MTEI Blog

How do we bring the teachings of Torah, our Jewish ethics and values, into our bodies so that the impulse to live a righteous Jewish life is so close that it’s instinctive? Like everything we learn, it takes practice, practice, practice. That is what we did at Congregation B’nai Tikvah (Walnut Creek, CA) in a year-long experiment that we called Playing with Jewish Values.

In 1974, David Hawkins proposed a three-part model of teaching-learning relationships, which others have since reframed as the “Instructional Triangle” or “Relational Triangle.” He explained that the teacher, student, and text (subject) all exist in a relationship with one another, and that all three elements must remain balanced for sound education to take place.

Mandel Teacher Educator Institute (MTEI), our featured program in this issue, is an extraordinary example of how school leaders can, first, promote a deep understanding of excellent instructional practice and, then, proactively spread these practices throughout their own schools. As administrators and teachers from the Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago make clear, this process takes time, but the effect on students is undeniable when educators share a vision of how to elevate classroom learning through collaborative inquiry.

Early this summer, I was approached independently and within the same week by two members of my Women’s Torah Study (WTS) group. Both were struggling with their own political ideology in the face of the anti-Jewish and anti-Israel activism in the media, social media, and local environment. I spent about an hour listening to each of them.

Seven years ago, when two members of The Epstein Schools’ senior leadership team participated in the Mandel Teacher Education Institute (MTEI), the school embarked on a journey that would transform its approach to education. Inspired by the ancient Jewish practice of havruta text study, David Welsher, Associate Head of School, and Idit Bendavid, Director of Jewish Studies & Hebrew, both graduates of MTEI, realized their entire community – including students, teachers and support staff at the independent Jewish Day school – could benefit from the active and reflective listening, wondering, and curiosity of havruta’s partner-based learning model.

Travel with me. Imagine, for a moment, we are standing on the Tayelet – the Haas Promenade – at the south end of Jerusalem. Look north toward the walls of the Old City, with the shimmering views of the structures on the Temple Mount, replete with thousands of years of history.

How can supplemental schools revitalize learning while staying spiritually rooted and connected to the community? In 2023, this was the challenge faced by the leadership team at Temple Beth Torah (TBT) a Reform synagogue of 300 families in Ventura, CA.

The Mishnah tells a story about Rabbi Nehunyah ben HaKanah. It shares that he offered a brief prayer when he entered the Beit Midrash (House of Study) and again when he left. When he entered, he prayed that no mishap would happen because of him, and when he left, he offered thanksgiving (Mishnah Berakhot 4:2).

For more than two decades, the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute (MTEI) has been at the forefront of developing exceptional educational leaders within the Jewish community. While the program’s core mission has remained steadfast, MTEI continuously evolves to better align with its foundational values and respond to the needs of an ever-changing world. To accomplish this, the program’s faculty and leadership center both teaching and learning rooted in eight core principles that were formalized in 2016 as the MTEI Principles for Professional Development.

Herzlia teacher Shimpa (Chaim) Moch recently completed the two-year programme offered by the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute (MTEI) in the United States. Not only is he the first South African to graduate from this course, he was also the only foreign student in his cohort.