JED404 Session 3

1. Review:
1.Holtz’s Teacher Orientations
2.Grumet’s dichotomies.
3.Rosenak’s approaches including
Weisel vs the Maharal

2. Watch the Classroom Strategies clip and consider how
it demonstrates a pedagogy of active, discovery
learning, which you can choose to contrast with a
more passive, didactic pedagogy in your assignment.

3. Besdin Kraut:
Midrash is a teaching tool – select what complements
or supplements Tanach
Consider how it will be received by students and
reinterpreted in future years – risk vs benefit
What does the midrash intend to teach? Some
midrashim are intended as parables

4. Peters, S. (2004) Learning to Read Midrash. Jerusalem,
Israel Urim Publications pp9 – 22.
Parshanut: (interpretation) explain meaning of the text
Darshanut: (homiletics) Using text to teach a particular
message or value.
Midrash does BOTH and both are legitimate in Jewish
tradition.
Homiletics: many levels of meaning, use of parody,
parable, story, word-play.