"Beit midrash" or "house of study" refers to a place where Jews, traditionally men, gather to study classical texts, often in pairs or "hevruta." In this "Beit midrash" for Teachers, the selection of texts, the language of instruction and the purposes of learning differ from those in a traditional "Beit midrash" where the study of Talmud is…

This article examines the application of a recent interpretive trend in the field of gender studies to the study of Talmudic texts as well as its potential role in the teaching of Talmudic literature. It explores what kind of contribution we can make to our students' education in seminaries and Jewish Day schools when we open our texts up to…

While "hevruta" (text study in pairs) is a traditional form of Jewish learning, it has rarely been the subject of empirical research. Building off of research on reading and interpreting literary texts and sociocultural theories of learning, the author closely analyzes transcripts and videos of students studying in "hevruta." Through this fine…

This is the last in a series of articles exploring the history of "Jewish Education" magazine, later known as the "Journal of Jewish Education," with a particular emphasis on its intersection with the history of American Jewish education and, more generally, American Jewish life. Major themes and issues that preoccupied the magazine's editors and…

In this article, we report a study of professional culture and professional development in Jewish schools based on surveys of teachers and other staff and interviews with principals. We first introduce three key constructs: professional culture, professional development, and professional learning communities. We then describe research that has…

The point of departure for this article is James Fowler's conception of the "master story." In "master stories," culture-heroes are portrayed as engaging in certain archetypal activities. These activities are then considered paradigmatic and life-orienting by future generations who adhere to that culture. In keeping with this line of thinking, we…

The study of Jewish traditional texts in a "hevruta" learning setting (two people studying a text together) represents past as well as contemporary modes of Jewish religious and devotional study. More recently, "hevruta" learning has made its way into several contexts of professional development in Jewish education, including inservice settings…

This paper argues that, notwithstanding a few major exceptions, the modern commitment to studying educational thinking and practice in premodern Jewish societies has not been particularly intense, despite widespread agreement as to the importance of education in premodern Jewish life. Some suggestions for this lacuna are discussed in this article.…

This paper revisits the concepts "explicit" and "implicit" as pointing to distinct forms of religious consciousness and as conceptual tools for differentiating between diverse forms of Jewish education. The presenting problems are as follows: (a) Is the idea of integration between both of these orientations feasible in terms of psychological and…

The history of education is a worthwhile pursuit within the study of history writ-large, for education is a powerful cultural device that has been manipulated for a variety of social, political, and economic purposes. So, why is it the case that little work has been done to date on the history of American Jewish schooling? This article assesses…

Ben-Avie and Comer describe how Jewish day schools and the Yale Child Study Center's School Development Program (SDP) share a common agenda regarding the aim of education. The foundational science of education is child development, advocates James P. Comer in such seminal works as "School Power" (1980) and "Waiting For A Miracle" (1998). SDP, the…

This article proposes a reconfiguration of the academic study of Jewish education that would (1) emphasize the "critical" analysis of an expanded range of issues (2) draw upon a broad range of disciplines and fields of study; and (3) formulate a new research agenda. The article argues that the focus on a "critical" approach to Jewish education…

This series of articles explores the history of Jewish Education magazine, later known as the Journal of Jewish Education, with a particular emphasis on its intersection with the history of American Jewish education and, more generally, American Jewish life. Major themes and issues that preoccupied the magazine's editors and writers are isolated…

This article describes the emergence of the field of adult Jewish learning and the need for research in this burgeoning aspect of contemporary Jewish life. The authors describe the context in which the upsurge of adult Jewish learning has occurred, drawing attention to the absence of systematic data collection about programs, funding structures,…

Tzipora Jochsberger (1920-) educator, composer, and musicologist, dreamed of using the arts to introduce Jews to the richness of their heritage. The founder and director of the Hebrew Arts School in New York (1952-1986), Jochsberger's contributions deserve the attention of Jewish educators and artists who are looking to the arts to address the…