Shows / Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
'Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education' is a weekly podcast hosted by The Jewish Education Project. Hear CEO David Bryfman or alternating co-host Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath and a different guest each episode explore the big questions, challenges, and successes that define Jewish education. Available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Episodes
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Judaism Has a Lot to Say About Civic Education
What can Judaism teach us about civic education in an increasingly divided world? Rabbi Charlie Savenor, 2026 Covenant Award Recipient and Executive Director…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Conversations That Matter: Disagreement as Education
In moments of conflict, listening to the other side can feel like the last thing we want to do. But in this week's episode of Adapting, Billy Planer reminds us…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Pluralism for Teens in a Polarized World
In a polarized world that teaches young people to think in binaries, the Bronfman Fellowship does something countercultural by inviting teens to embrace…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Exploring Joy Through Dark Humor
If suffering breeds comedy, who should be funnier than the Jewish people after the last 3,000 years? This week, David Bryfman talks about humor in hard times…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
From Victimhood to Power: 10/7 as the Rupture in Our Story – with Yossi Klein Halevi
As we approach the third anniversary of the October 7th massacre, Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath sits down with thought leader Yossi Klein Halevi of the Shalom…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Where Jewish Media Meets Jewish Learning
At the end of the day, Jewish educators empower their learners to feel like they're in the driver's seat of their own Judaism. This is the hallmark of Jewish…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
We're Serious About Jewish Joy
Joy might sound like the fluffy, easy, and "nice to have" way of exploring Judaism. But what changes when joy is the intentional, critical centerpiece? From…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Jewish Education Can and Should Be Joyful
Around 2,000 years ago, Jews gathered around the Temple to celebrate the festival of Sukkot. They debated, danced, sang, ate challah, and drank wine. That's…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Educating After October 7: Israel, Identity, and Hope with David Bryfman
After October 7, educators were asked to guide students while still making sense of their own evolving relationship to Israel and to Jewish peoplehood. What…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
When Families Become the Classroom: Jewish Learning Through a Latin-Jewish Lens
This week on Adapting, Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath sits down with Ariela Ronay-Jinich, founder and executive director of Olamim, to explore how education helps…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Hebrew School & Innovation: Is It Possible?
Every few years, Jewish education declares the Hebrew school model overdue for reinvention, yet the same structures persist. That tension sits at the center of…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Fighting Toxic Masculinity and Raising Healthy Jewish Boys
Being a man is not about how tall you are or how much money you make, despite what some voices in the manosphere may claim. It’s about overcoming impulses…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Don’t Wring Your Hands; Roll Up Your Sleeves: Israel Education for Today
When Israel was created on this exact day 78 years ago, she didn’t come with an instruction manual called “How to Build a Jewish State.” If she had, Jewish…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Kippahgate: From Controversy to the Classroom with Alex Sinclair
In this exclusive, uncensored conversation, David Bryfman interviews Alex Sinclair, the Israel educator at the center of a recent controversy. His kippah…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Creating Meaningful Experiences for Every Child—B-Mitzvah and Beyond
The B-Mitzvah is a defining milestone in American Jewish life, and offers a powerful lens into how Jewish communal spaces can foster inclusion and belonging…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
A Conversation on Memory This Yom HaZikaron
This episode features Omri Rose, author of Echoes of October, a graphic novel exploring events leading up to October 7th through four young people from…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Living Memory & Holocaust Education: A Conversation on Yom HaShoah
Yom HaShoah begins this evening. As we remember and honor the legacy of the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath sits…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
The Psychology of Jewish Living: Faith in a Modern World
What does it actually look like to live Judaism in today’s world? And what does it mean to be part of a collective when we have so many different worldviews…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Responding to Violence: Raising Proud Children Today
In an urgent episode following the recent attack at Temple Israel in Michigan, David Bryfman sits down with Daniel Held, Chief Program Officer of United Jewish…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
A Love Letter to Jewish Educators
Mister Rogers famously said that in scary times, look for the helpers. But what happens when the helpers themselves are exhausted? This week, host Samantha…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
How to “Rehuman” in Hard Times
The world feels overwhelming right now. Amid war and uncertainty, Jewish educators are overworked, and parents and students are pummeled with headlines and…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Israel, Anti-Zionism, and the Healthy Argument - with Abi Dauber Sterne and Robbie Gringras
The goal of a healthy argument in educational settings is to help one grow, learn, strengthen relationships, and gain new perspectives. On this week’s…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Iranian, Jewish, American: Holding Complex Identities
Before the Iranian Revolution, nearly 100,000 Jews lived rich, deeply rooted lives in Iran. Activist Tabby Refael, whose family fled in the 1980s, tells…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
The Path to Jewish Belonging
What does Jewish belonging look like in an age of scrolling, searching, and self-guided learning? In this episode, Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath sits down with…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Purpose and Pluralism: Lessons in Leadership with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue reflects on her journey, from growing up in Tacoma, Washington with a strong sense of communal purpose, to finding…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Why Jewish Education Needs Both Joy and Oy — with Andrew Davies
Even with all of the challenges in the world today Jewish education must strive to emphasize the joy and celebration of what it means to be Jewish in today’s…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
‘Genocide’ Comparisons: A Holocaust Educator’s Take
October 7th was the largest attempt at genocide against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. What does this moment reveal about modern antisemitism and the…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Values in Action: Giving for the Jewish Future
How can we turn collective responsibility and shared values into meaningful action for the future of the Jewish people? Josh Schalk, Executive Director of…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
An Optimist in Uniform: Reflections from IDF Reserve Duty
To kick off the new year, David Bryfman sits down with TAMID Group’s CEO, Yoni Heilman. In a conversation that humanizes one of our own heroes, Yoni shares…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Reflections After Bondi Beach from David Bryfman
In an unscheduled and urgent episode of Adapting, Australian-born CEO of The Jewish Education Project, David Bryfman, sheds light on his own Australian Jewish…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Including + Celebrating Jewish Voices in American Public Schools
Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath is joined by another history professor, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, who is the lead scholar of Hidden Voices, an initiative to address…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
How to Best Support Educators Right Now
This week on Adapting, Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath speaks with Zev Eleff, president of Gratz College and professor of American Jewish history, to address a…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
A Wide Tent with Clear Boundaries: Lessons in Jewish Leadership and Peoplehood
David Bryfman engages with Dr. Mijal Bitton, one of today’s leading Jewish scholars and leaders, in an illuminating, nuanced conversation about defining Jewish…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
The Power of Storytelling to Strengthen Jewish Community
For writer and podcaster Zibby Owens (On Being Jewish Now, Blank: A Novel), it was never her plan to center her work around Jewish identity. But as the…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
What is This Thing Called Jewish Peoplehood?
What does it mean to belong to the Jewish people, especially during a time of deep division? This week, Dr. Elana Stein Hain and David Bryfman explore the…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
How to Light the Inner Spark of Today’s Jewish Learners
This week on Adapting, David sits down with Rabbi Mark Wildes, the founder of Manhattan Jewish Experience. Together, the pair explore what it really means to…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Meet Our New Co-Host: Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath
In the first episode with Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath as our new alternating co-host, Samantha shares the true purpose of Jewish education: to help foster…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Welcome Home: The Complexity of Hope
This morning, we received joyous news that all 20 living hostages are back home. At the same time, we’re awaiting the return of the bodies of the remaining…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Two Years Later: A Message to Jewish Educators (and Their Supporters/Champions)
Two years after October 7th, CEO David Bryfman delivers an unscripted, deeply personal message to Jewish educators who have carried impossible burdens through…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
The Secret Sauce of Jewish Survival
What does it mean to bring your whole self into Jewish education? Activist, educator, and previously named one of the 50 most influential rabbis in the U.S. by…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Torah and Teshuvah for a Better World
In this week’s episode, transformative Jewish thinker Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg joins us for a rich conversation about morality and justice, and how we as…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Reclaiming Our Story with Sarah Hurwitz
How can educators help Jews reclaim their identity from shame, assimilation, and antisemitism, and instead embrace the richness of Jewish tradition in all its…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
The State of Jewish Education: A Conversation with David (and David)
For the Season 5 finale of Adapting, David sits down with a very special guest— himself! Before leaving for his sabbatical, David answers some of the most…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
In Defense of Rest: The Importance (and Jewishness) of Taking a Break
Sabbaticals, break weeks, and paid vacation, oh my! For many, the idea of taking a break from work is daunting. With the disruption in the work environment…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Inside America's First Classical Jewish Prep School
Imagine a classroom where students face each other, rather than the whiteboard, and discuss David Ben-Gurion and Aristotle, while studying Hebrew and Latin…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Educating for Justice: Black-Jewish Solidarity
In this important episode, David sits down with recipients of the 2024 Shine A Light on Antisemitism Civic Courage Award, Dr. Devin Randolph and Rabbi Dr. Meir…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Breaking the Barriers to Israel Education
This week on Adapting, David sits down with Dr. Keren Fraiman, Dean of Spertus Institute and winner of the prestigious Ilia Salita Excellence in Research…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Strengthening Jewish Identity Through Israel-Centered Education
In this special Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzma’ut episode, David sits down with Adam Eilath, Head of School at Wornick Jewish Day School in the Bay Area, to…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
The Big Problems Facing Holocaust Education
In this episode, hear from prominent author Dara Horn (“People Love Dead Jews,” “One Little Goat”) about the key issues with the way the Holocaust is discussed…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Tech & Torah: How Jewish Educators Can Embrace Technology
In this episode of Adapting, host David Bryfman sits down with tech-savvy Rabbi Jason Miller, to discuss the role of technology in Jewish education. Rabbi…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
What AI Thinks About Jewish Education
This week on Adapting, David Bryfman sits down with... well, robots. In an innovative and fitting approach, he leverages artificial intelligence — a platform…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
What's God Got to Do With It?
This week, Adapting gets spiritual with Dana Sheanin, CEO of Jewish Learning Works. Dana first shares glimpses into the Jewish Bay Area, marked by political…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Revisiting Esther and Vashti: Heroines of the Purim Story
As Purim begins tonight, we reflect on resilience, courage, and hidden miracles—themes that feel more relevant than ever. In this special re-release, Dr. Erica…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
The Future of Israel Educational Travel
From transformative teen programs like RootOne to life-changing Birthright and Masa trips, studies have shown that Israel educational travel has been the most…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Rooted in Responsibility: A Jewish Approach to Environmentalism
This week on Adapting, in honor of Tu BiShvat, Yoni Stadlin of Adamah challenges us to see our connection to the earth through a Jewish lens. From his…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Finding Light in Loss with Rabba Yaffa Epstein
Judaism gives us the tools to hold both joy and pain simultaneously. Few understand this better than Rabba Yaffa Epstein, The Jewish Education Project’s Senior…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Jewish Leadership for Such a Time as This
If you’re in a Jewish leadership role, don’t miss this pertinent conversation between David Bryfman and Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, a prominent Jewish leader and…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
What We Can Learn from the French-Jewish Experience
As the largest Jewish community in Europe and the third largest in the world, French Jewry—primarily of Sephardic descent from North Africa—blends a rich…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
Redeeming the Hostages: An Educational Imperative
As of this episode’s recording, 461 days have passed since Dalia Cusnir last heard from Yair and Eitan, her brothers-in-law who have been held captive in Gaza…
- Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education
The Festival of Lights When We Need It Most
In the final 2024 episode of Adapting, David Bryfman hosts Jonathan Shmidt Chapman—award-winning artist, writer, and Jewish educator—for a lively conversation…