The Jewish Education Experience Podcast

Yasminah Huberman
  • 5.0 (1)
  • EDUCATION

The Jewish Education Experience Podcast by Yasminah with the goal to uncover gems of wisdom with Jewish educators from around the world. The podcast features interviews with Jewish educators outlining their stories, tips of the trade, advice, support, and insights. We hope this podcast will assist educators at every stage of their journey - those who are just beginning and those who have dedicated their lives to this vital profession that is Jewish Education. 

  1. 9H AGO

    116: Developing Independent Learners with Teaching Kids To Translate Torah

    Rabbi Yehuda Winder, previously a Rebbi at the Bais Medrash Chofetz Chaim in Israel, returned to America and found himself presented with an opportunity at Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe: a position as a first-grade Rebbi. He learned that the curriculum being used was one in which students memorized phrases and repeated what their Rebbe said. He believed that there must be a different way, one that focused on fostering skills and comprehension regarding the origins of words, and this is how Lshon Hatorah was born. Rabbi Winder’s method invovled students learning the “shoresh” or root of a word separately and then understand how prefixes and suffixes could modify its meaning. Each of the words came directly from the Torah which provided students with a solid foundation of language skills. Gradually, students progressed with learning Hebrew more easily through each grade level. Rabbi Winder’s method has become standard in many Jewish schools. The primary objective of the Lshon Hatorah series is to empower students with the proficiency needed to translate Hebrew text with precision and ease. Gems: Give students the ability  to learn by themselves. Develop independent learners. Help students figure out what the words in Hebrew mean. The basic skills children learn will carry them throughout their lives. Encourage students to figure things out by giving them the tools they’ll need and as a result, they’ll want to learn more. Teach as much as you can through song.   Wellnesse Natural Personal Care ProductsWellnesse was founded by a mom who wanted healthier options for families. Check out my unique link!TikvahTikvah focuses on Classical Jewish Education.Parenting On PurposeThis course will help you better understand your child and build a deeper connection.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    46 min

  2. APR 28

    115: From Text to Transformation: Classroom Techniques for Jewish Educators (Solo Episode)

    Blank stares after a thoughtful question can make even great teachers doubt themselves. We have all been there: one student answers, everyone else checks out, and a rich Jewish text turns into a worksheet. So we focus on what actually changes the room fast practical classroom techniques you can try tomorrow to spark real thinking and real conversation. We start by reimagining chavruta, not as “turn and talk,” but as a structured partnership with roles like Questioner, Connector, and Challenger. That simple move turns reading into dialogue and gives every learner a clear way to contribute. From there we shift into inquiry-based Jewish learning: treating Torah and Talmud like problems to solve instead of facts to recite. We lean into tension, contradiction, and moral complexity, and we practice the hardest skill of all not rescuing students too quickly so they can discover meaning for themselves. Then we widen the lens to experiential Jewish education. We talk about embodied learning through acting out biblical scenes, using movement to build memory, and helping students locate themselves inside the ideas. We also share reflection prompts that move from learning about Judaism to living Judaism, plus ritual as pedagogy: experiencing Shabbat with candles and quiet before explaining what it “means.” You will walk away with concrete tools for student engagement, deeper comprehension, and stronger Jewish identity. If this helps, subscribe so you do not miss what we are trying next, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more Jewish educators can find it.  Chapter Markers 0:01Welcome And Sponsor Message2:04From Blank Stares To Dialogue2:55Chavruta Roles That Spark Talk4:19Treat Text Like A Mystery5:31Learn By Moving And Acting6:45Reflection That Makes It Personal7:35Ritual As A Teaching Tool8:13One Small Shift Challenge8:54A Closing Question For You Wellnesse Natural Personal Care ProductsWellnesse was founded by a mom who wanted healthier options for families. Check out my unique link!AmazonWe receive a small commission for any items purchased through my Amazon link.Parenting On PurposeThis course will help you better understand your child and build a deeper connection.TikvahTikvah focuses on Classical Jewish Education.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    9 min

  3. MAR 22

    114: Length of Our Days: Living a Torah-Rooted Life with Rabbi Moshe Kurtz

    Rabbi Moshe Kurtz serves as the Rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel in Allentown, PA. He is the author of Meoros Moshe (Aleh Zayis, 2025), a Pirkei Avot anthology of scholarship and stories about HaGaon HaRav Moshe Feinstein zt”l. Rabbi Kurtz writes about contemporary and Halachic issues in forums such as the Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society (RJJ Journal), OUTorah, The Lehrhaus, Torah Musings, and Jewsih Action. He hosts the the As I Walk Through the Valley podcast, and is currently working on writing a book based on unpacking the Iggerot.  Gems: Education is an area of Halacha that is very important that nobody asks questions about.Never give up on a child!When there is a child who is disturbing the class, remove him from the class and pair him with an older student, if possible.Jewish education is not just about giving over information, and it also can’t just be experiential. Jewish education needs to be conveyed through a Rebbe/Talmid relationship, this is how the mesorah is passed down.There needs to be respect for Rebbes.Learning Torah and Jewish education needs to be first and foremost, and everything else revolves around it.Educators must exude that the Torah is our life and length of our days, we must feel it deeply that we live for.Is the Torah driving our agenda, and are we being that example to our students?Parents have an obligation to educate their chilren.Though keeping Torah and Mitzvot are hard, it shouldn’t be a question whether parents are going to observe them, and children pick this up.What’s the message we’re telling our children?Impress upon children the importance of being an honest, upright Jew.There are certain things we do even when we don’t feel like it, or don’t like to do it.What is the will of Hashem? *Rabbi Daniel Korobkin *Joanna Powers Parenting On PurposeThis course will help you better understand your child and build a deeper connection.AmazonWe receive a small commission for any items purchased through my Amazon link.TikvahTikvah focuses on Classical Jewish Education.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 4m

  4. FEB 9

    113: Helping Children Examine the World and Find Their Place In It with Gila Ogle

    Gila Ogle is the Head of School at The Silver Academy in Harrisburg, PA where she is committed to fostering a thriving, mission-driven learning environment built on strong community partnerships. A social studies teacher at heart, Gila began her career in charter and public schools in New York and Miami before transitioning to Jewish education. She is passionate about empowering students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate an ever-changing world with integrity and purpose. Through her leadership, Gila strives to create a school culture that nurtures curiosity, critical thinking, and a deep sense of responsibility for the future. She is, most importantly, a proud wife and mom of three amazing kids. Gems:  Keep your mind open about what you can become and what you can share with the world.Think about what we would like our students to get out of what we’re teaching.Make efforts to allow students to interact with each other. Help children examine the world and find their place in it.One of our roles is to examine what we learn from children and find ways to guide them with the knowledge they already have.Empower the child to understand what they bring to the world. Find the spark in the child.Focus on building the relationship with the child first.Find colleagues and mentors.Support the show

    46 min

  5. JAN 11

    112: Bringing Out a Child's Innate Wisdom with Rabbi Jonathan Rietti

    Rabbi Jonathan Rietti – a descendant of the Sephardic leader the Ben Ish Chai and son of the famous British actor Robert Rietti, known as ‘The Man of a Thousand Voices’ and ‘King of the Dubbers’ – received his rabbinical diploma from Gateshead Talmudical College, England, after which he helped establish the now flourishing Kollel in Gibraltar. Having received a master’s in education, he has practiced for over thirty years as an educational consultant to parents of gifted children and those with ADD. With Montessori training, he has developed a curriculum which dovetails a Torah education with Montessori methodology. He has authored over two hundred lectures on topics including inner growth, health, parenting and Jewish identity, and draws upon his background in the film and advertising industries to entertain the listener while sharing powerful insights on love, happiness and ‘emotional intelligence. Rabbi Rietti founded Breakthrough Chinuch in 2009 with the goal of offering a “hands-on” curriculum to compliment the traditional Chinuch system for teachers, parents, schools, and homeschooling parents. https://www.breakthroughchinuch.com/ Gems: It is critical to learn Chumash through the prefixes, suffixes, and shorashim (root) letters.Allow ample time for review of what your students are learning.If you don’t learn sequentially from beginning to end based on actual skills, then there won’t be a strong chance of covering ground and knowing what you learn. The first thing we as educators have to recognize is that we must observe the child first, and then we can educate according to their strengths. Once a child masters the shorashim, and prefixes, and suffixes commonly found in Tanach, it makes it much easier to learn.Children have the ability to figure things out for themselves.We are causing the wisdom that’s already within the child to come out.The greatest teachers are ones who facilitate learning.A Rebbe has to have a lot of ways to reach his students.The Torah is written so that we ask questions, and the answers are in the Torah She’Be’al Peh (Oral Torah).When you know the Shorashim, prefixes and suffixes, you gain access to most of Bereishit.Find the strengths of the child and use that to teach any subject you want to teach.There needs to be constant back and forth in the classroom.Provide the skills and the connection to Torah.AmazonWe receive a small commission for any items purchased through my Amazon link.Parenting On PurposeThis course will help you better understand your child and build a deeper connection.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    53 min

  6. 12/22/2025

    111: Custom Spiritual Tailoring for the Soul with Rabbi Alexander Coleman

    Rabbi Alexander Coleman is the Director of the Institute for Jewish Ethics in Philadelphia, a Jewish educational platform offering seminars and classes on contemporary ethical dilemmas. The Institute features international rabbinic and secular scholars, and its programs are CLE-accredited for attorneys fulfilling their continuing legal education requirements. In addition, Rabbi Coleman teaches a wide range of classes for both groups and individuals on topics including spirituality, Talmud, Jewish law, Parashah, Mussar, and Tanach. A trained therapist and life coach, he integrates these skills with his teaching to help people grow in both their spiritual lives and personal development. His classes and services are available in person, via Zoom, and on demand across various platforms, including the internationally renowned TorahAnytime. Rabbi Coleman was born and raised in Liverpool, England. After a brief period at Yeshiva Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, he spent seven years at Yeshiva Chaim Berlin in New York, where he formed a close bond with its rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Aharon Schechter zt״l. After leaving yeshiva, he worked in Jewish outreach with the Etz Chaim Center for Jewish Studies in Philadelphia, and later went on to establish the Institute for Jewish Ethics. He resides in Philadelphia with his wife and family.  Gems: Engage your students in interesting discussions.Bring people back to their self-identity.Our learning is made up of a system of Jewish education, inspiration, and enlightenment.As educators, we can think of ourselves as spiritual custom tailors for the soul.Torah has the power to radiate out.Jewish education is not about data.The biggest and most impactful form of education is the influence, inspiration, and connection.What really changes a person is the connection between the teacher and the student.The academic knowledge is essential, but the connection to the teacher is essential for the transmission of Torah.Chinuch is launching someone on their path to be self-sufficient.Be mindful of the student in front of you.Help others understand what life is about and what our purpose is in this world.Work on changing ourselves.If it’s inside of us, it will organically flow out.Admit when you don’t know something.AmazonWe receive a small commission for any items purchased through my Amazon link.Parenting On PurposeThis course will help you better understand your child and build a deeper connection.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    46 min

  7. 03/16/2025

    110: Acculturating the Next Generation with Biblical Values with Rabbi Daniel Lapin

    Rabbi Daniel Lapin is known world-wide as a noted rabbinic scholar, best-selling author and host of the Rabbi Daniel Lapin Podcast where he shares his knowledge of how the world really works. He is one of America’s most eloquent speakers and he has helped many people around the world grow in their five F’s: Faith, Family, Finances, Friendship, and Fitness through ancient Jewish wisdom. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, later studied in yeshivas in Gateshead, London, and in Israel. He emigrated to the United States and founded The Pacific Jewish Center. His more recent projects, along with his wife Susan, include online courses, a community called The We Happy Warriors, and has written many best-selling books, including their most recent book, The Holistic You: Integrating your Family, Faith, Finances, Friendships, and Fitness. Rabbi Lapin is an avid boater and sailed his family from Los Angeles to Honolulu in the summer on their own 44 foot sailing cutter. As the family grew, the Lapins switched to calmer waters, boating in the San Juan and Gulf Islands in Washington State and British Columbia. He and his wife Susan homeschooled their seven children on Mercer Island, Washington and now live in Baltimore, MD. Gems: Our primary obligation is to teach ourselves, not just our children. We are responsible for our own growth and progress; nobody else is responsible. Parents must be on the same page. Create an authentic connection with G-d rather than a formalistic one. Teach children to build a relationship where they can talk to G-d. Judaism is more than just a ritualistic way of life. Try to get out of your comfort zone. We pass down principles that are relevant at all times. Think through what you’re going to tell your children. Be open to freshness. How we teach needs to be linked to each child as an individual. Raise children that we would really like. We can’t expect things to be easy. Homeschooling is more viable than people think. Our job is to acculturate the next generation.  Parenting On PurposeThis course will help you better understand your child and build a deeper connection.AmazonWe receive a small commission for any items purchased through my Amazon link.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    47 min

  8. 02/18/2025

    109: A Discussion of Four Topics that Influence Jewish Education with Michael Feldstein

    Michael Feldstein has been a direct marketing professional for more than 40 years. He graduated with an MBA in marketing from New York University and has lived in Stamford since 1982. Feldstein is a member of both the Young Israel of Stamford and Congregation Agudath Sholom and has served on the adult education committees at both synagogues. He chaired the Center for Community Education at the Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy in Stamford, an education initiative that brought various Jewish educators to speak to members of the Stamford Jewish community. He also chairs the annual Challenges in Jewish Education panel program, which has brought various Jewish educators to participate in a panel to discuss critical issues in the world of Jewish education.  It has run consecutively for more than 20 years. He is the author of MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE, a collection of essays on contemporary Jewish topics.  For the last three years, he has been publishing a weekly column in The Jewish Link.  His works have also appeared in The Jewish Week and The Forward. In 2023, he won the Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in Journalism, which is given each year by the American Jewish Press Association.  Gems: Be a life-long learner. Though technology is very useful, we must still value the actual Torah texts. Being Jewish is not something we can hide. Be flexible. Learning in Hebrew gives our students the ability to read and connect with our texts. We learn through experiences. Teach critical thinking skills along with moral character. There’s value in teaching our students a trade. Focus on each individual child. https://amzn.to/414F4MR Parenting On PurposeThis course will help you better understand your child and build a deeper connection.AmazonWe receive a small commission for any items purchased through my Amazon link.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    42 min
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The Jewish Education Experience Podcast by Yasminah with the goal to uncover gems of wisdom with Jewish educators from around the world. The podcast features interviews with Jewish educators outlining their stories, tips of the trade, advice, support, and insights. We hope this podcast will assist educators at every stage of their journey - those who are just beginning and those who have dedicated their lives to this vital profession that is Jewish Education. 

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