LEARNING AS HEALING
Jan 22, 2024 eJewish Philanthropy
By Rabbi Jan Katzew and Rachel See
“There are those who mistakenly think that world peace can only come when there is a unity of opinions and dispositions. Therefore, when scholars and students of Torah disagree, and develop multiple approaches and methods, they think they are causing strife and opposing shalom. In truth it is not so, because true shalom is impossible without appreciating the value of pluralism intrinsic in shalom. The various pieces of peace come from a variety of approaches and methods that make it clear how much each one has a place and a value that complements one another.”
Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, Olat Re’iah, vol.1
Jewish education, and consequently Israel education, is a conversation with people in the room and with people on the page. Amos Oz claimed that Jews are connected by textlines, and for three intensive days at an iCenter experience during the first week of January, students and faculty were connected by an enduring, sometimes endearing, conversation. This conversation was with each other and with diverse and divergent voices about the places of Israel in Jewish learning and living.
Beginning in 2011, the iFellows master’s concentration in Israel education draws students across a broad spectrum of graduate institutions, training Jewish communal leaders in education, nonprofit management, rabbinical studies and allied fields. Bringing together participants across institutions and denominations was a paradigm shift both for Jewish and Israel education — in the words of Franz Rosenzweig, “From the periphery back to the center; from the outside in.” The program has and continues to cultivate a generation of dynamic Jewish professionals working across a multitude of settings and communities.
A couple of years into the program, The iCenter grew to realize that the success of iFellows and of Israel education is also highly dependent on the relationship between North Americans and Israelis, inspiring the essential decision to invite senior shlichim (emissaries) and graduate students from Haifa University’s Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies to participate alongside North American students. Over the years, iFellows has created a critical community of inspired and informed educators, a renewed commitment to Israel education within Jewish institutions, and an understanding of the need for Israel education at every age and stage in life. Now more than ever, we are leaning on the strength of this community to help chart a path forward in Israel education and to support educators and communities in this crucial moment.
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Rabbi Dr. Jan Katzew serves as a senior consultant to The iCenter. Rachel See is program director of the iFellows master’s concentration in Israel Education at The iCenter.