COMING SOON: PEDAGOGIES FOR TEACHING GOD

Help your students deepen, elevate, and sustain their relationship with the Divine. Explore this upcoming series on pedagogies for teaching “God” featuring a diverse set of master teachers including Rabbi David Aaron, Rebbitzen Yehudis Golshevsky, and Rabbi Dr. Michael Shire. They each delve into strategies and framing that can guide a teacher’s path for facilitating the God-student relationship.

We also look forward to exploring these pedagogies through no-cost consultation for in more depth discussions with individual Jewish educators or a group.

Here is a preview:

Rabbi David Aaron, Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshivat Orayta: “Are your beliefs giving your life greater vitality and meaning or do your beliefs discourage you, dis-empower you?”

Rebbetzin Yehudis Golshevsky, Director, SHIVITI: “Emunah/belief is not about certainty; it is to teach students to live the rest of their lives in a vital and Jewish way.”

Rabbi Michael Shire, Dean of the Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education, Hebrew College Boston: “We have to teach children to wonder what is the nature of God’s presence.”

Click to read about the latest Jewish day schools receiving Ignition Grants for God Expansion.

Ignition GrantS for God Expansion

JEIC has expanded the Ignition Grants program to advance distinctive, enduring approaches for elevating and deepening the God-student relationship.

Ignition Grants for God Expansion awards are up to $20,000.

Applications for Ignition Grants for God Expansion are reviewed on a rolling basis. Please be aware that we are highly selective in choosing grants to support and may defer investigating a grant application to a subsequent granting cycle. 

To be considered, your God Expansion must:

• Be implemented during the upcoming academic year.

• Elevate and/or deepen the God-student relationship within the framework of Jewish values, practice, and/or ancient wisdom.

• Be intended to teach students, or facilitate experiences for them, as they expand their relationship with God.

• Be part of core classroom curricula or co-curricular programs.

• Include a plan for collecting and analyzing data demonstrating qualitative change in student behavior and school culture regarding students’ relationship with God.

• Be targeted to students in middle or high school.

Jewish Stories: Jewish Strength

In both good times and bad, Jews look to the Divine for strength, hope, comfort, or protection. This video series entitled, Jewish Stories: Jewish Strength, reveals wisdom and perspective from a variety of leaders in the Jewish community.

Speakers in the videos below include:

• Dr. Erica Brown - Inspirations from Nature

• Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld -Seeking Silver Linings

• Bob Diener - The Ground We Walk on is an Illusion

• Dr. Shira D. Epstein - Remembering the Rainbow

• Rabbi Sam Feinsmith - Cultivating Emunah/Faith

• Rabbi Benji Levy - Why Do We Climb Mountains?

• Manette Mayberg - How Bananagrams Reflects Life

• Lori Palatnik - With Whom Do You Want to be Shipwrecked?

Inspirational & GOD-centered resources

Articles Sharing Wisdom, Values, and Faith

Who Knows? Jewish Leadership in Times of Uncertainty by Dr. Erica Brown

The Roots of Resilience by Sharon Freundel

Finding Hope in Challenging Times from Personal, Professional, and Torah Lessons by Sharon Freundel

A Paradigm Shift for Thinking about God in the Classroom by Rabbi Shmuel Feld

Let’s Follow This Kind of GPS for a Strong Jewish Future by Manette Mayberg

Do We Really Have an El Kana, a Jealous God by Sharon Freundel

Balancing Two Truths Requires Honoring Two Voices by Rabbi Aryeh Ben David

Let's continue to explore ways to inspire students’ relationship with God so they can create enduring meaning from Jewish values, literacy, practice, and belief to sustain the Jewish people.

Share your thoughts or questions with us about God Expansion in Jewish day schools:

Sharon Freundel, Managing Director, Sharon@JewishChallenge.org

Rabbi Shmuel Feld, Founding Director, RabbiFeld@JewishChallenge.org