There’s a story in our ancient rabbinic texts about the sage Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai (30 BCE - 90 CE) and his student Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus (40 BCE - 20 CE). In this story, Rabban Yochanan urges Rabbi Eliezer to interpret Torah using his own words and ideas. Rabbi Eliezer resists and compares himself to a cistern, a large container for water. In other words, he understands his role as a student of Torah as someone who receives the teachings poured into him, holds onto them, and lets them out—unchanged—when needed. Rabban Yochanan challenges his student’s perspective, urging him to be a spring of water, taking what exists and shaping it to bring forth something new.
Even though this story about learning and interpretation is almost two thousand years old, most education still assumes that students are empty vessels waiting for knowledge to be poured into them. Certainly teachers are thoughtful about how they fill their students’ brains, and they try to make class interesting. Nevertheless, most schools focus on teachers transmitting information to students who have to regurgitate it to prove that they have acquired it. They follow Rabbi Eliezer’s model of students as cisterns.
At Temple Sinai, we believe in Rabban Yochanan’s model of students as springs, and we want to change our Religious School program to embody that belief. We want our students to feel empowered to explore the richness of Jewish life and tradition so that they can make Judaism their own. We want to create an environment where our children can develop the knowledge and know-how to weave Judaism authentically and meaningfully into their lives. Most of all, we want our students to discover how Judaism can help them be good people.
Rabbi Keren Gorban has developed an innovative Jewish learning program for our elementary grades that gives students more opportunities to explore and discover the answers to various challenges and questions that arise throughout life, using the model of Project-Based Learning.
The premise of Project-Based Learning (PBL) is that, as adults, we usually spend our days identifying problems or challenges and figuring out how solve or manage them efficiently and effectively. Sometimes we get advice from others, do research to find the best answers, or test our ideas. Through that process of research and experimentation, we learn what to do and what not to do, and that information sticks in our minds, especially if we make mistakes and learn the hard way.
Our new Next DOR program will focus on the tools and strategies that we can find in Jewish teachings, rituals, and traditions to solve problems and deal with challenges in our lives. We will have mixed-grade classes (Torah Time & Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Grades, 3rd & 4th Grades, and 5th & 6th Grades). While our youngest students will have a revised PBL curriculum for the full year, our 1st-6th Grades will get to choose which courses (called “chugim”) they want to take. Each chug will focus on a project or challenge that requires students to explore and discover our religion and culture to find possibilities and solutions. At the end of the six or seven week chug, students will have the opportunity to share their learning and projects with the community at large, reminding them that even young people have something to teach.
In addition to offering students more choices in what they learn, we will also have options for more flexible scheduling. Some chugim will be available mid-week or on Shabbat, instead of Sundays and Wednesdays only, and there are opportunities for independent studies.
This means that, when sports, theater, and other activities are in season, families can change their Jewish learning schedule to continue learning at a more convenient time. With the shorter courses and flexibility in programming, students really can do it all—and have fun doing it!
More information and a full list of chugim will be available in the coming weeks, along with registration information. If you have questions, please call the school at (412) 421-7039, or email Rabbi Gorban at rabbi.gorban@templesinaipgh.org or Marilee Glick, Education Director, at marilee@templesinaipgh.org
