rebecca Bardach has devoted her life to progressive education and coexistence between Jews and Arabs living together in Israel. How does she maintain strength and hope during these dark times?    Listen to a candid discussion with David Bryfman as she provides a firsthand, on-the-ground account of life in Israel, where she retells the heart-wrenching moment when she discovered her cousin's ki...

Right now, alongside the war in Israel, there is a battle occurring in America, one that plays out in academic settings through ideas that use Israel as a weapon for antisemitism. Joining us in this provocative and timely episode is Dr. Rachel Fish, esteemed scholar and self-proclaimed warrior on the Middle East and Israel. David Bryfman and Dr. Fish discuss the wake-up call of how the war is affe...

During 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 Isr...

The Jewish community is still reeling from the massacre that Hamas carried out in Israel over one week ago. In a somewhat cathartic conversation, David Bryfman and Rabbi Dr. Josh Ladon unpack their experiences as both educators and parents in helping educators and children grapple with a multitude of feelings. They emphasize that w​​hen dealing with war, one cannot deal with it in isolation, and t...

In the wake of devastation and sorrow coming out of Israel, Jewish educators have been grappling with how to best communicate the events unfolding with their students. Through grief and heartbreak, they will flick some imaginary switch in their minds and hearts and do what they do best: be Jewish educators. This week on Adapting, CEO David Bryfman shares his own emotional experiences and challenge...

As a reputable scholar of contemporary American Jewish education, Dr. Arielle Levites is curious about all things Jewish, from "Jews of no religion" to what Jewish education looks like both inside and outside the institutional setting.    On this week's episode of Adapting, David Bryfman and Dr. Levites talk about using curiosity to fuel research on the vast topic of Jewish educatio...

To kick off an inspiring new season of "Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education," David Bryfman dissects the origins of Sunday School in America with Laura Yares, as the pair discusses her new book, Jewish Sunday Schools: Teaching Religion in Nineteenth-Century America.     This exploration, including a deep dive into the important role women played in pioneering accessible Jewish educa...

As educators, we all have a lot to say. But in this special season finale of Adapting, we flipped the script and got to hear from the learners! CEO David Bryfman sits down with his two kids, Jonah and Abby, for an exclusive interview about their Jewish education. Join us as the dynamic duo reveals favorite topics they've learned at Jewish Day School like the story of Joseph and learning Hebre...

According to the latest CASJE study, there are more than 14,000 Jewish Day School educators in the U.S. How would the future of the Jewish people change if every one of these educators made it a priority to tap students on the proverbial shoulder who they identify as becoming part of the next generation of Jewish educators? Joining David Bryfman on Adapting this week is Rabbi Marc Wolf of Prizmah,...

Building educational spaces for teens is no easy task -- especially for those with viewpoints considered by some to be outside the mainstream, or even radical.   Enter Club Z, a community for teens to connect and socialize over a shared love of Israel and being Jewish. In this episode, David Bryfman speaks, and even spars, with Club Z founder and executive director Masha Merkulova over philosophic...

Every person has a story to be told, and today’s episode of Adapting tells one individual’s unlikely journey to become a Jewish educator. David Bryfman met Elyssa Hurwitz of Moishe House at a recent conference for Jewish educators when she volunteered from the audience to partake in David's interactive keynote presentation, to explore what it means, in philosopher Martin Buber's language...

In a time of shortage of Jewish educators, today’s episode of Adapting focuses specifically on why one would even consider becoming a Jewish educator today, asking such challenging questions as: how has the role of educator become more difficult than it once was? And how can we, as a culture, better champion the profession? This week's guest is Aviva Lauer, Director of the Pardes Center for J...

Your Shavuot is about to be elevated by this special episode of Adapting, where you will experience the profound wisdom of Rabba Yaffa Epstein, The Jewish Education Project's Senior Scholar and Educator in Residence. Rabba Epstein and David Bryfman's discussion, brimming with intellectual insights and ideas around the holiday, practically becomes a midrash in the making as they touch on ...

Gender, feminism, and power are all salient features of adolescent development today. Jewish youth is certainly no exception, and Jewish education must tackle some of these challenging issues today if it is to be relevant and meaningful for today’s learners. This week's Adapting guest, Shuli Karkowsky, is incorporating these themes into Jewish education through her own work as CEO of Moving T...

May is Jewish American Heritage Month, and what is more Jewish American than teens spending the summer at camp exploring their culture? Since the postwar era, summer camps have been driven by intentional and ideological education (think Zionism, Yiddish and Ashkenazi culture, etc.). No one understands this history better than this week's Adapting guest, Sandra Fox, author of the book, The Jew...