PEDAGOGY OF HOPE—EDUCATION THAT TRANSFORMS AND INSPIRES

By Rabbi Yehudit Werchow

Over the last couple of years, I have had the pleasure of working with the gifted Israeli activist and poet Eliaz Cohen while teaching his poems to North American and Israeli educators. Some of Eliaz’s most inspiring poems relate to the transformative work he and his Palestinian neighbors have been doing together for more than a decade. These poems portray so vividly the depth of everyone’s pain and, at the same time, the magnitude of hope that emerges from the sacred work they are doing together. The thoughtfulness with which they treat each other, the sensitivity towards each other’s loss and pain, the respect and tremendous commitment for each other’s well-being are only a few of the inspiring qualities that are at the heart of this unique partnership they’ve built over the years.

Eager to learn more about interfaith and shared society initiatives and the qualities that contribute to the success of this work and can contribute to the educational work we are doing at The iCenter, Eliaz and I began studying with Rabbi Tamar Elad Applebaum and Sheikh Dr. Eyad Amer, who are each leading local communities in Jerusalem and Kfar Kasim and doing transformative educational and communal initiatives throughout Israel. One purpose of the educational work we are doing together is getting to know each other, the stories, traditions, people and values that our lives are made of and connect us to this land.  We also share the sources that inspire hope in each one of us. We are co-creating an authentic shared language that can connect our learners and bridge the gaps between them. Like the words of the Israeli poet Zelda remind us, “our personal peace is tied with a thread to each other’s peace.” We are already witnessing how these threads are impacting us and the educational work we are doing, and we are also exploring what it might be like when more threads like these are created between educators from all faiths across Israel and North America.

We are dedicated to learning about the everyday challenges the teens, parents, educators and communities we belong to and lead are facing, and how to address them. Resilience and compassion, courage, reciprocity, fear, hope and leadership are some of the terms we study, as we share what threatens us from within, as well as from external forces, and most importantly what it means and how to affirm with actions our understanding that we are indeed our brothers and sisters’ keepers. One of the things that most inspires me about learning with this group is that our work strengthens my belief that education is a platform for change.

View full article on eJewish Philanthropy.

The iCenter’s Rabbi Yehudit Werchow was born in Argentina and grew up in Israel. She holds a BA in political science and literature from the Hebrew University and a M.A. in religious education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York. She was ordained at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem. Previously, Yehudit served as the director of Israel engagement for the Union for Reform Judaism in North America, as the Jewish Agency’s senior shlicha for the Reform movement in North America and the U.K., and as the director of Education for MASA.