Overview

"""'Jewish identity' is such a complex idea-neither simply a religious, nor cultural, nor ethnic 'identity,' but all of those things combined (and more). This important volume rejects narrow definitions and resists the way that 'identity' has been oversimplified and flattened in Jewish communal contexts. Along the way, it offers new paths for other communities struggling with concepts of identity to follow as well.""- Felicia Herman, Executive Director, Natan Fund There is something deeply problematic about the ways that Jews, particularly in America, talk about ""Jewish identity"" as a desired outcome of Jewish education. For many, the idea that the purpose of Jewish education is to strengthen Jewish identity is so obvious that it hardly seems worth disputing-and the only important question is which kinds of Jewish education do that work more effectively or more efficiently. But what does it mean to ""strengthen Jewish identity""? Why do Jewish educators, policy-makers and philanthropists talk that way? What do they assume, about Jewish education or about Jewish identity, when they use formulations like ""strengthen Jewish identity""? And what are the costs of doing so? This volume, the first collection to examine critically the relationship between Jewish education and Jewishidentity, makes two important interventions. First, it offers a critical assessment of the relationship between education and identity, arguing that the reification of identity has hampered much educational creativity in the pursuit of this goal, and that the nearly ubiquitous employment of the term obscures significant questions about what Jewish education is and ought to be. Second, this volume offers thoughtful responses that are not merely synonymous replacements for ""identity,"" suggesting new possibilities for how to think about the purposes and desired outcomes of Jewish education, potentially contributing to any number of new conversations about the relationship between Jewish education and Jewish life."

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9781644691298

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Reviews

If you have any connection to the world of Jewish education, you've heard the phrase 'Jewish Identity' thrown about. However, it is rarely and inconsistently defined. Is it a tool towards a specific outcome or a goal unto itself? What assumptions are Jewish educators making and what are their blind spots? This excellent collection of studies tackles these questions and presents several ways of reframing priorities for Jewish education. Some overlap in the content occurs in some chapters, but not overly so. Highly recommended. --Daniel Scheide, Florida Atlantic University, AJL Reviews

Author Information

Jon A. Levisohnis the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Associate Professorof Jewish Educational Thought at Brandeis University, where he serves as thedirector of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in JewishEducation. Ari Y. Kelman is Jim Joseph AssociateProfessor of Education and Jewish Studies at Stanford University, where heserves as director of the Concentration in Education and Jewish Studies.

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