Education

HaMidrasha in Israeli Public Schools

HaMidrasha’s pedagogical team authors textbooks, develops curriculum, trains teachers and implements school-wide Jewish studies programs. HaMidrasha has a partnership withIsrael’s education ministry as a longstanding contributor to the Jewish Culture and Heritage curriculum for non-religious public schools. Our programs teach K-12 schoolchildren about Jewish concepts and values, allow them to explore and honor their family traditions, and encourage them to seek their own place within the rich Jewish heritage that is their birthright.

Activities include:

• Textbook development and production
• Course design and implementation
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah Programs
• Jewish-Israeli culture days
• Youth leadership programs
• Kabbalat Shabbat
• Shavuot “Tikun” learning event
• Tu B’Shvat Seders
• Purim Megilla Reading

Training Program for Spiritual Leaders of Emerging Israeli-Jewish Communities

The Leaders of Emerging Communities program supports HaMidrasha’s ongoing work in fostering the emergence of spiritual Israeli-Jewish communities that open the door for secular Israelis to participate in such frameworks as Kabbalat Shabbat services, creative lifecycle ceremonies and study groups.

This two-year program enables a cadre of excellent local leaders to spearhead a process of spiritual community-building. Participants wrestle with Jewish texts, learn about traditions, design meaningful celebrations and explore Jewish values of social justice and how to put those values into practice. They also learn skills for community development such as group dynamics and models of leadership drawn from traditional Judaism and contemporary understandings.

Mechinat Rabin – Yitzhak Rabin Leadership Development Academy

Mechinat Rabin is a pre-army academy for high-school graduates who delay their military service to spend a year volunteering in the community and learning to take responsibility for what is going on in their communities, in the larger society and within the Jewish people. As they come to understand the qualities of leadership, they embark on a personal journey to deepen their knowledge and clarify their values and goals.

The Mechina was founded to contend with the disillusionment and apathy that pervaded in the wake of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

Community involvement and social responsibility through volunteer work

Mechinat Rabin students learn and grow from the challenges of working with at-risk youth in nearby elementary schools and high schools, after-school youth programs and other populations. While focusing on their own personal development as leaders, they also gain firsthand understanding of the impact of volunteer initiatives.

The learning program

Studies at Mechinat Rabin offer a range of perspectives on sociology, economics, leadership, Judaism and global issues. Enrichment topics include philosophy, Zionism, art, social criticism, gender equality and more. Studies are conducted in an informal setting, with open discussions and frequent field trips. Students are active partners in shaping the study program.

Self-run communal living

Mechinat Rabin participants experience life in a tight-knit, self-governing community of peers. Students are encouraged to take initiative and participate in one or more of the committees charged with operating all aspects of mechina life, from grocery shopping and meal prep, to planning cultural activities and Shabbat celebration.