Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education

According to the latest CASJE study, there are more than 14,000 Jewish Day School educators in the U.S. How would the future of the Jewish people change if every one of these educators made it a priority to tap students on the proverbial shoulder who they identify as becoming part of the next generation of Jewish educators?

Joining David Bryfman on Adapting this week is Rabbi Marc Wolf of Prizmah, who addresses the pipeline challenge or decline in Jewish educators specifically through a lens of Jewish Day Schools in North America.  

Rabbi Wolf's "tap on the shoulder" method is an innovative way to inspire learners to see themselves as Jewish leaders – it's direct, relationship-based, and has the power to transfer that spark of learning from teacher to student. Listen to this week's episode of Adapting to find out how Jewish educators can change the possible trajectory of Jewish education through one simple yet impactful action.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Building educational spaces for teens is no easy task -- especially for those with viewpoints considered by some to be outside the mainstream, or even radical.  

Enter Club Z, a community for teens to connect and socialize over a shared love of Israel and being Jewish. In this episode, David Bryfman speaks, and even spars, with Club Z founder and executive director Masha Merkulova over philosophical differences about how to best empower teens to navigate the complex subject of Israel, including some bold moves Club Z has taken in its support of Israel, and other topical Jewish issues.

In this episode, David and Masha model the importance of engaging in dialogue across difference -- and how healthy disagreements can broaden our perspective in a way that is not otherwise possible. 

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Every person has a story to be told, and today’s episode of Adapting tells one individual’s unlikely journey to become a Jewish educator.

David Bryfman met Elyssa Hurwitz of Moishe House at a recent conference for Jewish educators when she volunteered from the audience to partake in David's interactive keynote presentation, to explore what it means, in philosopher Martin Buber's language, to strive to create I-Thou relationships. This experience had an unintended but profound impact on both Elyssa and David.

What transpires in this episode is a powerful conversation about the consequences of our interactions as educators and humans, and the changing dynamics of the Jewish educator landscape today.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

In a time of shortage of Jewish educators, today’s episode of Adapting focuses specifically on why one would even consider becoming a Jewish educator today, asking such challenging questions as: how has the role of educator become more difficult than it once was? And how can we, as a culture, better champion the profession?

This week's guest is Aviva Lauer, Director of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators in Jerusalem. Aviva speaks with David Bryfman about equipping educators with the Jewish knowledge, pedagogical skills, and supportive onboarding needed to succeed – and avoid burnout.

Aviva shares her pitch for why a career in Jewish education is the most meaningful career one can have.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Your Shavuot is about to be elevated by this special episode of Adapting, where you will experience the profound wisdom of Rabba Yaffa Epstein, The Jewish Education Project's Senior Scholar and Educator in Residence.

Rabba Epstein and David Bryfman's discussion, brimming with intellectual insights and ideas around the holiday, practically becomes a midrash in the making as they touch on two key components of Shavuot: receiving the Torah and the delivering of the first fruits. Once you hear how Rabba Yaffa explains what these incredible physical and spiritual gifts mean to the Jewish people, you'll feel an overwhelming sensation of gratitude for the holiday and its deep themes.

​​​​​This week in particular, we express gratitude to Jewish educators everywhere who work tirelessly to impart the invaluable gifts of knowledge and learning to their students.

Chag Shavuot Sameach!

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Gender, feminism, and power are all salient features of adolescent development today. Jewish youth is certainly no exception, and Jewish education must tackle some of these challenging issues today if it is to be relevant and meaningful for today’s learners.

This week's Adapting guest, Shuli Karkowsky, is incorporating these themes into Jewish education through her own work as CEO of Moving Traditions, an organization that merges Jewish learning with social and emotional learning to serve the needs of teens today.

Don't miss Shuli's profound discussion with David Bryfman about insights from her non-traditional career path, the Jewish value ofhakarat hatov, or expressing gratitude, and why teens engaged in their Jewish community are happier teens.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

May is Jewish American Heritage Month, and what is more Jewish American than teens spending the summer at camp exploring their culture?

Since the postwar era, summer camps have been driven by intentional and ideological education (think Zionism, Yiddish and Ashkenazi culture, etc.). No one understands this history better than this week's Adapting guest, Sandra Fox, author of the book, The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America. 

Her book serves as a wakeup call for anyone who might have thought that summer camp was all about fun and socialization. This discussion teaches us how the historical understanding of postwar America can inform our thinking about many issues in Jewish education today.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

According to this week's Adapting guest, Liron Lipinsky, w​​hen it comes to youth programming, teens come for the social component and stay for the educational experiences. Is this tactic a bait and switch? No. In fact, it's the secret sauce to teen engagement. 

In this episode, BBYO's VP of Enrichment discusses with David Bryfman how to leverage informal social experiences to empower youth, instill Jewish pride, and build engagement and education around Israel. If you are a teen educator or someone who cares about Jewish life at such a critical age, you will not want to miss this episode!​

There is much at stake for the future of Jewish education in these rapidly changing times. Last week, The Jewish Education Project released a comprehensive report, From Census to Possibilities: Designing Pathways for Jewish Learners, on the current state of Jewish supplementary schools in North America, the first of its kind since 2008.

On this week's episode of Adapting, David Bryfman delves into the report's findings, but more importantly potential pathways forward, with Jewish educator Marisa Kaiser, who not only is immersed in the religious school environment daily, but has a broader perspective on the field as well. Marisa shares possibilities of how to enhance supplementary Jewish education so that children can grow into lifelong learners of Judaism. 

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Data can be used as an effective and important tool for measuring success of Jewish engagement. But what are the data points we are looking for? And once we have that data, how can we use it to the best of our ability to better understand our audiences and the factors that motivate them to live a more Jewish life?

On this week's episode of Adapting, Jennifer Zwilling draws from her experiences at Hillel International and the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington, DC, and how she successfully collected data to measure the impact of Jewish engagement and further connect audiences to Jewish experiences. This work shows how when you ask the right questions, you can gain insight that gets you closer to achieving your organizational goals.​​

This week's Adapting includes a frank conversation with David Bryfman and Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath, Senior Director of Knowledge, Ideas, and Learning at The Jewish Education Project, as they review key takeaways from discussions about AI at the Jewish Futures Conference on March 23, 2023.

Tune in to this episode of Adapting to explore: as educators, should we be wary this new technology, or can we embrace these platforms as our teaching partners? Listen to find out!

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Today we can interact with machine learning in new, unprecedented ways. Educators can ask a chatbot to write lesson plans at the click of a button. Students can incorporate their selfies into the Exodus story. 

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to revolutionize Jewish education, and this emerging technology is also raising ethical concerns amongst educators.

This week's Adapting includes a frank conversation with David Bryfman and Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath, Senior Director of Knowledge, Ideas, and Learning at The Jewish Education Project, as they review key takeaways from discussions about AI at the Jewish Futures Conference on March 23, 2023.

Tune in to this episode of Adapting to explore: as educators, should we be wary this new technology, or can we embrace these platforms as our teaching partners? Listen to find out!

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

The way educators talk about identity has direct impact on how learners see themselves reflected in Jewish tradition. That is why LGBTQ+ advocacy and embracing gender identity work is imperative for Jewish education.

Talking to David Bryfman this week on Adapting is Dubbs Weinblatt (they/them), Founder and CEO of Thank You for Coming Out, who advocates for creating a more just and inclusive world. Bravely sharing their story as a genderqueer trans Jew, Dubbs teaches us this work is inherently Jewish, intertwined with the values of B'tzelem Elohim ("In God's Image") and Shmirat Halashon ("Guarding one's use of language"), and that we shouldn't have to sacrifice one identity for another in Jewish spaces.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

There are almost one million Israelis living in the United States today. This includes immigrants who came to America as Israelis and discovered their Jewishness in different and exciting ways, and their children who have grown up pretty much like other Jewish Americans... just with Israeli parents. Now these families as Israeli American Jews and their children face a unique set of challenges as they balance maintaining their Israeli with their American Jewish experience. 

Joining David Bryfman on this week's episode of Adapting is Dr. Yakir Englander of the Israeli American Council to discuss what it means to build a vibrant Israeli-American Jewish community, one where, the relationship is mutual: Israelis learn from their American peers and Americans learn about Israeli culture, demonstrating an education of Klal Yisrael (all of the Jewish people).

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Schlep, klutz, shvigger... Yiddish is more than a few kitschy words. The language embodies and celebrates Jewish culture and daily life that is often lost to a younger generation, and can be used as a tool to get learners excited about connecting to Jewish life.

This week on Adapting, David Bryfman speaks with Susan Bronson, Executive Director of the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA, who advocates for studying Yiddish as a way to create a generation of Jewishly literate youths. With themes of activism, persecution, and modernity, reading seemingly "dying" Jewish languages like Yiddish and Ladino is, in fact, critical for engaging others while bridging communities across the Jewish spectrum.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

A rabbi walks into a bar... and opens a Jewish house of learning.

Imagine a tavern playing Israeli music, the walls lined with old books written in Hebrew or even Aramaic, and patrons coming together to discuss those texts and other Jewish ideas while sharing food and drink inspired by cuisine of the diaspora. You don't have to imagine a communal Jewish house of learning because it exists, and it is called Lehrhaus.

This week on Adapting with David Bryfman, Rabbi Charlie Schwartz discusses his innovative concept of Lehrhaus, a Boston-based nonprofit designed to increase the prevalence of Jewish learning by making it accessible and fun regardless of Jewish backgaround. With a single mission in making Jewish education meaningful and relevant over delicious food and engaging conversation, Lehrhaus is a great example of what can be achieved when we mix innovation and Jewish education.

Click here to watch Charlie's video, "A Vision in 4 Parts," winner of the first Jewish Futures Competition in 2010.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Since the pandemic, the Jewish nonprofit sector has faced the same changes and challenges as the rest of the working world: the Great Resignation, shifted expectations of work, and Gen Z entering the workforce, to name a few. Joining this week’s episode of Adapting is Amy Born, Chief Strategy & Impact Officer from Leading Edge, an organization that supports Jewish nonprofits on their quests to become even better places to work.

Together, David Bryfman and Amy Born explore the themes that, as Jewish nonprofit leaders – from CEO’s to directors and beyond – are on our minds: work-life balance and setting boundaries, recruitment and retention of Jewish educators, and the role lay leaders play in ensuring the Jewish workforce is as strong as it can be. Lastly, Amy shares advice for Jewish leaders based on her expertise and Leading Edge data to ensure they are doing all they can to run a healthy and successful work environment today and for the future.  

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Empowerment. Ownership of your own destiny. Social engines of change. These were factors that spurred on the Zionist youth movement phenomenon and established their prominence in the 20th century. As historian Walter Laqueur once said, "[The youth movement] won't be merely a footnote in the story of the Jewish people, but a whole chapter." But can Zionist youth movements succeed in the 21st century? Are they equipped to fight the powerful forces at work today?  

David Bryfman waxes nostalgic on Zionist youth movements with this week’s Adapting guest, Jonny Ariel, an “Education Connoisseur” with 35 years of experience in Jewish education, and a one-time "Jewish Youth Leader of the Year" in the movement for Soviet Jewry. The two also debate the future of Zionist youth movements, if they must still be built on counterculture, or will require a whole new paradigm to flourish in a very different world.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Since the early 20th century, Jewish and Zionist youth movements have inspired individuals to come together as a collective around a shared aspiration. Today, in the age of social media and an overwhelming number of causes to support, they are more relevant than ever, but in some ways more challenged, as they strive to activate young people to speak out and actualize a vision for the future.  

Joining David Bryfman this week on Adapting is Adina Frydman, CEO of the U.S.'s oldest Zionist youth movement, Young Judaea. They discuss how a youth movement is different from a youth organization, what it's like to be the CEO of a Zionist youth movement, the complexity of the term "Zionist" in today's highly charged climate, and why we need youth movements now more than ever before.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

Summer camp creates a unique environment that resembles a Jewish utopia inside a bubble. It's a culture built on kindness and connection without outside academic or societal pressure, and in many cases, access to technology, that enhances cherished face time with friends as well as young staff members who serve as mentors. Plus, campers enjoy aspects of Jewish life they may not experience at home.

This week’s episode of Adapting takes you inside the bubble of summer camp with Debby Shriber, the Executive Director of the URJ Northeast Camps. David Bryfman and Debby explore the secrets of summer camp success, the crucial role of Camp Directors, and how well-meaning parents can let the air out of the bubble. They probe the question: can we spread these joyful Jewish experiences in campers' lives throughout the rest of the year, or does the bubble, by its very nature, only exist during summer in a camp setting?

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

You might also like...
🎙️The Ruach Behind the Rhythm featuring Naomi Less

🎙️The impact of summer day camps all year round featuring Rabbi Ami Hersh

Jewish day schools continue to be successful as they evolve with the changing needs of today’s families. Sharon Freundel, Managing Director of The Jewish Education Innovation Challenge (JEIC) suggests that by doubling down on their strengths, acknowledging their challenges, and embracing the opportunity to transform, sometimes radically their approach, that Jewish day schools will continue to evolve and excel into the future. With 40 years of experience in the field of Jewish day school education, observing schools that have been wildly successful, and those that have not, Sharon has discovered that the key ingredient to long-term success is innovation.

Sharon shares her passion for the immersive nature of day schools, identifies the key areas where innovation is most needed, and discusses how to test new models and ideas while also delivering a quality educational experience.  David and Sharon even tackle the subject of God and prayer in today's Jewish day schools, and why connecting learners to God at all stages is so essential. 

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.

You might also like...
🎙️The Resilience of Jewish Day Schools featuring Paul Bernstein
🎙️Is the Writing on the Wall for Jewish Day Schools? featuring Dr. Chaim Botwinick