Abstract
Experiential Jewish education, building on some recent significant accomplishments, stands poised to reach its Tipping Point within the Jewish communal landscape. This chapter offers a comprehensive definition of experiential Jewish education as a means of laying the foundation for describing the field in both theoretical and practical terms. Developing robust and compelling instruments to measure its success; creating systematic and comprehensive professional development programs; and building and maintaining a comprehensive unifying structure (or structures) are offered as three major steps that the field of experiential Jewish education needs to take in order to reach its maximum potential in the near future. This chapter offers a language and strategies to elevate the field of experiential Jewish education as one of the most powerful and viable strategies to develop and maintain the positive individual and collective identity of Jewish youth and young adults today.
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Notes
- 1.
Although I do believe that experiential Jewish education can and should also be offered to adults, the arguments in this chapter, although applicable to an adult audience (as well as to younger children), are based primarily on my research and experiences with the youth and young adult population.
- 2.
For a further analysis of the evolution of the term, including the eight characteristics that he considers essential to informal Jewish education, see Joseph Reimer’s chapter in this handbook.
- 3.
The eight characteristics that Chazan defined as part of his philosophy of informal Jewish education—person-centered Jewish education; the centrality of experience; a curriculum of Jewish experiences and values; an interactive process; the group experience; the “culture” of Jewish education; an education that engages; and informal Jewish education’s holistic educator—are still clearly present when experiential Jewish education is done well.
- 4.
Specifically, I refer to the demise of JEXNET, the Network for Experiential Jewish Youth Education (formerly the NAA (the National American Alliance for Jewish Youth), an organization that existed solely to advance the cause of experiential Jewish education. I also point to the collapse of CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education) and recent media reports that point to the struggles of many other national Jewish organizations.
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Bryfman, D. (2011). Experiential Jewish Education: Reaching the Tipping Point. In: Miller, H., Grant, L., Pomson, A. (eds) International Handbook of Jewish Education. International Handbooks of Religion and Education, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0354-4_43
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