This summer, I attended my first CAJE Conference, which was held at Hofstra University. CAJE stands for the Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education and is held annually for Jewish educators.
I am currently a student at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and have previously worked as a Hebrew School teacher, a math tutor and a camp counselor.
Now, as I aspire to become a rabbi, I felt that the CAJE Conference would be a good place to seek good teachers whose qualities I can incorporate into my own teaching. I believed that learning from successful teachers would help me become a better teacher.
My mother, a Holocaust teacher and Jewish librarian, informed me about CAJE, and I decided to attend the conference’s college program. My goals were to develop connections with top Jewish educators and to learn techniques for improving Jewish education in religious school settings.
One highlight of the conference was meeting and learning from enthusiastic peers entering the field of Jewish education. We wrote lesson plans, which we shared as part of the college program.
The lessons were amazing, and I intend to use some of them in the classroom. Interesting topics included a Talmud study for Martin Luther King day, modesty in religion and a CD of original music for learning Hebrew.
Another exciting part of the conference was taking a class with Richard Joel, past president of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, and current president of Yeshiva University.
Joel spoke about how to weave God into a curriculum in a way that makes sense to children. He impressed me with his ability to relate to everyone in the audience, even to people who do not put God at the center of Judaism. This is an important skill for the classroom, where children come from diverse religious backgrounds.
Difficult questions
I also was privileged to hear Rabbi Edward Feinstein, a congregational rabbi and teacher at the University of Judaism. He discussed how to deal with difficult questions in the classroom, including what is the meaning of life and why do bad things happen to good people.
Feinstein was one of the most energetic and upbeat lecturers I have ever heard, and he answered both questions extremely well. Everyone who attended was amazed at the charisma and the sincerity displayed by Feinstein when dealing with these difficult issues.
His speech made me realize that if one person can change people’s outlook on Judaism in a 75-minute lecture, a group of impassioned Jewish educators can make a huge difference in the way Judaism is viewed.
The main lesson I learned from attending the conference is that I can make a difference in the lives of students that I teach. Just as my peers and speakers Joel and Feinstein made a difference in how I view Judaism, so can I make a difference in how the next generation approaches Judaism.
I intend to use the knowledge I have gained to enhance my teaching this year in Madison and for future years. Seeing how to relate to Jews from a panoply of backgrounds while making everyone feel included was an amazing experience that could only have been accomplished at a pluralistic organization such as CAJE.
After attending CAJE, I have confidence in the future of Jewish education and a better understanding of how to make myself a teacher to future students.
Benjamin Herman is a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in history, Hebrew and Jewish studies.
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