Gleanings: Portraits of Jewish Educational Leadership from the William Davidson School
Gleanings is the ejournal of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of The Jewish
Theological Seminary. Please join us in the conversation by sending your comments to gleanings@jtsa.edu.
Gleanings: Spring 2025
From the Associate Dean
Welcome to the spring 2025 issue of Gleanings, a publication of The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education.
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Transformative Learning for Teachers
Research alongside practice has driven the course of Lauren Applebaum’s career in Jewish education, making her decision to enroll in the William Davidson Executive Doctoral Program a natural one. Her doctoral research on how adult teachers learn continues to influence her work as she recruits and trains future educators.
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Making Learning Stick for Next Gen Professionals
Rabbi David Kessel sees the workplace as a potent learning space. In his experience engaging young Jewish leaders, he knows that in big tent settings, professionals who create a culture of welcome can come to see themselves as educators.
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Love Through Knowledge
Rabbi Laura Novak Winer knew she had found a doctoral research project when she was facilitating a group of supplementary schoolteachers and found them struggling when teaching about Israel. The research and evaluation skills she learned through her William Davidson Executive Doctoral Program continue to enrich her work and inform the field of Israel education.
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Practitioner, Learner, Leader
Benjamin Mann’s growth mindset opened the door to doctoral study and research, which gave him the chance to explore the impact of inclusion in a Jewish day school for all members of the school community, not only those with diverse learning needs.
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Alumni News
We are very proud of our alumni who shared the following professional achievements and brought us up-to-date on their roles.
Learn MoreGleanings: Fall 2025
From the Associate Director
I welcome you to the fall 2025 issue of Gleanings, a publication of The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education.
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Relationship-Based Engagement
To Allie Conn Kanter, being an educator “by example” starts with knowing yourself and who you want to be to those you encounter. From hands-on engagement experience in campus work to her current work at Hadar, she understands how diverse the pathways can be to Jewish education.
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Designing and Building for Engagement
“Many people feel that there are a lot of barriers to Jewish life,” said Rabbi Charlie Schwartz, co-founder of the Lehrhaus Jewish tavern and house of learning in Somerville, MA. Schwartz is dedicated to designing and building creative ways and spaces for Jewish life and learning to spread.
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Making Meaning Through Broad Engagement
Rabbi Yael Buechler finds opportunities for Jewish education even when shopping at Target. Her work as a day school rabbi, small business owner, and influencer draws on her enthusiastic and creative love of Jewish life.
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Impact Through Community
“The best help you can give people is to be in relationship with them,” said Rabbi Anne Ebersman. As director of hesed and tzedek at the Heschel School in Manhattan, she lives that statement every day, and in her doctoral work at The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, she has experienced how learning as a community can have tremendous impact.
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