About Prizmah Podcasts: Podcasts by Prizmah Center for Jewish Day Schools
Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools offers three podcast series:
1. Research Encounter, hosted by Elliott Rabin, Prizmah‘s director of thought leadership, presents a discussion between a researcher and a day school leader about a recent work of scholarship.
2. Prizmah Podcasts Live showcases innovative and transformative initiatives taking place in Jewish schools. Each episode includes a presentation, conversation and audience q&a.
3. Start-up Day School, hosted by Josh Gold, middle school principal at HAFTR, Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaways in Lawrence, New York, offers a give-and-take on matters of contemporary educational leadership in Jewish schools.
Prizmah envisions a vibrant, passionate, knowledgeable, and committed Jewish community, empowered by Jewish day schools, for generations to come. Our mission is to strengthen the North American day school field. We are the network for Jewish day schools and yeshivas, enhancing their ability to excel and thrive, by deepening talent, catalyzing resources, and accelerating educational innovation.
Research Into Practice In Israel Education: Values-based Educational Approach to Israel Education - Learning from the Hartman Modern Orthodox Cohort
Presented in partnership with the Shalom Hartman Institute with Dr. Elana Stein Hain and Dr. Ethan Zadoff.For many Modern Orthodox schools in North America, Religious Zionism holds a particular resonance. The writings of its leaders and the core texts of the movement are relevant to their mission, teaching and learning. Yet, Religious Zionism in Israel today is rife with moral, religious and political disagreement about land, democracy, messianism, ultranationalism and more. How should North American day schools educate their constituents to think about these issues? What role do North American day schools play in articulating their own moral vision related to these debates? To address these questions, the Shalom Hartman Institute initiated a 20-month fellowship for Modern Orthodox day school leaders.In this webinar, Dr. Elana Stein Hain of the Shalom Hartman Institute and Dr. Ethan Zadoff of DRS Yeshiva High School will reflect on the central conversations that have emerged through the program and share how participants are translating their learning into curriculum, school culture, and community conversations that can deepen Israel and Zionist education in Modern Orthodox schools.
15 Jun 2026
Research Encounter: Engaging Parents and Students in Hebrew
What do parents want from their children's Hebrew education? How do they think about and value Hebrew, and does their thinking align with the way that Hebrew is taught in their children's school? Hebrew educators explore these questions and share innovative ways that they engage students with Hebrew, both inside and outside of the classroom. The discussion is sparked by a chapter written by Sharon Avni, "What Do Parents Want from Hebrew Studies in Jewish Education?" that appeared in Teaching & Learning in Jewish Day Schools.
The student-made video mentioned by Roman Shnaider can be found here.
Featured guests
Dr. Sharon Avni is a professor of academic literacy and linguistics at CUNY-BMCC.
Dr. Gila Azrad is the Hebrew department chair at Pressman Academy in Los Angeles, an early childhood to 8th grade school. She teaches and mentors teachers internationally.
Ortal Klyman is a doctoral candidate in modern languages. She teaches Hebrew in grades 9-12 at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles, where she also serves as the Hebrew department chair and mentors Hebrew teachers. She is a faculty member at the School of Hebrew at Middlebury College, teaching Hebrew at multiple proficiency levels and conducting research as part of her doctoral studies.
Roman Shnaider is the incoming Hebrew department chair at de Toledo High School in West Hills, California, and a faculty member at the School of Hebrew at Middlebury College, where he teaches adult learners and conducts research in the Doctor of Modern Languages program.
3 Jun 2026
Research Encounter: Inside the Jewish Studies Classroom - Teaching for Student Agency
Learn how middle school Tanakh teachers can help students develop not just their own interpretive skills but also their capacity to collaborate and generate fresh insights together. Educators reveal some of their pedagogical toolkit and discuss the challenges to cultivating literacy in the age of AI. The conversation is rooted in a chapter by Ziva Hassenfeld, "Intercomprehending in Action: Text-Based Discussion in a Seventh-Grade Bible Classroom," that appeared in Teaching & Learning in Jewish Day Schools.
Special Guests
Shifra Chelst is a Judaic studies teacher at Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, Maryland.
Melanie Eisen is the principal of teaching and learning at Gesher Jewish Day School in Fairfax, Virginia.
Ziva Hassenfeld, PhD, is the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Assistant Professor of Jewish Education at Brandeis University.
Rabbi Jack Nahmod is the middle school Judaic studies head at the Heschel School in Manhattan.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.3 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
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