Tehilah Eisenstadt

William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education

Tehilah Eisenstadt, a recent graduate of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, admits that her love of midrash began when she was six years old and attended Hebrew day school. She came home excited about a story she had learned about Abraham. She told her mother it was Torah, and her mother patiently explained to her that the story was not precisely Torah but something called midrash. “So I was introduced to this notion of the Jewish story that was about biblical characters and that was very important but wasn’t in the Torah. And from that moment I was hooked.”

Once she grew up, her decision to come to JTS was as much due to Dr. Burt Visotzky as it was to her abiding love of midrash. She heard him speak and discovered he taught at JTS, and so she began to look for a way to make use of her interest in Torah storytelling. She researched Jewish-studies programs and settled on JTS. “JTS was best for my needs, both because of my background and because it was the kind of place that wouldn’t just be about academic study; it would be infused with some religious meaning and purpose.” 

She moved into The Davidson School after taking a class with Dean Steven Brown. “I ended up taking his class on teaching prayer and learned about teaching; and the way that it was structured about a specific topic was really fascinating.” The ideas about education were new to me and also felt natural, and I thought, ‘Well, this is something I can give a try.’ My hope is to do many, many different things.”

And that is exactly what she has been doing. She currently teaches Hebrew school, leads adult-education classes, and is pursuing other hands-on education opportunities. “I’m thrilled to be using all that I have learned.”