Jewish Education and the Jewish Community Center Edited By Barry Chazan and Mark Charendoff Associate Editor Debbie Sapir associationCC Israel Office A Project Supported by The Joint Program for Jewish Education State of Israel - Ministry of Education and Culture Jewish Agency for Israel World Zionist Organization 1994 [back of title page] @ Copyright 1994 by JCC Association, Jerusalem, Israel. All rights reserved. Reproduction for other than internal educational purposes requires written permission of the JCC Association. Further Copies Available From: JCC Association JCC Association Israel Office 15 East 26th Street 12 Hess Street New York, NY 100104579 USA Jerusalem 94185 IS L Tel.: (212) 532-4949 Tel.: (02) 251-265 Fax: (212) 4814174 Fax: (02) 247-767 Table of Contents page Preface v Acknowledgements vii Dedication ix INTRODUCTION 1 1. A Late December Day in the JCC Barry Chazan 3 Credo for a Movement: Jewish Education on a National Level Arthur Rotman 7 II. IDEOLOGY AND JCC JEWISH EDUCATION 11 3. Israel and Pluralism: Framing an Ideology for the Jewish Community Center David Dubin 13 4. Towards an Ideology of Jewish Education in Jewish Community Centers Yehiel Poupko 23 Towards Conceptualization of Informal Jewish Education Zvi Bekerman and Barry Chazan 29 6. All Jewish Education is Informal; Implications for the Field David Resnick 35 Are JCCs a Fifth Denomination? Gerald B. Bubis 45 8. Jewish Educational Practice in JCCs Ten Years After COMJEE Barely Chazan 51 III. THE STAFFING OF JEWISH EDUCATION IN JCCs 57 9. The Executive Director as Educator Allan Finkelstein 59 10. The Challenge of Executive Leadership Don Scher 63 11. The JCC Jewish Educator: From Reality to Ideal Mark Charendoff and Barry Chazan 69 12. The Role of the Shaliach in the JCC Daniel Levine 75 IV. THE PROCESS OF DOING JEWISH EDUCATION IN JCCs 81 13. Lay Leadership and Jewish Education Allan Weissglass and Lewis Stolzenberg 83 14. The Israel Seminar as a Jewish Educational Tool for JCCs Richard Juran 89 iv 15. Marketing the Jewish Edge Jay Levenberg 97 16. A Lexicon of Jewish Educational Terms Mark Charendoff and Bany Chazan 105 17. A Voice from the Field: Notes on the Ideology of Curriculum in JCCs Avital Plan 109 18. Reflections of a Jewish Educator Jason Gaber 119 V. SETTINGS AND CONTEXTS OF JEWISH EDUCATION IN JCCs 125 19. Some Thoughts on Teaching Our Center Family Through Jewish Family Education Esther Netter 127 20. The Arts, Discourse, Meaning, and Jewish Education Jody Hirsh 133 21. "From the Outside In": Adult Education in the JCC Context Jonny Ariel 143 22. The Needs of the Adult Learner and Target Groups for Adult Jewish Education at the Jewish Community Center Alan Feldman 151 23. The Teaching of Hebrew at the Jewish Community Center Marta Wassertzug 157 24. Implementing Operation Joseph: The Rescue of North American Jewish Youth - A Plan for Action for JCCs Jack Boeko 161 25. My Jewish Discovery Place: A Home for the Jewish Imagination of Families Esther Netter 171 26. JCCs of Chicago and the Soviet Experience Tzivia Blumberg 181 27. The Centers Judaic Library Marta Wassertzug 189 VI. WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE JCCs? 193 28. What Does Israel Mean? Mark Charendoff, Debbie Sapir and Debbie Weissman 195 29. Israel, Israeli Culture and Israelis - and the North American JCC Elan Ezrachi 205 30. Israel: A Place to Visit, A Place to Search Ezra Korman 211 31. JCCs and the Israel Association of Community Centers: Differences, Similarities, Common Denominators Shaul Lilach 215 32. Is There a Common Language Between The Community Centers in Israel and the JCC? Yaron Sokolov 219 VII. SELECTED JEWISH EDUCATION BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR JCCs 229 Bibliography 231 V Preface Jewish Education and the Jewish Community Center is the product of a unique set of events, processes, and people. It reflects an exciting period in the history of the Jewish Community Center movement - the period since the early 1980s - which might be called the "Age of Jewish Education." This age is the result of a partnership between a unique group of committed lay leaders and skilled professionals. In 1991 a grant by the Joint Program for Jewish Education of the State of Israel - Ministry of Education and Culture, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the World Zionist Organization enabled the JCC Association to expand its Jewish educational efforts in three directions: (1) investing in the growth of the profession of the JCC Jewish educator; (2) maximizing Israel's contribution to the Center movement; and (3) developing educational materials on Jewish education and JCCs. The grant enabled the creation of a forum of Israeli educators committed to contributing to the JCC field - the counterpart to the North American Forum of Jewish Educators for JCCs. It enabled us to conduct two seminars - one in Israel and one in North America - at which the Israeli and North American educators could meet, study together and exchange ideas. Finally, it enabled the creation of this volume. The anthology itself is a barometer of the emergence of the field of Jewish Community Center Jewish education, with its contributors ranging from academics, executive directors, lay leaders, and reflective practitioners. The style and tone of the articles vary greatly and we purposely retained their original styles in order to give the reader a sense of the diverse approaches and emphases that exist. This volume is the first full-length documentation of a remarkable process that is happening before our eyes. The volume includes much - and leaves out even more. Hopefully it is only the beginning of the recording of one of the most exciting periods in the history of the JCC movement. Don Scher vii Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the assistance of several people in the planning and production of this anthology. Mr. Zvi Inbar, Director of the Joint Program for Jewish Education of the State of Israel - Ministry of Education and Culture, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the World Zionist Organization, was instrumental in all phases of the project and we are grateful to him for his ongoing commitment to the cause of Jewish education in the JCC. This volume was made possible by a grant to the JCC Association in 1991 from the Joint Program for Jewish Education. We appreciate the support of the Joint Program Directorate, as well as the support of the Joint Authority for Jewish Zionist Education of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency, under the leadership of Dr. David Harman. The idea of the volume and its initial contents emerged during the first conference of the Israel and North American Forum of Jewish Educators for JCCs, which was held in Israel in October 1992. At that time, a sub-committee of JCC educators from North America, under the chair of Mark Sokoll, Mark Charendoff and Barry Chazan, met with Israeli counterparts to develop the idea and the framework of this volume. We are grateful to that group for its time and effort, and particularly to Mark Sokoll for wise counsel and support throughout this process. Don Scher, Assistant Executive Director of the JCC Association and Director of the Israel Office, was one of the initiators of this entire venture, and has guided it throughout its development. His leadership, vision, and practical wisdom have been critical to the project. Richard Juran, Director of Educational Programs in the JCC Association Israel Office, has also been an ongoing force behind this volume; his deep understanding of Jewish education as well as his practical expertise have enabled ideas to become realities. Debbie Sapir's role is acknowledged on the title page; however, her contribution far exceeds that citation. She has played a remarkable role in all dimensions of this project, and this anthology has been significantly shaped by her skill. B.C., M. ix Dedication The subject of this volume - Jewish education - and the setting in which the volume was planned and produced - the State of Israel - reflect two of the primary values of the JCC Association and the Jewish Community Center movement. Israel and Jewish education are central to the ideology and the daily life of the Center world. Nowhere do these two values find more authentic expression than in the life and work of the Executive Vice-President of the JCC Association, Arthur Rotman. From his earliest days in Montreal, Art was ignited by the vision and the dream of the Zionist Movement and the State of Israel. That vision has accompanied his professional work in Centers in Montreal and Pittsburgh, and in leadership of the JWB and the JCC Association over the past 17 years. Art Rotman was the professional partner in a remarkable development which took place in the JCC Association beginning in the 1980s - the emergence of Jewish education as a primary Center mandate. This exciting period in the history of the Center movement was the result of a unique partnership between outstanding lay leaders and an outstanding professional team that joined together in this important venture. Art Rotman is the professional who made it happen; he truly "seized the day" and in his unique style - with calm, dignity, grace, and patience - worked with us to make this revolution happen. He has done it his way, which means a minimum of words and a maximum of action and results. Ultimately, the achievement of Art Rotman does not belong to the past, but rather lies in his building of a foundation for the future. In the Talmud there is a wonderful story about an Art Rotman kind of leader: Honi the circle drawer was walking on the road and noticed a man planting a carob tree. He asked him when he thought that the tree would bear fruit.