Our School of Education faculty are engaged in research and teaching within and beyond HUC-JIR, and we are pleased to share some highlights of our faculty’s recent scholarship and service.
Lauren Applebaum, Ed.D.
Lauren Applebaum, Ed.D.Recent Academic Publications:
- “A Little Bit More Far than Mexico”: How 3- and 4-year-old Jewish Preschool Students Understand Israel. Journal of Jewish Education, Fall 2020. (with Sivan Zakai & Anna Hartman)
- Dwelling in the Space Between. Scriptions: Jewish Responses in a Time of COVID, Fall 2020. (with Sivan Zakai)
Recent Workshops and Presentations:
- Fellow in the Portraits of Adult Jewish Learning (PAJL) project of the Mandel Center for Jewish Education at Brandeis University, 2020-2021.
- Presenter at Mandel Teacher Educator Alumni Conference, “Teaching and Parenting in the Era of Covid-19,” December 2020.
Rabbi Samuel K. Joseph, Ph.D.
- Core Faculty designer and teacher for URJ Scheidt Seminar for New Congregational Presidents:
- “How to Think Like a President: What Should I Care About,” August 2020.
- “Practical Wisdom for Presidents,” September 2020.
- “Strengthening the Board in the Midst of the Pandemic,” December 2020.
- Designed and facilitated Board retreat for “Roots of Reform Judaism,” October 2020.
- Designed and facilitated Board retreat for Temple Emanu-El, Sarasota, FL, November 2020.
- Published “Leading with Hope in a Time of Fear and Guilt and Isolation,” in “Scriptions: Jewish Thoughts & Responses to COVID-19,” December 2020.
- Presenter, ARJE Annual Gathering 2021: “Get Back on Track, or Building a New One: What Lies Ahead Professionally?” and “Keep It or Leave It…How the adjustments we’ve already made can inspire how we move forward?” January 2021.
- Designed and facilitated Professional Staff team building program, Temple Sinai, Roslyn, NY, January 2021.
Lesley Litman, Ed.D., RJE
- Appointed HUC-JIR Coordinator of Online Instructional Support (part-time) August 2020.
- Publication: Leadership Practices in the Era of COVID-19, Scriptions Jewish Thoughts and Responses of COVID-19, December 2020. (with Michael Zeldin)
- Presenter, “What we’re learning: Slaying the Zoom Dragon and Other Secrets for Meaningful Online Learning,” October 2020. (with Miriam Heller Stern)
Miriam Heller Stern, Ph.D.
- Keynote speaker, Goldring/Woldenberg Institute for Southern Jewish Life Education Conference, on the topic, “What do we do now? Timely and Timeless Strategies for Teaching Creative Jewish Thinking,” June 2020.
- Contributing Author, eJewishphilanthropy series, “What’s Going on in Jewish Education? Answers from Leaders in the Field.” August, September, November 2020 and March 2021.
- Featured panelist, “A Snapshot of Jewish Life: Panel on Trends in Modern Judaism” Hellen Diller Family Foundation, Professional and Lay Leaders Conference virtual. Watch the recording here. October 2020.
- Scholar/Commentator, the dybbukkast, “I-Tell-You,” episode 1 featuring reenactment of material from a 1926 religious school literary journal, on education, assimilation, cultural expression of identity, and the complications of community. Listen here. November 2020.
- Guest Scholar, “Art, Provocation and Jewish History,” hosted by Aaron Henne, Jewish Live. Watch here. December 2020.
- Fellow in the Portraits of Adult Jewish Learning (PAJL) project of the Mandel Center for Jewish Education at Brandeis University, 2020-2021. Research project: “Remaking the Past with an eye toward the future: theatre dybbuk’s creative engagement with Jewish history.”
Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, Ed.D.
Recent Academic Publications:
- Contributor author in “Can Robots Be Jewish? And Other Pressing Questions of Modern Life.” Amy E. Schwartz, Ed. Mandel Vilar Press and Moment Books. December, 2020.
Recent Workshops and Presentations:
- Presenter: “Looking toward the Future: New Understandings, Questions, and Opportunities in Jewish Education Post-COVID,” Voices From the Field: Celebrating Jewish Learning After School, January 2021.
- Presenter/Sermon: “Looking Across the Sea: New Understandings, Questions, and Opportunities in Jewish Education Post-COVID” for Union for Reform Judaism Congregational Shabbat with Baltimore area congregations, January 2021.
- Panelist, “Ask the Rabbis Live with Moment Magazine on Reparations: Good? Bad? What’s the Jewish Take?,” Limmud North America, October 21, 2020. Watch video here.
- Panelist, “The 2020 Elections: What the Results Mean for America’s Faith Groups,” Fresno Pacific University and Neighborly Faith, November 2020.
- Facilitator: “L’chaim and Learning: A guided ‘Book Group Style’ discussion of recent research in Jewish Education,” MTEI Graduate Conference, December 2020.
- Facilitator: “Looking Toward the Future: New Understandings, Questions and Opportunities in Jewish Education, Post-COVID,” MTEI Graduate Conference, December 2020. (with Leah Strigler)
Sivan Zakai, Ph.D.
Recently appointed to be the next co-editor of the Journal of Jewish Education, for an appointment starting January 2022.
Recent Academic Publications:
- “A Little Bit More Far than Mexico”: How 3- and 4-year-old Jewish Preschool Students Understand Israel. Journal of Jewish Education, Fall 2020. (with Lauren Applebaum & Anna Hartman)
- “I’m going to Israel and all I need to pack is my imagination”: Pretend Trips to Israel in Jewish Early Childhood Education. Journal of Jewish Education, Fall 2020. (with Lauren Applebaum)
- Dwelling in the Space Between. Scriptions: Jewish Responses in a Time of COVID, Fall 2020. (with Lauren Applebaum)
Recent Workshops for Jewish Educators:
- Understanding the 4 key contexts of Israel education. Bel Air, CA: Talk to the Educational Board of Milken Community Schools, January 13, 2021.
- What we talk about when we talk about Israel education. Bel Air, CA: Seminar for the Senior Leadership of Milken Community Schools, November 23, 2020.
Michael Zeldin, Ph.D.
- Faculty, iCenter Masters Concentration in Israel Education (iFellows Program) May 1917-December 2020.
- Speaker, Colloquium in honor of Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, Brandeis University, October 2020.
- Publication: Leadership Practices in the Era of COVID-19, Scriptions Jewish Thoughts and Responses of COVID-19, December 2020. (with Lesley Litman)
- Mentor, Masters Program in Israel Education, The George Washington University, July-December 2020.