Relating, Reflecting and Learning: the 11th Mandel Jerusalem Fellows Colloquium

Malka Landau*

Two months ago, I had the opportunity to join close to ninety leaders in Jewish education as Mandel Jerusalem Fellows (MJF) graduates from communities as far-flung as New York, Kiev, Paris and Buenos Aries, gathered in Israel for the 11th Mandel Jerusalem Fellows Colloquium.

  “One of the major contributions of the Jerusalem Fellow’s Program is that it brings together people from around the world from a variety of different backgrounds who share a common interest in enriching Jewish life in their communities. The colloquium is an opportunity for people to stop what they’re doing for a few days and come to capture some of that Jerusalem Fellows experience, enjoy some of the diversity and learn from others,” said Dr. Eli Gottleib, Director of the MJF Program.

“There were a few sessions and lectures which brought people together for inspiring educational experiences that can only take place in Israel,” said Gottleib.

Professor Shlomo Avineri was invited to discuss the challenges facing the Jewish people in the 21st century. Avineri, a world renowned scholar and leading Israeli public figure, raised a host of issues, but focused mainly on the place of the State of Israel in Jewish life today and tomorrow.  Among the issues raised, Avineri related to the test of making Israel a home by spending extended periods of time in the country, and the ability to show sensitivity to the needs of Israel and other Jewish communities, not only to the internal needs of the Jewish organizations. In Avineri’s opinion, criticism of Israel by non-Israeli Jews is permissible, but it must be done cautiously.

Another memorable session was led by Professor Uriel Simon, biblical scholar and outstanding educator. Professor Simon taught the story of Samson as a model of biblical ambivalence to notions of leadership He is a wonderful teacher and storyteller whose charisma and probing analysis animated his entire presentation.

The conference closed with a touching memorial session dedicated to the late Professor Seymour Fox z”l and the memory of his contribution to the field of Jewish education and to the Jerusalem Fellows in particular. The reflections by his colleagues and MJF graduates showed me that he was someone who could see the potential in others and could motivate his students to nurture their capacities and expand their thinking.

Seymour Fox was one of the founders of the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows Program and one of the initiators of the ‘MJF colloquium tradition’. According to Dean of Fellows, Scott Copeland, a graduate himself, the colloquium is significant for both the graduates and the Mandel Leadership Institute. “From our point of view, Fellows spend a significant amount of time together as a group here in Jerusalem. It is important to come together again to relive that experience on some level and it is the responsibility of the Institute to create opportunities for using the social network as a springboard for ongoing professional development.
 
Scott states that "a profession grows and develops based on building a shared discourse of learning - Jewish education cannot afford to be an exception. The founders of the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows were hopeful that their hard work would contribute to building a professional tradition for Jewish education in a way analogous to profession traditions in medicine, or law, or architecture.  The colloquium is one step towards achieving this goal.”

*Malka Landau is a Mandel Jerusalem Fellows graduate from Melbourne, Australia and Associate Director of the Australian Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilisation at Monash University