2. Here’s how we got our information
Our Sources of knowledge:
Printed books
Television
Radio
Printed handouts in school
Textbooks
Newspapers
3. Guess what? They don’t need you
for information
Your learners (and parents) get their
information from:
Social media
Online newspapers and blogs
Each other
Their Kindles and other e-readers
Phone apps
You get the idea
4. Relax, they still need you
My belief: Two things have to be taught by
Jewish educators:
1. Critical thinking about Jewish content,
wherever it may be found
2. More imporantly, JEWISH
CONNECTIVITY
5. Connectedness to the Jewish
People
Manifesting itself as:
Number and percentage of Jewish friends
Number and percentage of Jewish social network contacts
Participation in tzedaka that is either under Jewish auspices
and/or benefits Jewish recipients
Participation in Jewish community events
Participation in Jewish organizations
Follows news related to Israel
Follow news related to Jewish communities, either locally,
nationally or internationally
“JEWDAR” – That profound ability to spot other Jewish individuals
or the tendency to unintentionally find one’s self in a group of
Jewish individuals in social settings [including the gym,
restaurants, malls, parties, country clubs, supermarkets
How do YOU increase the capacity of Jewish learners to achieve
these?
6. Connectedness to Jewishness
Behaviors that include:
Visiting Israel
Reading Jewish authors who write about Jewish characters or
Jewish concerns
Owning Jewish or Israeli art and/or music
Consciously purchasing Israeli products
Inviting those who are not Jewish to partake of Jewish events or
observances
Reading Jewish blogs, newspapers, and newsfeeds
Focusing interest on news events pertaining to Jews, Jewish
concerns or Israel
Engaging in family conversations around issues to Jewish interest
How do YOU increase the capacity of Jewish learners to achieve
these?
7. Connectedness to Judaism
Elements such as:
Participates in Jewish rituals, such as fasting on Yom
Kippur, attending a Seder, reciting blessings, lighting
Hanukah menora
Uses Shabbat and Jewish holidays to mark time and
to rest [however s/he defines it]
Observes some level of Kashrut and/or Eco-Kashrut
Participates in Jewish study
Has a mezuzah on the door of his/her home
How do YOU increase the capacity of Jewish learners to
achieve these?
8. Connectedness to Jewish History
Manifests inself through:
Relationship to the Jewish calendar – How connected are you to Jewish
holidays, both ancient and modern
Connectedness to Jewish historical events – This includes both cognition,
knowing what and when major events took place in the history of the Jewish
people, and affective connection, such as the degree to which one views Yom
Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, as a cause for great rejoicing
Involvement in Jewish genealogy – Connectedness to Jewish history may
include curiosity about one’s ancestry, and even a commitment to researching
it
Connectedness to modern historical events – In our times, the Shoah and the
birth of the State of Israel are recent enough to warrant special mention as
events to which the connected Jew will have a particular affinity
How do YOU increase the capacity of Jewish learners to achieve these?
9. Connectedness to Jewish Wisdom,
Texts and Values
Which could include:
Whether one owns (and actually opens) a Tanach,
Jewish bible
Ownership (and reading) classical Jewish books
Ownership (and use of) books of contemporary
Jewish wisdom
Regularity of visits to websites dedicated to Jewish
wisdom and texts
Participation in volunteer work that is motivated
by Jewish values
How do YOU increase the capacity of Jewish learners to
achieve these?
10. Why Bother Being a Connected
Jew?
Being Jewish provides a lens through which to see the world. Unlike the
Jewishness of past generations, Jewish is not there to close us off to our
neighbors (or to spouses or other family members who are not Jewish); it is a
way of relating to them that is grounded in our experience, in the same way
that any peoples are grounded in theirs.
Jewishness is a means to an end – the goal of a peaceful world, and one in
which human needs are met.
Jewish peoplehood, as expressed in community, is a powerful model for other
peoples of the world. One need only look at how the Exodus from Egypt that
we celebrate in a few days has been used as a model by downtrodden peoples
throughout history.
Being Jewish is a path towards the Godly, the holy. No more, but certainly no
less, than the paths that other civilizations or religious communities follow.
As Jews, we contribute to the cumulative wisdom of the world in which we live.
Our people’s wisdom and literature are a part of humanity’s wisdom.
SO, WHAT ARE YOU, AS A JEWISH EDUCATOR, GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?