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| THE CHRONICLE
MEET HUC-J IR’S STUDENTS
F
eople often ask me why I am not be-
coming a rabbi. Growing up I had
plenty of opportunities to develop my
leadership skills. I attended an HUC-JIR
Cincinnati trip, was a member of NFTY, and
went to the Religious Action Center of Re-
form Judaism in Washington, DC, but it was
not until my senior year of high school that I
realized that being a Jewish educator
could be a possibility for my path in life.
I believe that Jewish educators are the ‘of-
fensive linemen of the Jewish sport of identity
formation.’ Offensive linemen are known for
being in the trenches, working hard, and pro-
tecting others; without them the plays could
not be successful. Without Jewish educators,
Judaism would suffer. We are the leaders who
connect with and want to inspire a new gen-
eration of Jewish living and learning. I’m not
receiving this degree because I want recogni-
tion; I am doing this because I want to make
the Jewish people stronger.
My journey began as a seventeen-year-
old
madrich
in a 5th-grade religious school
classroom, where I enjoyed getting to know
the kids but was often bored. As I bonded
with the students I noticed that they were
also bored by the methods that the teacher
used. I wanted to find a way to help inspire
the students to love Judaism the way I did.
One of my mentors, Robin Eisenberg,
RJE, helped me improve my skills in working
with the students. My rabbi, Daniel Levin,
N ’96, connected me with his classmate,
Katherine Schwartz, MAJE/SJCS ’96, who in-
vited me to teach at
her synagogue.
Over the next five years, I was able to de-
velop my skills as a teacher working at
Congregation Har HaShem in Boulder, CO,
while studying Speech Pathology and Audiol-
ogy at the University of Colorado. I was
encouraged to develop new programs and
projects and had the opportunity for mentor-
ship that helped me grow. Ultimately, I
wanted to be a stronger Jewish leader and re-
alized that the Rhea Hirsch School of
Education was a place that could help me
achieve my goal.
One of my special interests has been
working with students with disabilities. I have
volunteered with the Special Olympics and a
life skills special education class, and been a
manager at an inclusion-based preschool. In
my teaching in Jewish Education, I’ve always
asked for the students with disabilities, or be-
havioral issues, knowing that every child
deserves as many opportunities as possible to
develop a love for Judaism.
The Rhea Hirsch School of Education is
innovatively developing future Jewish leaders
in this field with faculty who are modeling
cutting-edge techniques. For example, Dr. Isa
Aron led our class through a thirty-minute
synectics activity (a problem-solving method
that stimulates thought processes of which the
subject may be unaware) in which we created
an analogy for our relationship with the
Torah
.
The activity not only taught me the
skills to use this method with my own stu-
dents but it also allowed me to explore my
relationship with the
Torah
.
The combination of class work and my
professional development internship has
helped further develop my skills. My mentor
at University Synagogue, Rachel Margolis,
MAJE/SJCS ’07, is a visionary in the field of
Jewish education whose teachers and staff are
fully integrated into the synagogue commu-
nity. She has provided an internship
opportunity for me where I can create, learn,
lead, and strengthen my abilities.
The Rhea Hirsch School of Education is
an intentional, thoughtful, creative, and in-
novative program that is reshaping Jewish
education with a faculty that is passionate
about their mission. The Jewish world needs
all kinds of players on its team to be success-
ful, and Rhea Hirsch is doing its part to
strengthen our people.
Becoming an ‘Offensive Lineman of
the Jewish Sport of Identity Formation’
Bradley Cohen, RHSOE ‘09
Bradley Cohen, RHSOE ’09, engaging the youngest generation.
