Educators Intensive

Monday June 24-Thursday June 27 

 

Female Jewish educators are invited to learn in person at Maharat from June 24-June 27 to invest in their continued growth and development.This intensive is intended for those working full time in formal Jewish educational environments, primarily in grades K-12. All classes  will take place in person at Maharat in Riverdale, NY.

 

 

Schedule:

 

Morning Session | 9:30 am-12:30 pm ET

Talmudic Sugyot that Speak to Teachers with Ruth Fagen

As teachers, we play multiple roles and have multiple goals in our classrooms. We want to help our individual students grow in their skills, while balancing the needs of a larger group of students. We want to help our students develop skills at independent learning, but we also want them to feel connected and to explore the big ideas that animate difficult legal texts. Together, we will explore a number of sugyot that explore these and other tensions, as we explore what the Talmud can teach us about ourselves as teachers, and our multifaceted relationships with our learners. 

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Each afternoon we will have a deep dive into a topic with a different faculty member.

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Monday Afternoon  |  1:30-5:00 pm ET

Topic The Shadow Behind Us: Pedagogy and Perpetuation in Rabbinic Literature with Gemara Faculty Rabba Wendy Amsellem

In Tom Stoppard’s play Leopoldstadt, one character complains of the younger generation, “You live as if without history, as if you throw no shadow behind you.” Rabbinic literature, by contrast, is obsessively interested in the shadow behind us -  how it is crafted and how it is maintained. We will study three tannaitic figures, Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion, Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkanos, and Rabbi Yehuda haNasi. We will explore their relationships with their students, how succeeding generations hone and reshape their stories, and how the sometimes snarky narrative voice of the Bavli adds its own contrapuntal perspective.

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Tuesday Afternoon  |  1:30-5:00 pm ET 

Studies in Neurodivergent Torah: Prophets and the Children of Prophets with Rabbanit Dr. Liz Shayne
Living--as we all do these days--in a non-prophet world, the figure of the navi is an interesting and complicated one. They are those who often find themselves on the boundaries, both on the edges of society and in the place where one thing crosses over into another. In this session, we'll look at three different nevi'im and consider their self perceptions, the way they move through the world, their strengths, and their weaknesses. In doing so, we will get to know these figures better and have a chance to think about what happens when we or our students find ourselves walking in their complicated footsteps.

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Wednesday Afternoon  |  1:30-5:00 pm ET 

Celebrating Chagim in the Beit Hamikdash; Celebrating Today with Rabbanit Devorah Zlochower 

In this class, we will learn a number of sugyot in Masekhet Chagigah and examine the mitzvah of aliyah la'regel, the festival sacrifices and what carries over in the absence of the Temple.

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Thursday Afternoon  |  1:30-5:00 pm ET 

Circumcision, Immersion and Korban: Understanding the Core Components of Conversion with Rabbi Jeffrey Fox 

These classes will focus on the physical rituals that Chazal placed at the center of the process of conversion. How can one convert today without bringing a Korban? What if a man can't be circumcised? What if someone has a serious water phobia and can't immerse?

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Cost:

$400, includes two lunches

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Financial assistance is available. Please contact Rachel Zorbaron.

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