Month: March 2014

To Sustain a Life is to Sustain a Community

I seek out individuals in the community and interview them in order to write their Jewish stories. Through this experience, I have learned that the community is more than just a sum of its parts. The single lives sustained by the Jewish community are the real source of sustenance for the communal structure.

Learning by Doing and by Thinking about Doing

I have been surprised by how strongly I have been influenced by one of the subtexts of this fellowship experience, which is the introspective learning that we engage in. The purpose of the fellowship, I’m told, is not just to learn about our placements or our coursework, but to learn about ourselves. I’m also discovering that one of the great…

Eilu D’varim: These are the Things

Through Torah study, we gain a rich and meaningful life. But what happens when the study of Torah is daunting? When learning Hebrew seems impossible? When the timing of classes just doesn’t fit into the schedule?

My Students Are My Teachers

I once had a professor who lectured to the air. This professor encompassed boundless knowledge I wished to learn, but when he taught, he was oblivious to the students.