Helping Our Learners Stand Strong

M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education (New York, NY)

Session Description

As the war in Israel continues, and global incidents of antisemitism are on the rise, our learners are grappling with complicated questions about Jewish identity and belonging. In this workshop we will experience – and gain access to – a powerful resource that can help us articulate and express our convictions with determination and pride.

Presented by Shuki Taylor and Mollie Andron, M², and Dr. Mijal Bitton.

Shuki is the founder and CEO of M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education. Previously, Shuki served as director of Service Learning and Experiential Education at Yeshiva University, where he founded the Certificate Program in Experiential Jewish Education and a range of programs mobilizing college students to serve underprivileged communities worldwide. Shuki has lived in Israel, New York, and South Africa. A Schusterman Fellow, Shuki studied Jewish philosophy, education, and scriptwriting and currently lives in Jerusalem with his wife and their four children.

Mollie Andron is the Senior Program Director of Fellowships at M²: The Institute for Jewish Experiential Education. She has over 10 years of experience teaching in a variety of Jewish educational settings – from formal classroom teaching to nature education, from theatre education to collaborative philanthropy education. Mollie enjoys being in the field as well as building programs and trainings to support others. She holds a double Master's in Midrash and Jewish Experiential Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, a BA in Religion from Bard College and is a graduate of M²’s Senior Educators Cohort. Mollie lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and children.

Dr. Mijal Bitton is the Spiritual Leader of the Downtown Minyan and a scholar of Middle Eastern Jews. Mijal is committed to building Jewish communities that are warm, inclusive, traditional, forward looking and engaging in covenantal Torah study to bring ancient wisdom to help guide our lives today. Mijal earned her doctorate from New York University. She now serves as a Visiting Researcher at NYU Wagner and is directing the first national study of Sephardic Jews in the United States. She is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and was selected in 2018 for inclusion in “36 under 36” in the New York Jewish Week as a “Public Intellectual (with) Public Values.” Mijal is a Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, a Maimonides Fund Fellow and a New Pluralist Field Builder. She lives in New York with her husband, Rabbi Sion Setton, and their two children.

View Resources:

Standing-Strong.pdf

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Partner Content

Topic

Israel - Contemporary

Grades

6 - 7
8 - 12

Setting

Teen Engagement

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