Ohr Torah Stone | Features | Newsletter Fall 2003

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OTS Newsletter - Winter/Spring 2005

Rising to the Challenge

Perhaps the greatest tribute to an educational institution lies in the life-paths chosen by its graduates. Alumnae of Midreshet Lindenbaum's Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program are a case in point, as they play an important role in some of the revolutionary initiatives taking place today in North American Jewish education.

"With one year of your life. inspire the next generation of day school students with your love of Judaism." These are the opening lines of the recruitment brochure for the two-year-old Jewish Teacher Corps (JTC), an Edah project sponsored by the Avi Chai Foundation that sends college graduates with rich Jewish backgrounds to serve as role models of Jewish living and learning in smaller Jewish communities across the USA. While several young men and women applied for participation in the JTC, tellingly, all four of the women awarded fellowships this year share something besides their common interest in Jewish continuity: they are all proud alumnae of Midreshet Lindenbaum's Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program.

"I spent a year-and-a-half at Midreshet Lindenbaum," reveals JTC Fellow Shifra Landowne, "which was without a doubt a powerful influence in my decision to go on this program." The Stern College graduate credits Midreshet Lindenbaum with giving her both the tools and the motivation to accept a teaching position at the four-year-old Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School in Phoenix, Arizona. "The Midreshet Lindenbaum approach to studying Tanach and Talmud in a logical, critical and thorough manner really affected the way in which I plan my lessons and talk to my own students about learning Torah," she explains. "I very often find myself referring back not only to what I learned at Midreshet Lindenbaum, but also to the way in which I learned it. For example, in one of my very first lessons, I taught about chiastic structure, something that Rav Menachem Liebtag always referred to in his shiurim. The way I teach is heavily affected by his approach."

Elisha Horen's class conducts a
festive model Rosh Hashana
meal

Like Shifra, Elisha Horen also draws heavily on her Midreshet Lindenbaum background in her capacity as Judaic Studies teacher at the Jewish Community School of the Desert in Palm Springs, California. "To this day, I maintain a very close connection with the teachers," relates the 22-year-old Riverdale native. "When I had to prepare a model lesson and homework for my interview with the JTC, I received terrific feedback from Rav Alex Israel and in general, my style of teaching is directly influenced by the style of learning I experienced at Midreshet Lindenbaum." Elisha shares responsibility for all limudei kodesh in her school with fellow JTC participant Elana Stiel, who attended Midreshet Lindenbaum a year earlier. Elana too expresses gratitude to her former teachers for preparing her for her position today: "The lecturers at Midreshet Lindenbaum really encouraged us to develop confidence and independence," she points out. "Each class was built to allow us not only to internalize what the teacher taught, but to really reflect on the material, research its background, analyze with our chevrutot and be able to present our own formalized thoughts on any given subject. Ultimately, it was the development of these skills that enabled me to apply for the JTC," she asserts.

The Gift of a Jewish Education

A kindergartener at the
Jewish Community School of the
Desert searches for the Hebrew
letters in his name, getting
his very first glimpse of a real
sefer Torah.

At the Jewish Community School of the Desert, Elisha and Elana face the challenge of making Judaism accessible, fun and exciting to students from a wide range of backgrounds. "Our objective is to enable the local parents to give their children the gift of a Jewish education," says Elana. "In addition to teaching the relevant texts, we want to instill in these kids a healthy sense of being Jewish; a pride in their religion and heritage." To this end, the two women have forged ahead with innovative and creative educational methods. For example, in teaching her students the Book of Joshua, Elisha encouraged them to build the city of Jericho out of Lego and re-enact the battle. "We literally marched those little figures around the city seven times," she describes. Elisha, who teaches grades Three through Eight, has also been known to assign to her students roles of reporters, playwrights or even coaches who have to plan strategic playbooks for events that take place in the Tanach. "Ultimately, I want them to uncover the information themselves and internalize it. I know this way that they'll really remember," she says.

A Torah Dedication: Under
the direction of Elana Stiel,
the school's younger grades
built an Aron Kodesh for
their classroom, welcoming their
homemade Torahs into the
new Ark with song and dance.

Elana, who is responsible for instilling Judaism in the hearts and minds of the students in the younger grades, has developed original curricula based on the calendar and utilizing as much music and song as possible. "My guitar is on my lap at all times," declares the talented musician and composer, who graduated Barnard two years ago with a degree in Music and Education. "In general," Elana says, "I favor an interdisciplinary approach. For instance, when we studied the parsha of Noah, my kids also conducted scientific floating experiments and learned about the animals. It's very important that they appreciate the deep connection that exists between the Jewish and secular worlds; that the Torah isn't an archaic text that exists in a vacuum, but that it really relates to everything." Elisha also links the Biblical to the current in her lessons. Recently, her class looked up the ancient cities they were studying on the internet, for a lesson in modern-day Israeli geography. "I want to expose them to the ongoing nature of their rich history to help them reveal their role in an evolving nation," Elisha explains.

The investment of time and effort into inventive programming, the extra hours spent with students and the intense devotion the JCT fellows have for their adoptive communities can also be traced back to their Midreshet Lindenbaum experience.

"Perhaps more than anything," testifies Shifra, "the sheer dedication of my… teachers remains an inspiration to me in my work today. When I stay late to give a student some extra help or invite kids over for Shabbat, I often think of the faculty at Midreshet Lindenbaum, who had children and families and long, often-dangerous drives and still stayed with us in the beit midrash until all hours of the night, only to be back first thing the following morning. Their enthusiasm and sense of commitment really shaped my decision to spend this year living in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces, for the sake of Jewish education."

Keeping in Touch

There are dozens of other Midreshet Lindenbaum alumnae who are involved in learning and teaching initiatives all over the world. Many remain in close contact with their former educators, who continue to track their progress and offer advice and support. "It is a wonderful expression of hakarat hatov," declares Tova Rhein, Director of the Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program. "I can't think of a better way to show appreciation for the education received than to dedicate one's life to the transmission of that education."

Indeed, the JTC fellows testify to their warm, ongoing relationship with the school faculty. "Toward the beginning of this school year I shared with my students a dvar torah that had been sent to me by Rav Alex," comments Shifra. "He is incredibly supportive and anxious to help me in any way possible; it's a wonderful feeling to know that he will be available if I need it." Elana also remains deeply attached to Midreshet Lindenbaum, and plans to spend winter break this year sitting in on classes and studying in the Beit Midrash with her younger sister Rikki, who is currently enrolled in the Maria and Joel Finkle program. And since her year-and-a-half stint ended in 2001, Elisha has been back to visit what she calls her "home away from home" each year on Sukkot. "I love and miss the environment of the Beit Midrash, it's still where I enjoy learning the most," she reveals. "There is always a bed for me there, and I'm always welcome. I stay connected with Midreshet Lindenbaum because it had such an important impact on my life."

Sparking a Flame

The only woman accepted to this year's cohort of the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute's prestigious Teaching Fellowship Program is Midreshet Lindenbaum alumna Sefi Kraut. "I loved Midreshet Lindenbaum," enthuses the 23-year-old Sefi. "That is still my Beit Midrash, my place of learning."

The Teaching Fellowship Program is an exciting initiative aimed at preparing Judaic Studies teachers who will contribute to an educational transformation in Jewish day schools across North America. "The program not only sounds interesting conceptually, but it is excellent in practice as well," attests Sefi. After a year-long training program based at the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute in Boston, Sefi will commit to a period of at least three years of teaching in a Jewish school. In articulating her overarching goal as a Jewish educator, she says it is "to impart to others exactly the kind of excitement about Judaic studies that I received at Midreshet Lindenbaum."

The Cincinnati native attended Midreshet Lindenbaum from the Fall of 2000 through January 2002, and says that the experience completely changed the way she views Torah learning. "In the Tanach track, Rabbanit Shani Taragin taught us how to study the text, paying careful attention to the language, structure, wordplay, character development and perspective," explains Sefi. "The analytical process revealed seemingly simple Torah text to be something so incredibly rich and meaningful. That was a huge breakthrough for me, my appreciation for Torah just skyrocketed I realized that there is no end to the learning. if you know how and where to look, there are endless ways in which to constantly discover and be inspired."

Now Sefi wants to spark that same passion for learning in others. "I want to make being involved in Torah an exciting experience and expose to my students that Torah is complex and exciting, worth studying, learning and living by. Jewish day school kids learn long hours, jumping around from class to class. My job is to make sure that limudei kodesh makes an impression on them, that it is as thought-provoking and intriguing as all their other subjects."

Sefi still keeps in touch with many of her teachers; on her last visit to Midreshet Lindenbaum this past summer, she spent Shabbat in Alon Shvut, where she enjoyed quality time with Rabbi David Brofsky, Rabbi Alex Israel and Shani Taragin "These are the people who influenced the way I view Torah learning, who revealed the complexity of the Torah and its relevance to my daily life," says Sefi. "I aspire to impart that same message as successfully to my own students, to reveal Jewish studies as pertinent and worthy of their interest."

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