Michelle Blumenthal
Certificate in Jewish Education for
Adolescents and Emerging Adults
Student
41
Michelle Blumenthal deepens Jewish identity among her students with the knowledge and skills gained
from her studies toward the Certificate in Jewish Education for Adolescents and Emerging Adults.
A
s an Education Fellow at the
Institute for Southern Jewish
Living, located at the URJ’s Camp
Jacobs in Jackson, MS, Michelle
Blumenthal is one of nine itinerant
educators working with 77 congrega-
tions across 13 states.
“
Sometimes our kids are the only
Jewish students in their schools. I
want them to be proud Jews, espe-
cially in communities where they are
dealing with anti-Semitism, and to
teach their peers who often have
never met a Jew before.”
Blumenthal is one of the sixteen
students in the inaugural cohort of
HUC-JIR’s newly launched certificate
program, made possible by the Jim
Joseph Foundation Education Initia-
tive, which is preparing educators
from across North America to
nurture the Jewish identity and com-
mitment of youth and young adults.
The curriculum is comprehensive and
taught through online courses and
on-site institutes and intensives,
guided by a mentor, and culminates
in a field-related action project.
Blumenthal praises the program’s
faculty for “presenting the informa-
tion using a variety of learning styles.”
“
I used to find it difficult to teach
about Jewish identity, when I myself
wasn’t too sure where I stood on cer-
tain issues. I have learned that it is
ok to question, it is important to test
your boundaries, and that our views
can and ultimately will change as we
grow. We are all on a Jewish journey
that never really ends.”
As a rabbinical student, Spinrad has enjoyed multiple
opportunities to engage in meaningful social justice op-
portunities, including a CLAL/Panim interdenominational
rabbinical retreat on spirituality and social justice and a
trip to Florida with Rabbis for Human Rights-North Amer-
ica to meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and
to learn about their Campaign for Fair Food.
Spinrad traveled to Senegal with the American Jewish
World Service and rabbinical students across the Jewish
continuum, to work on a service project in the village Keur
Ibra Fall, about two hours east of Dakar. He was challenged
daily to integrate his experiences in the field with relevant
Jewish texts seen in the light of modern, complex social
and economic realities. What did he learn from the experi-
ence? “The application of Jewish ethics in the developing
world reinforced my belief that I can’t turn my back on peo-
ple in need. I am committed to both
klal Yisrael
and to the
larger world. Neither is mutually exclusive. I truly believe
that our capacity to contribute authentically as Jews
is limited only by our conviction and our courage.”
