Tradition Today Summit

“Educating Our Children to Be Ovdei Hashem in a Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities”
Convened with the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education & Administration, Yeshiva University
Sunday, November 9, 2025 – 18 Heshvan 5786
Congregation Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, NJ

Together we will consider 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 will explore 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.

Schedule
Introduction to the TRADITION Today Summit: R. Jeffrey Saks, Editor, TRADITION
Greetings: R. Etan Tokayer, President, RCA
R. Dr. Ari Berman, President, Yeshiva University

10:00 Session I
Dr. Ilana Turetsky, Azrieli Graduate School & R. Yehuda Turetsky, Yeshivat Sha’alvim
“Building Ovdei Hashem: Reflecting on the Gap Year Amidst Shifting North American Orthodox Norms”
R. Mark Gottlieb, Chief Education Officer, The Tikvah Fund
“Between Authenticity and Authority: Mimesis and the Role Model in the Educational Philosophy of R. Shlomo Wolbe and Fr. Luigi Giussani”
Moderator: Rabbanit Lisa Schlaff, Director of Judaic Studies, SAR High School

Session II
R. David Block, Head of School, Shalhevet High School, Los Angeles
“School, Home & Community: The Sacred Partnership and the Cost of Outsourcing Education”
Mrs. Rivy Poupko Kletenik, RPK Insight: Coaching & Consulting; frmr. Head of Schools, Seattle and Denver
“Learning from the Big Challenges of Small Jewish Communities”
Moderator: R. Dr. Shlomo Zuckier, Kaplan Doctoral Fellow, University of Toronto; Consulting Editor; TRADITION

Session III
Rabbanit Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld, Chief Learning Officer, Sefaria
“Digital Pathways for Talmud Torah: Technology’s New Opportunities & Challenges”
R. Dr. Hillel Broder, Head of School, Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
“Teaching and Learning with Enchantment: The Emergence and Presence of Hasidic Text and Thought in Modern Orthodox Day Schools”
Moderator: Dr. Deena S. Rabinovich, Associate Dean, Azrieli Graduate School

Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions
R. Dr. Shlomo Zuckier, Kaplan Doctoral Fellow, University of Toronto; Consulting Editor; TRADITION

Dinner

Evening Keynote Address (access recordings):
Greetings: R. Chaim Strauchler, Rinat Yisrael & TRADITION
R. Menachem Penner, Executive Vice-President, RCA
Keynote: R. Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, Yeshiva University: “Historical Realities and Educational Methodologies: Then and Now”
Respondents: R. Dr. Michael Berger, Dean, Azrieli Graduate School
Ms. Miriam Krupka Berger, Associate Principal, Ramaz Upper School
Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Kobrin, Rosh Yeshiva & Head of School, North Shore Hebrew Academy

Supported by Henry and Golda Reena Rothman

Tradition Today Summit Steering Committee (2025): Michael Berger, Jeffrey Saks & Shlomo Zuckier, Chairs.
Binyamin Blau, David Block, Hillel Broder, Erica Brown, Raizi Chechik, Adam Englander, Maury Grebenau, Tully Harczstark, Rivy Kletenik, Jeffrey Kobrin, Debra Shaffer Seeman, Laya Solomon, Ilana Turetsky, Yehuda Turetsky, Rebecca Winter.