In light of recent developments in the Modern Orthodox community's approach to homosexuality, this article presents a classroom discussion on homosexuality that took place at a Modern Orthodox high school. An examination of the discussion's heteroglossia, or multiplicity of languages existing in tension, along with attention to the discussion's…

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…

This essay reviews the Applications section of the "International Handbook of Jewish Education" published in 2011. Because of the variety of contexts in which Jewish education research can be applied, this section comprises a large number of diverse chapters that are not all explicitly theoretically or thematically linked. The scope of this…

This essay reviews the Vision and Practice section of the "International Handbook of Jewish Education" published in 2011. Gathered in this section, 24 Jewish educators (spread across 18 chapters) offer theoretical reflections on the state of Jewish education in the contemporary moment. These chapters seem, on first reading, a rather eclectic…

This essay reviews the Geographical section of the "International Handbook of Jewish Education" published in 2011. The differences between countries, their unique histories and cultures, are important, but their similarities are arguably more revealing. Indeed, on occasions when similar phenomena are examined in different places by different…

Jewish educators are expected not only to imbue their students with Jewish knowledge but with Jewish feelings and Jewish actions as well--in short, with Jewish identity. However, in spite of a growing understanding among researchers that identity is fluid and dynamic, many of the traditional methods for assessing Jewish identity reflect…

The Naphtali Herz Imber Jewish Day School proudly proclaimed its commitment to Israel, yet many of its students experienced profound ambivalence toward the Jewish State. Why? The school was committed to a series of contradictory values which surfaced in its approach to Israel education. This article outlines three distinct yet interrelated…

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…

Tefillah is a central component of the curriculum at many congregational schools. Yet despite the time and resources that congregational schools dedicate for "tefillah education," large numbers of Jews (both children and adults) continue to feel uncomfortable and incompetent in Jewish worship. This research begins to answer the question, "How…

The Re-Imagine Project (of the Experiment in Congregational Education) is an attempt to engender innovation in congregational schools. A long-term study of 24 participating congregations in Greater New York examined the extent to which the effort yielded new models of education (radical change). The study included surveys of task force members and…

For millions of American Jews, the words "Jewish education" most likely conjure images of days spent in synagogue classrooms decoding Hebrew, reciting prayers, learning holiday customs, and reading about biblical figures. This is the past, but (we hope) not the future of congregational education. This form of part-time, mostly…

David Schoem reflects on his research study from 30-plus years ago, published as "Ethnic Survival in America: An Ethnography of a Jewish Afternoon School" (1979, 1989). Schoem points to the continuing importance of giving greater focus to meaning-making, relational identity, and deep community. Schoem argues that through a renewed focus on…

Jewish educators are understandably interested in research on how bar/bat mitzvah affect Jewish education or research on what Jewish schools have done to avoid the distortions of a focus on bar/bat mitzvah. Research might also focus on the somewhat different and more ambitious topic of the role that bar/bat mitzvah play in contemporary Jewish…

Stuart Schoenfeld's (1987) essay "Folk Judaism, Elite Judaism and the Role of Bar Mitzvah in the Development of the Synagogue and Jewish School in America" recounts how, in the 1930s and 40s, rabbis and Jewish educators banded together to impose attendance requirements on families that wanted to celebrate their sons' b'nei mitzvah in synagogues.…

This article presents the author's response to Jon A. Levisohn's article entitled "A Menu of Orientations in the Teaching of Rabbinic Literature." As someone who is experimenting not only with how to teach rabbinic texts but with which texts to select in virtually every course the author teaches for American undergraduate as well as graduate…