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(Re)dedication and Education

Michelle — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 22:07:45 +0000

(Re)dedication and Education

Michelle Fri, 12/13/2019 - 14:07

Dr. Sara Smith

Assistant Dean

Graduate Center for Jewish Education

Dr. Sara Smith is the Assistant Dean of the Graduate Center for Jewish Education. She earned her PhD from New York University and M.A. and B.A. degrees from Brandeis University.

Early Childhood Education

Summary

Over the summer, AJU renovated the third floor academic wing. This process included painting the walls and doors, which necessitated removing the mezuzot from the doorposts...

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Over the summer, AJU renovated the third floor academic wing. This process included painting the walls and doors, which necessitated removing the mezuzot from the doorposts. Last week, Rabbi Elliot Dorph led the university staff and students in reaffixing mezuzot along that hallway. This brief ceremony symbolized a rededication of the hallway--a hallway of learning. It was quite a site to see staff and students spread out along the long hallway, individually reciting the blessing for putting up a mezuza.

Participating in this process reminded me of Channuka in two ways. First, when we light the channukia, we often do so in a group and yet each recite our own blessing over our own candles. Second, the holiday itself is about the rededication of the Temple after it had been desecrated by the Greeks. The story of the miracle of the oil occurred in the rededicated Temple, which is why it was so hard to find pure, untouched oil. Just as the Temple was rededicated for holy work, so too, the hallways of AJU were rededicated for the sacred work of learning.

It is no coincidence, then, that in Hebrew, the roots of the words dedication and education are the same. Using the lens of dedication to think about education helps us to understand the significance of the work we do as educators. And thinking about how we light Channuka candles encourages us to truly think about our learners. While education often happens in group or communal settings, each individual learner experiences their own process and journey. It is amazing to watch a classroom of learners all engaged in their learning yet working at various paces, levels of understanding, and coming from different backgrounds. Learning is both a communal experience and an individual experience, and it is our job as educators to facilitate those parallel experiences.

Rededication

hanukkah

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Q&A December 2019

Rabbi Artson — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 06:45:19 +0000

Q&A December 2019

Rabbi Artson Wed, 12/11/2019 - 22:45

by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Abner & Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair

Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

Vice President, ��ý

Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson (www.bradartson.com) has long been a passionate advocate for social justice, human dignity, diversity and inclusion. He wrote a book on Jewish teachings on war, peace and nuclear annihilation in the late 80s, became a leading voice advocating for GLBT marriage and ordination in the 90s, and has published and spoken widely on environmental ethics, special needs inclusion, racial and economic justice, cultural and religious dialogue and cooperation, and working for a just and secure peace for Israel and the Middle East. He is particularly interested in theology, ethics, and the integration of science and religion. He supervises the Miller Introduction to Judaism Program and mentors Camp Ramah in California in Ojai and Ramah of Northern California in the Bay Area. He is also dean of the Zacharias Frankel College in Potsdam, Germany, ordaining Conservative rabbis for Europe. A frequent contributor for the Huffington Post and for the Times of Israel, and a public figure Facebook page with over 60,000 likes, he is the author of 12 books and over 250 articles, most recently Renewing the Process of Creation: A Jewish Integration of Science and Spirit. Married to Elana Artson, they are the proud parents of twins, Jacob and Shira. Learn more infomation about Rabbi Artson.

Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

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Contemporary Issues

Summary

Listen in to December's Q&A with Rabbi Artson and the students of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. This month's hot topics: the future of Conservative Judaism, December dilemma, Kaddish without a Minyan, Jewish law (halakhah) today, the power of Hanukkah, personal preference vs communal authority, issues about Israel!

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Q and A December 2018

Michelle — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 22:05:20 +0000

Q and A December 2018

Michelle Wed, 12/05/2018 - 14:05

by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Abner & Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair

Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

Vice President, ��ý

Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

Podcast

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Technology

Summary

Join Rabbi Artson and the lively crew of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies as we explore: will apps replace rabbis? why is ArtScroll so awesome? (rare words of praise from a Conservative rabbi!), where is the line for unacceptable behavior? How do we balance online privacy and ethics? How do we find resilience in catastrophe? What is the meaning of a Hanukkah candle possibly causing the burning of a Capetown synagogue? and most important of all … do hotdogs count as a sandwich?

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