Unleashing your calling in Jewish education

BY LIZZIE CAPLAN

“There is nothing new under the sun” said Shlomo Hamelech. As Jewish educators, it can sometimes feel like the day-today challenges we encounter are without precedent. Whilst many aspects of 21st century life and culture, such as the advances of technology, are indeed chidushim (innovations), we have the wisdom of Torah, and of previous generations, to help us guide our students. What is the ideal way to teach about personalities in Tanach? How does one construct a relevant Jewish Studies curriculum for a UK primary school? How does such a curriculum balance textual learning from seforim (books) with a screen? What does a personal vision for Jewish education look like? These were just some of the diverse questions that my fellow students and I explored over the course of a two-year distance learning MA course in Jewish Education with LSJS.

If I could narrow down the impact of the MA as I experienced it, this would fall into three main areas. Firstly, the subject matter itself. During the five modules studied, we were exposed to a wide range of learning material, from classical Jewish sources to contemporary theories and educational research within and beyond the field of Jewish education, to help us address challenges and tensions such as those described above. We were encouraged to see where these sources complemented each other or were in conflict, articulate our arguments, and refine our own thinking in the process.

Invaluable for any study, but particularly during the pandemic as I discovered, is support from teachers and peers. A second reason for the impact of the MA was the ongoing help and encouragement from LSJS tutors and faculty, all world experts in their field, as well as from our student group located across the UK, Israel and South Africa. This comprised detailed, constructive tutor feedback on written assignments, group presentations via Zoom followed by questions and comments from tutors and peers, and informal peer support (and commiseration) via WhatsApp, particularly as deadlines loomed. The connections we formed will endure for a long time to come.

Finally, over the duration of the course, we were encouraged to define our own area of interest within a chosen sector of Jewish education – be it informal, community or school-based. For example, I was able to combine my love for Jewish studies and passion for art in a final year dissertation case study exploring the extent to which art as a subject can be integrated with Jewish studies in a UK primary school. This yielded learning and insights that I have been able to apply to various integrated projects within my school. I urge anyone who may be looking into pursuing further study in the field of Jewish education to grab an opportunity like this with both hands – you won’t regret it. There may be nothing new under the sun, but you will emerge renewed and energised, with a sense of purpose and direction. And in helping ensure the continuity of future generations through a career path in Jewish education, you may just find (as I did) your highest calling.

Lizzie Caplan is Primary Jewish Studies Advisor for the North at PaJeS, and Deputy Head for Kodesh at Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School in Manchester. She has just graduated with an MA in Jewish Education from LSJS.

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