MARCH 23 • 2023 | 35

A

s Jewish educators 
express a desire to 
earn qualifications, 
find jobs and earn salaries 
quicker, the Pardes Institute 
of Jewish Studies announced 
a new format for its educator 
training program, now 
known as the Pardes Teacher 
Fellowship. Teachers will 
spend two summers and an 
academic year at Pardes in 
Jerusalem, including intensive 
Torah study, Hebrew language 
ulpan and pedagogic training. 
They will then spend one 
academic year teaching 
Jewish studies at a day school 
in North America, alongside 
rigorous pedagogic training 
and one-on-one coaching. 
A final summer will be 
back at Pardes in Jerusalem 
for a curriculum-building 
workshop and graduation. 
David Fain, Rav Beit 
Hasefer at Detroit Hillel 
Day School, and Seth 
Korelitz, director of Jewish 
Studies at Frankel Jewish 
Academy, are alumni of the 
program’s previous iteration.
“The Pardes Educators 
program inspired my thirst 
for Jewish learning and my 
love of Jewish text,” Fain said. 
“The PEP teachers modeled 
that being a Jewish educator 
meant being a role model 
for the values we teach, 
combining learning Torah 
with living a life of Gemilut 
Chasadim, acts of loving 
kindness. 
“PEP lit the spark for living 

a Jewish life based in Jewish 
learning and taught me the 
skills and ability to decipher 
and determine meaning from 
Jewish texts,” Fain added. “As 
an educator, I strive to teach 
the next generation of Jewish 
leaders these skills and to 
discover meaning and create 
their own unique Jewish 
identities.”
Adds Korelitz, “As someone 
who began teaching classical 
Jewish texts without any 
formal text learning of my 
own, studying with truly 
master teachers at Pardes 
increased my confidence in 
my own teaching and greatly 
increased my own skills. 
“Many times,” Korelitz 
added, “as I am preparing 
a lesson for my students, I 
ask myself, “How would my 
Pardes teachers present this 
material?’ Few teachers are 
as fortunate as I was to be 
able to attend Pardes mid-
way through my career, but it 
left an indelible mark on me, 

as I have seen Pardes do for 
everyone who is blessed to be 
part of PEP.”
For 23 years, the educator 
program has inspired and 
trained a cadre of Jewish 
studies teachers. Participants 
previously spent two years 
in Jerusalem in the beit 
midrash, accruing a deep 
knowledge of Jewish text 
content and skills, while 
simultaneously being trained 
as first-rate pedagogues. Of 
those two years, they spent 
one month each spring in 
student teaching roles in the 
United States or Canada. 
They then went off to teach 
for a minimum of three years 
at day schools across North 
America. 
Graduates are consistently 
sought after and consistently 
rate very highly in their 
schools as knowledgeable 
meaning-makers and role 
models for their students. 
The new Pardes Teacher 
Fellowship offers the same 

high-level beit midrash Torah 
skills and acumen, teacher 
training and graduate degree 
in a new, refreshed and 
improved format. 
 “We have to meet the 
evolving needs of those 
entering the workforce as 
Jewish studies teachers,” says 
Aviva Lauer, who directs 
the Pardes Center for Jewish 
Educators at the Pardes 
Institute of Jewish Studies 
in Jerusalem. “Those who 
decide to enter the field of 
day school education are 
antsy, like most young people 
these days, about completing 
pre-service training and 
the time it takes to earn 
a qualification. They will 
benefit from accelerated pre-
service training and from 
deepened in-service training. 
They will enter the field more 
quickly, begin to earn a salary 
faster, all while cultivating 
their teaching craft under 
the guidance of master 
mentors and supervisors. 
What remains the same is 
full tuition funding at Pardes, 
generous living stipends 
for year one and subsidized 
MAEd courses.”
The re-launch of the 
program occurs during 
Pardes’ 50th anniversary, 
as they expand programs 
and offerings as part of a 
major strategic plan, break 
ground on a new building 
and undergo more changes 
to further develop excellent 
Jewish educators today. 

Pardes helps Jewish studies educators 
enter the field more rapidly.

Day School Educator 
Program Revamped

JN STAFF

Seth 
Korelitz
David 
Fain

