This article discusses an action research study of a week-long Summer Teachers Institute which immersed teachers in the study of Jewish historical and cultural texts. We investigate how this kind of cultural immersion created opportunities for transformative learning--the kind of learning that would not merely be the application of "new…

Practitioner research was conducted on Grade 10 students' arts-based projects of Numbers 12 in order to assess the value of using the arts in Jewish secondary schools. Based on interview transcripts, projects, and written statements, three themes emerged that demonstrated why teachers should use the arts in their classes. The arts provided…

This study deals with the way in which kindergarten teachers in state religious kindergartens in Israel tell the Torah stories to children. It examines the influence of the teachers' identity, being part of the religious Zionist society, on the way in which she tells the stories. These kindergarten teachers function at a crossroads of…

Having an educational theory as a school's foundation is a key component in successful educational endeavors. However, many Jewish early childhood programs do not commonly use educational theory to support methods of instruction. In this study 14 children from a constructivist-based Jewish kindergarten class are interviewed to determine how…

The effectiveness of outside experts in professional development in Jewish schools has been questioned in light of scholarly critique of this approach. This case study examines the sociocultural context of one such long-term project aimed at school improvement through early childhood (EC) curriculum development. The research identifies cultural…

This paper explores the interactions surrounding Bible teaching as a means of understanding how Jewish youth are discursively implicated within ideologies of community. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from linguistic anthropology and interactional sociolinguistics, I present a micro-analysis of a classroom lesson on the book of Leviticus to…

Israeli film and television have risen to international prominence, presenting compelling and complicating perspectives. Simultaneously, Web 2.0 technologies have accelerated the spread and immediacy of digital media. Following the work of Holtz (2003) and Levisohn (2010) in developing orientations for teaching Bible and Rabbinic Literature, this…

This article presents a pedagogical framework for interpreting and discussing texts with others, ""havruta" inspired pedagogy." The framework is comprised of three overlapping domains: structures, stance and practices. We illustrate each domain through teachers' words and classroom practices, depicting how teachers in one context work within these…

This article examines 10 textbooks used in Jewish religion classes in Russian high schools in the final decades of the 19th century. The textbooks reveal an expectation of a low level of Hebrew background, an interest in promoting the practice of prayer, and two distinct approaches to teaching Judaism. While some of the books introduce students to…

Levenson presents Nehama Leibowitz (1903-1997) as a principal figure in making the Bible a centerpiece of modern Jewish intellectual life. Complementing the already impressive literature on Leibowitz's pedagogical techniques, Levenson emphasizes the interdependence of Leibowitz's historical context, biography, and exegetical stance. Leibowitz's…

This article is an attempt to explore the religious vision of Moshe Greenberg in some detail, and in particular, to analyze how his approach to education is applied to and reflected in his ideas about the teaching and learning of Bible, and in his own Bible scholarship itself. The paper examines the connection between Greenberg's philosophy of…

In this article, the author talks about Jon A. Levisohn's article that develops a menu of orientations for the teaching of rabbinic literature. The author suggests that Jon A. Levisohn's article should be required reading for all Jewish educators who are interested in curriculum and teaching. The essay is a vehicle for introducing a way of looking…

How might one perceive the role of his or her "hevruta" partner in the "hevruta" learning relationship? Drawing on recent developments in the scholarship of rabbinics, this article offers an interpretation of a Talmudic legend that discusses three forms of interpersonal relationships in "hevruta" learning. Rather than considering "hevruta"…

Many Bible scholars have become aware of the fact that the results we produce are dependent on the particular approaches that we choose to employ, and have become more self-conscious about the methods we use and the reasons we use them. Each approach to the analysis and interpretation of a text will yield its own type of meaning or understanding.…

This article builds on Greenstein's advocacy of a "pragmatic pedagogy of Bible" by pursuing four issues. First, do we select among methodological approaches to Bible according to our desired interpretive outcome but not according to any internal criteria? Is it merely a matter of "choice"? Second, in what sense are interpretive approaches usefully…