Mem Global | How to hack your Jewish learning program

By Faustine Sigal, International Director, Jewish Education

My indoor cycling teacher, Cynthia, is strong, fun, and was even a backup singer for Beyoncé at some point. One of my recent sessions with her had been overbooked by one seat, so she got off her instructor bicycle and asked if someone wanted to ride it during the class. Eventually, a woman accepted the challenge. At first, I was surprised by the image of our powerful coach getting off stage and giving her seat to a student, while not seeming worried that it would impact the quality of the class. I was also relieved that someone had been brave enough to answer the call, so I didn’t have to. I was also a bit disappointed. I had come for my daily dose of Cynthia’s lively inspiration. Maybe the volunteer wasn’t good enough and she’d minimize my experience? Over the session, I was proven wrong and became admirative: the woman on stage had great rhythm, stamina, and coordination! Even further, since the woman was not professional, her adjustments and efforts were less seamless than Cynthia—which allowed me, for the first time, to notice some of the mistakes I was making, e.g. in my posture, and how to correct them. And then I felt challenged: was I confident enough physically and mentally to lead the class? If not now, how much more training did I need? I left the class pensive about the moment of Cynthia getting off her bicycle and a student crossing the invisible frontier towards the stage.

Today, I’m offering you a tool that will enable you to ride on stage as an MHWOW host (or MH resident, PLR facilitator, etc.) – and create stellar Jewish learning programs, that have a unique power which no Jewish professional, rabbi, PhD, or else could give their program.

Meet the Moishe House Jewish Learning Tree! Following multiple conversations with community –builders all over the world, partners, funders, and staff we created a tool meant to answer the following question: what is a great Jewish learning program at Moishe House and how do I create one?

So, how do I read it?

Your program should be primarily rooted in Jewish content, which could be:

A traditional text (typically one you can find on Sefaria or in a synagogue bookshelf)
Amodern one rooted in Jewish tradition (such as a song by a Jewish musician or an excerpt of the book People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn, etc.)

A non-textual source (for example, a Moroccan liturgical poem, a chanukiah your grandfather packed when immigrating from former Soviet Union to Berlin in the 1990s, a Rembrandt painting, a recipe from the Jerusalem book of Ottolenghi & Tamimi, the Remember Baghdad documentary on Netflix about Iraki Jews, etc.)
A mix of several of these!

The final touch of what makes a program great is its modalities (at least 3 of these 6 – but it’s easy to go beyond 3)

A connection to real life and contemporary issues (Tikkun Olam! iI.e. talking about Ruth as a vulnerable widow and then volunteering at a food pantry for single mothers)
A connection with the current Jewish calendar (iI.e. talking about digital detox on a Friday night dinner means something additional Jewishly)

An interactive or experiential element (not just going to a top-down lecture, but maybe also ordering a pizza after to debrief)
A spiritual practice (ritual, prayer, singing hassidic niggunim or shabbat zmirot, meditation, etc.)
It’s part of a longer series of learning sessions exploring multiple facets of a common question
The source you chose (iI.e. the root) is present during most of the event and not just mentioned in the introduction or the social media flyers

In between the root and the branches is the trunk: your facilitator. One person needs to have spent time and passion preparing the session and will use this edge in order to lead the group in its learning – be it 15 minutes or 15 years. There are different ways one could gain this edge.

The first and classical one is a training of some sort: a rabbinic ordination, an academic degree in Jewish studies, a year of immersive learning in places like the Pardes Institute or the Urban Adamah Fellowship, etc. This person has a degree.
The second is a personal life experience: having walked from Ethiopia towards Israel during Operation Moses, having survived the Holocaust and/or saved people during this time, having emigrated from Tunisia to Israel in the early years of the state, having volunteered for a year in a kibbutz, etc. This person has a story.
Without a specific degree or story, a facilitator could be a peer (iI.e. you!) who acquired this edge because they cared enough about the topic to research it and prepare a plan to facilitate the learning. Great! Now, how do I use it?

It’s dynamic and flexible! You can start from any point in the document.

Say you have a friend soon visiting from Barcelona who’s a passionate educator about Catalonian Jewry. You’re starting from the trunk and will then look for roots and branches to add to this initial asset.
If you’re looking for a Purim program, you’re starting from a calendar connection (iI.e. a branch) and will then look for the trunk and roots (and more branches)
If you’re looking for an exciting way to lead a program about the movie Unorthodox, you’re starting with a non-textual source, iI.e. a root and will then look for a facilitator (iI.e. a trunk) and dynamic modalities (iI.e. branches)

I believe that the peer-educator, is the most radical and promising element of Moishe House’s contribution to the future of Judaism. Just like the woman who accepted to ride on stage during my cycling class, micro-educators of Judaism can achieve unique educational successes. Because your audience relates to you, your teaching will touch them and challenge them in a unique way – pushing themselves to wonder what could get them to create a session themselves. Micro-educators shouldn’t replace professional educators – and it’s amazing to invite credentialed educators to share their expertise with your community. But they’re able to bring questions, backgrounds, approaches – and thus potential to the Jewish conversation and Jewish people that are transformative and unique.

The stage is yours! We can’t wait to see what stellar programs you come up with!