Pardes Educators Program Alumni Newsletter, March, 2009 Adar 5769
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Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 12:10 PM
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Pardes Educators Alumni Newsletter
March, 2009-Adar 5769 |
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| Educational Programs |
Dig the Past is a program founded by Aaron Greener. (Trudy Greener's son) |
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| Birchat Hachama |
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Every 28 years the sun is said to be at full strength during the month of Nisan, precipitating the special bracha said at this time. This year, Birchat Hachama will be recited on Wednesday April 8, 2009-14 Nisan, 5769. Click here to read more. | |
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Dear Hevre,
It
is now a little over a year since we received the grant from the Jim
Joseph Foundation to work with alumni. Many of you have taken advantage
of and benefitted from some of our newer initiatives: the retreat, this
newsletter, the website (including the forum and now
Lisa Bodziner's
blog), and the topically oriented conference calls for novice alumni.
Each first and second year teacher has had at least one school visit
and many of you have asked for individual help/support in dealing with
professional challenges.
At this point we want to reiterate to
all of our graduates that the support project is meant for you,
particularly to serve those who are currently working in day schools.
However, we are happy to offer advice and support to any of you in the
field of Jewish education or to those planning to re-enter the field.
Keep your suggestions coming, so that we can best serve your needs.
To all, a Purim of "sasone v'simha".
Kol tuv,
Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project staff:
Dr. Susan Wall, Abby Rosen Finkel, Debra Weiner-Solomont
The Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project is funded by a generous grant from the
Jim Joseph Foundation.
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Dvar Torah by Deborah Jacobson-Maisels
Cohort 2 
Parshat Zachor precedes Purim due to the identification of Haman with Amalek. We are told to remember to blot out Amalek
because of the evil that he did to the Jewish people. The theme of
crushing and destroying our enemies is one that we address every time
we say the weekday amidah, blessing God who is shover oyvim umachnia zeydim - who breaks our enemies and causes evildoers to surrender. As we know, we are supposed to say each brachah of the amidah with kavannah,
full intention. Ha'Ari, the great kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, taught
that we should find a relevant aspect of our own lives to focus on for
each brachah of the amidah. For example, if we are frightened about something in our lives, we should focus on God's protection in the brachah of magen Avraham, or if we have a case we need to bring to court we should focus on justice in the brachah of hashivah shofteinu.
Similarly, the brachah of shover oyvim can be extremely pertinent to our lives. Rabbi Nosson Shapira teaches in Sefer Megaleh Amukot, another kabalistic work, that each Jew is surrounded by layers - klipot - of the yetzer harah that separate him or her from God and from his or her true self. The innermost klipah is called klipat nogah; this layer of separation can be transformed from being a power of separation and destruction to a power of good. The brachah of shover oyvim is not only about external enemies, according to Rabbi Shapira, it is a brachah about our internal enemies - the layers of yetzer harah inside ourselves. Our intention when saying this brachah should be to destroy those outer layers that separate us from God, and to identify the klipah which is actually klipat nogah, a layer that can be transformed into a vessel to ultimately bring us closer to God. This is the second half of the brachah - umachnia zeydim - causing these "evildoers" to surrender.
If we apply this mystical interpretation of our
relationship to evil to our lives, we find that we have an imperative
to pursue deep psychological work, to examine the parts of us that
cause us to be distant from our best selves and from God. Which parts
of ourselves should we understand as bad habits or dangerous patterns
of behavior that are best obliterated, and which seemingly destructive
parts of ourselves are in fact essentially good qualities that we can
transform with correct intention to be a vehicle for closeness to God?
Perhaps one of the messages of Purim and nahafochu is not the
destruction of our enemies, but the lesson of transforming our inner
enemies into friends and allowing this process to take us on a path to
greater self acceptance and relationship with the divine. Deborah Jacobson-Maisels is currently studying in the Pardes Kollel. |
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Yom Iyun Shel Chesed
The Pardes community commemorates the tragic loss of
Educators Marla Bennett z"l and Ben Blutstein z"l with a day of
learning and chesed. Marla Bennett (Cohort 2) and Ben Blutstein
(Cohort 3) had each spent two years studying at Pardes. On July 31,
2002, 22nd Av, 5762, Marla and Ben were murdered, along with five other
Hebrew University students and employees, in the suicide bombing attack
at Hebrew University.
This year's Yom Iyun Shel Chessed was held on March 3rd, 7 Adar. Under the slogan, "improving a small corner of the world",
students, faculty and staff visited elderly at the Beit Reuven nursing
home, learned Torah in the Beit Midrash at Pardes with mentally
challenged young people, brought a bit of "America" to the tutoring
program at Yotzer Or and purchased the creative items produced by the
people of Yad l'Kashish.
Yehi zichrom baruch.
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 PEP CornerBy Dr. Judy Markose, Director of PEP
Pardes
Educators, Cohorts 8 and 9, are currently student teaching in sixteen
schools across the United States. The Educators received quite a send
off from the Pardes community who organized a "PEP Rally" in their
honor. Each Educator received a small gift, which included Pepsi
Max-with the slogan: PEPs teach to the MaX!!!
We are pleased that five of our PEP alumni will be mentoring the Educators in the field:
Jessica Lissy Trey (Cohort 3) at Hannah Senesh Community Day School, Brooklyn, NY.
Eliana Seltzer (Cohort 5) at Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island.
Evan Wolkenstein (Cohort 1) at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, San Francisco, CA.
Amanda Pogany (Cohort 2) at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Manhattan.
Tamar Rabinowitz (Cohort 1) at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Rockville, MD.
Interest
in Cohort 10 is at a peak; however, we are still accepting
applications. If you have a colleague who you think might benefit from
the Educators Program, please contact Gail Kirschner. |
PEP Alumni Website, Forum and Blog
The
Website was launched in December, 2008. This is the best place to go in
order to keep in touch with what is happening in the PEP community.
The website's homepage has up-to- date information of what is going
on during that particular month, including Pardes faculty travel
schedule posted on the Google calendar, a world clock (so that you know
when the best time is to reach one another) and a side bar with "click
ons" to the other pages ( job listings in day schools, educational
opportunities, resource materials,and archives of past newsletters).
There is also a retreat link, with resource materials. (Sorry the
pictures have already come down.) Soon we'll post the date and location
for next November's retreat. Bookmark the web address: http://pepalumnisupport.pardes.org.il
The
forum can be accessed via the website. Many of you are clearly reading
and responding to the forum. If you haven't yet "joined the club" all
you need to do is click onto the forum link found on the sidebar of the
website. Log in with your gmail address and you are in. You do need a gmail address in order to access the forum.
A
reminder that postings to the forum should be questions or comments
around issues raised by you or your peers. This is not the place for
personal notices or materials that should go on our website. Any
articles that you want to share should be attached as a link. We want
to avoid using a moderator for the forum, as it will slow down the
turn-around time. Please help us by carefully considering what you
post. If you are unsure about whether to post something, send it to Debra first.
Finally, the newest edition to the website is Cohort 7 Lisa Bodziner's blog. Kol haKavod
to Lisa for taking this on. This is a private blog and you all should
have received an invitation to read it. If for some reason you are
having trouble accessing the blog, please let Debra
know. We hope you are following Lisa's experiences in the classroom.
Others can volunteer to take over the blogging at some future time.
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Focus on Yonatan Yussman
Cohort 1  My
name is Yonatan Yussman ('99-'00, Educators '00-'02), and I am the Head
of Jewish Studies at The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Educational
Campus in Las Vegas, NV. We are a pre-school through twelfth grade
community day school, and we just opened up our brand new campus this
year. I supervise and mentor the school's fifteen Judaic Studies and
Hebrew faculty. I am in charge of experiential education such as Tefillah, Chagim, Israel trips, Shabbatonim, and so on, as well as the formal Judaic Studies and Hebrew curricula.
Over
the years, I've been a teacher and administrator in Kentucky, Israel,
Georgia, and Florida. I enjoy writing Jewish studies curricula. The
Hartman Institute has published a number of my units on their website: Tarbut HaMachloket (pluralism in Judaism); Jewish denominations; Tochechah; Kibud Av v'Em; Jews and non-Jews; Kevah vs. Kavanah; Shmah; Amidah; Brachot; and a comparison of Avraham in the Sdom V'Amorah story vs. the Akeidah. I'm happy to share anything else I have. I have developed UbD units on many of the sfarim in Tanach, as well as many of the thematic rabbinics units that are commonly taught in community day schools.
I
am also in the middle of earning my doctorate in education. My
dissertation topic focuses on school culture, specifically the
correlation between the quality of relationships between professional
adults (teachers, staff, administrators and board) in a school, and
student achievements.
My
wife Lisa (Fellows '01-'02) and I have three beautiful daughters, Gefen
(5 years old), Aviva (3) and Noa (1). All three are enrolled at my
school, so I have the pleasure of seeing them every day at school.
Lisa is a full-time Ima.
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Bible Raps: An Education Innovation
For the past year I have been working with a very talented artist, Matt Bar - founder of the Bible Raps Project.
In
March of 2008, PEP educators entered their student teaching classrooms
with several of Matt Bar's Bible Raps. Equipped only with a CD, these
teachers integrated the raps into their lessons and the feedback was
astounding:
"I
played the song "Cain & Abel" for them, and it became an incredible
locus of debate. The music spoke to them in a way I never could. They
left class fired up and excited... It helps students see the Tanach
from where they are, and to realize that its message is current."
- Samara Schwartz, Cohort 8, 8th grade classroom
We have created a Teaching Resource Guide which includes the
music, lyrics, and "Rap-Maps" - graphics that indicate access points
into textual learning from the rap lyrics.
The raps serve as
a motivation for students to engage in the study of conventional
elements of the Jewish tradition, such as exploring different
commentators and engaging in text analysis. Below you can see how the
Noah rap can facilitate a lesson that explores several stories in Torah
along with selections from some of the key commentators.
Bible Raps can be used as a way to introduce or supplement
lessons or act as the focus for entire lessons unto themselves. Below
you can see how the Akedah rap can open up an avenue for more
creative exploration where students can embody the persona of the
modern commentator and use the Bible Raps as an example of how to write
a midrash.
If you are interested in participating in the second pilot stage, please be in touch with me.
As a participant in the second pilot stage, we will ask for
your engagement in a collaborative project that develops educational
materials for Bible Raps in the classroom. As you begin to integrate
Bible Raps into your lessons, we ask that you periodically contribute
to an on-line feedback system, share with us your lesson plans, and use
the Website discussion board as a forum for brainstorming creative ways
to use Bible Raps in the classroom.
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Pardes Summer Curriculum Workshop - Last Call!
July 14-July 28, 2009 22 Tammuz-7 Av 5769
We
have 3 remaining places for non-PEP graduates on this summer's
curriculum workshop program. If there are any well qualified novice
teachers that you know who teach Judaic studies (grades 4-12), please
tell them about the program. Urge them to check the Pardes Website, write directly to Debra for an application, or contact Abby in the New York office (212-447-4333)
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Alumni Updates
Damian Zoppo (Cohort 5) and Tammy, on the birth of a daughter, Nataly Elaine.
Miriam-Simma Walfish (Cohort 6) and Michael Rosenberg on the birth of a son, Nehemia David.
Ron Einhorn (Cohort 6) upon his engagement to Heidi Vexler.
Miriam Shamberg (Cohort 7) upon her engagement to Rabbi Jonathan Gross.
Jamie Salter (Cohort 5) upon his recent marriage in Jerusalem to Cindy Nathanson
(Pardes 05-06, Summer, 07).
Professional News:
Keren Romm (Cohort 5) published an article entitled, The Grounding of Jewish Identity in Biblical Literacy, in
the Winter Issue of the Jewish Educational Leadership Journal (Volume
7:2). If your school does not receive the journal, the article will be
available online shortly. Contact Debra for more information.
Rabbi Marc Baker (Cohort 1) published an article entitled, Jewish Identities in Process:
Religious Purposefulness in a Pluralistic School, in the Autumn, 08 issue of the RAVSAK Hayedion.
Rabbi Mordechai Rackover (Cohort 3) brought a Brown Hillel Birthright group to Pardes. Read about the visit on Mordechai's blog.
Lisa Bodziner (Cohort 7) was featured in the San Diego Jewish Academy upper school student newspaper. One student said, "she brings energy and topics to the class that allow students to identify with Judaism". Michal Cahlon (Cohort
5) will be bringing her 8th grade class from Hyman Brand Hebrew
Academy, Overland Park, KS to Pardes for Megillah reading.
Thanks
to everyone for sending me updated contact information. Please keep me
posted about changes of address (home, email) moving jobs etc.
We are sorry if we missed something. Please help us by sending in your news!
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Pardes
Institute of Jewish Studies | POB 8575 | Jerusalem, Israel 91084 |
American Pardes Foundation | 5 West 37th Street, Suite 802, New York |
NY | 10018
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