PODCAST: Tradition Today Summit

Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman

On Sunday, November 9th, 75 Jewish educators, rabbis, lay-leaders, and thought leaders gathered for the second Tradition Today Summit, convened together with Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and TRADITION’s publisher, the Rabbinical Council of America, on “Educating Our Children to Be Ovdei Hashem in a Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities.”

Together we considered what we can do as a community to educate the next generation of committed Ovdei Hashem? How can students be guided to engage deeply with Jewish life and learning while navigating the challenges of a rapidly changing world? Questions such as these define the landscape of contemporary Jewish education. This second Tradition Today Summit explored how we confront these issues in different contexts: from the New York area to so-called “out-of-town” communities; from American gap-year programs in Israel to local schools and synagogues. Classical Jewish sources, Hasidic thought, and ideas from general educational teachings provide valuable perspectives for addressing these concerns. Central issues to be considered include the role of technology in the classroom and students’ lives more broadly, strategies for supporting different types of students, and models for fostering genuine spirituality. The discussion will highlight the range of approaches within Modern Orthodoxy and the broader challenges facing Jewish education today.

View the program schedule. The conference proceedings will appear in an upcoming special issue of TRADITION.

Listen to the opening remarks of the assembly with Rabbi Jeffrey Saks (Editor of TRADITION), Rabbi Etan Tokayer (President, RCA), and Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman (President, Yeshiva University).

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