Studies in Judaism and Jewish Education in Honor of Dr. Lifsa B. Schachter: Includes Several Essays Authored by Lifsa Schachter

By Jean Lettofsky, Brian Amkraut and Rabbi Jeffrey Schein

This book is a collection of essays in honor of the life and work of Dr. Lifsa Schachter . The contributors span a broad range of Dr. Schachter's 50-year involvement in Jewish education and scholarship. The three major foci of the volume--Bible, Hebrew, and Jewish education--reflect the three major arenas of her work. Within each of these areas, the essays encompass Dr. Schachter's commitment to thoughtful reflection (theory) and competent and creative implementation (practice). Also included are several essays by Dr. Schachter as well as reflections from Lifsa's students and colleagues on her contribution to their personal and professional growth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Aug 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781490783239

Jean Lettofsky

This anthology has been assembled by an editorial committee of three colleagues of Lifsa Schachter: Jean Loeb Lettofsky, for thirty years, director of the Aaron Garber Library of the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies (Siegal College). A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and its School of Library and Information Studies, she is co-author of Oral Histories: Wisconsin Survivors of the Holocaust, and a union list of Jewish periodicals held in Cleveland. Dr. Jeffrey Schein, formerly professor and director of the Department of Jewish Education at Siegal College, and Senior Consultant for Jewish Education for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation. He is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and of the doctoral program in curriculum studies of Temple University in Philadelphia, and was the first non-pulpit rabbi to receive the Ira Eisenstein award from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association for distinguished service. Professor Brian Amkraut is currently the Executive Director of the Laura and Alvin Siegal Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University, having served on the faculty at Oberlin College and Siegal College prior to becoming Provost at Siegal College, a post he held for five years. He received his B.A. from Columbia University and his PhD from New York University. His book Between Home and Homeland: Youth Aliyah from Nazi Germany was published in 2006. He has published articles addressing the impact of changing technologies in contemporary Jewish life.

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Copyright 2017 Jean Lettofsky MLS, Brian Amkraut PhD, Rabbi Jeffrey Schein.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

All translations of biblical texts are from Tanakh-The Holy Scriptures 1985 Jewish Publication Society

ISBN: 978-1-4907-8322-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-8324-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-8323-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909583

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Jewish education can be creative. IT CAN ALSO BE thoughtful. Rare is the combination of the two that we see in the life and work of Dr. Lifsa Schachter.

—Jeffrey Schein

Contents

Preface And Acknowledgments

PART ONE

WORDS OF PRAISE

Collegial Reflections

Brian Amkraut

Seymour Kopelowitz And Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz

Sally H. Wertheim

Students’ Praise Of Lifsa Schachter, Scholar And Educator

An Educator’s Guide To The Volume

Jeffrey Schein

Biography Of Dr. Lifsa Schachter

PART TWO

BIBLE AND JUDAISM

Chapter 1.   Fall And Reconciliation: The Golden Calf Narrative As Paradigm

Moshe Adler

Chapter 2.   Rabi Yochanan And Shmuel: An Epistolary Confrontation

Moshe Berger

Chapter 3.   The Drama Of Panim In Exodus 32–34

Hannah Hashkes

Chapter 4.   Recovering Eden As Sacred Space: Understanding The Bible Through Its Visual Images

Lifsa Schachter

Chapter 5.   Symbol Of The Miraculous

Lifsa Schachter

PART THREE

EDUCATION

Chapter 6.   מורשתMoreshet: A Comprehensive Initiative To Promote And Improve Hebrew Language Acquisition In Cleveland, Ohio

Sylvia F. Abrams

Chapter 7.   Prayer And Praying: Teaching The Inner Life

Barry W. Holtz

Chapter 8.   Stealing Knowledge Redux

Kathy Klein

Chapter 9.   Our Jewish Journeys: Reflections And Projections

Enid C. Lader

Chapter 10.   Why Bonnie And Ronnie Can’t Read (The Siddur)

Lifsa Schachter

Chapter 11.   Kaplan And Rosenzweig

Jeffrey Schein

Chapter 12.   Eric Bram: A Portrait Of A Rabbi

As An Educational Visionary

Jeffrey Schein And Sam Joseph

Chapter 13.   Seeking Authenticity In The Study And Experience Of Prayer

Saul P. Wachs And Michael J. Schatz

Chapter 14.   Supporting The Spiritual Development Of Young Children

Ruth A. Wilson And Deborah Schein

PART FOUR

ISRAEL AND JEWISH CIVILIZATION

Chapter 15.   The Way It Was: Israel Of The 1950S And 1960S Through The Lens Of Advertisements In D’var Ha-Shavua Magazines

Nili Adler, z"l

Chapter 16.   Obligations Vs. Rights: A Halakhic Contribution To American Legal Theory

Ronald A. Brauner

Chapter 17.   Amol Iz Geven (Once Upon A Time)

Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich

Chapter 18.   On Knowing Hebrew: Some Reflections

Alan Levenson

Chapter 19   The Emergence Of Jewish Women’s Writing From The Private To The Public Sphere In Late Nineteenth-Century Europe: Notes Toward An Inquiry

Shulamit S. Magnus

Chapter 20   When Jewish Jokes And Jewish Ethics Collide

Stanley J. Schachter

Chapter 21   Kibbutz Beit Yisrael–Kvutzat Reut: Living Together, Learning Together, Acting Together

Amy Schachter Simon

Appendix:   History Of Siegal College

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

About fifteen years ago, Jean Lettofsky expressed an interest in publishing a Festschrift in honor of Dr. Lifsa Schachter and her extraordinary work. The idea of a tribute volume gained traction when Lifsa retired from the faculty of the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies in 2009 and her continuation, until 2011, as an emeritus.

Though the Fest that we intended to mark has passed, we are delighted that this volume is being published as Lifsa and her beloved spouse, Rabbi Stanley Schachter, enjoy their new home in Jerusalem, having made aliyah in December 2015. The co-editors, all members of the Siegal College faculty, felt that the volume serves not only as a tribute to Lifsa’s career but also as a reflection of the legacy of that institution. (See Appendix for a brief description of the history of Siegal College.)

The three major foci of the volume—Bible, Hebrew, and Jewish education—reflect the major arenas of Lifsa’s work. Within each of these areas, the essays exhibit Dr. Schachter’s commitment to thoughtful reflection (theory) and competent and creative implementation (practice). Perspective is always critical. Before turning to the many substantial essays and articles in this volume, the editors encourage you to see Lifsa’s work through the eyes of her many students and four of her colleagues (Brian Amkraut, Nachama Moskowitz, Seymour Kopelowitz, and Sally Wertheim).

Also included are several essays by Dr. Schachter, her husband, and one of her daughters. In addition, there is an invitation to educators, written by Jeffrey Schein (An Educator’s Guide to the Volume), to take seriously Lifsa’s deep commitment to the twin concerns of Jewish content knowledge and pedagogic skill.

A short biography of Dr. Lifsa Schachter can be found on page 19.

The editors wish to express their gratitude to all the individuals and foundations that made the publication of this volume possible.

As is true of most anthologies, this book is the result of a communal effort by individuals who love and respect Lifsa. The generosity of many of Lifsa’s students, colleagues, and family members in contributing essays and articles to this volume is a reflection of their admiration and esteem. In addition to our gratitude to our authors for their superb and often inspired contributions, we deeply appreciate their gracious patience. We are grateful to Dr. Reena Spicehandler for her erudite and skillful assistance with editing.

Throughout much of the project, Jeff Schein and Jean Lettofsky enjoyed late Friday afternoon meetings over coffee to discuss and make many major and minor decisions. Brian Amkraut provided invaluable editorial advice and ensured that funding for the publication was available. We thank Abby Royer, Caroline Cheetham, and Sheryl Hirsh, who provided essential administrative assistance, and Seth Lettofsky, of blessed memory, for his computer expertise. Rabbi Alan Lettofsky provided both scholarly and technological assistance.

We hope that these articles and essays will serve readers as a prism through which to view the personal and scholarly contributions of Dr. Lifsa Schachter to Bible and Hebrew language instruction, and that their work will be enriched by reading this volume and reflecting on its contents.

All translations of biblical texts are from Tanakh – The Holy Scriptures 1985 Jewish Publication Society, unless otherwise noted. Transliterations and some elements of style are the work of the authors.

PART ONE

WORDS OF PRAISE

COLLEGIAL REFLECTIONS

Brian Amkraut

For scholars who follow a conventional path through graduate school, the completion of doctoral research and receipt of a PhD do not typically offer adequate (if any) training in the day-to-day work for higher-education faculty. The realities of preparing classes, teaching and advising students, assessing what they have learned, not to mention administrative duties, are not part of the common graduate school curriculum. Even once on the job, most professors have little direct engagement with educational methodology, best practices in classroom management, or the other elements of collegiate teaching. For some of us, however, who may have found ourselves at teaching as opposed to research institutions, some attention is paid to encouraging successful pedagogy. A select few, moreover, who work at institutions with an education faculty have the rare opportunity to start their careers with faculty colleagues possessing particular expertise in both the skills that make for successful classroom instructors and how educational institutions function. The Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies (once Cleveland College of Jewish Studies) was one such institution and I enjoyed the good fortune of joining the faculty, which included leading scholars of Jewish education. While Siegal College no longer exists as an independent institution of higher learning, its tradition of quality adult Jewish education lives on in the Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University.

Among that college faculty, Professor Lifsa Schachter stood out as a valued leader, mentor, co-worker, and good friend, whose wisdom and experience benefited the entire Cleveland Jewish community but profoundly impacted her colleagues, making us all better scholars, teachers, and representatives of Jewish education. While clearly her interests in Bible scholarship and Hebrew language instruction had direct impact on students of all ages, it was her passion for articulating and influencing a distinct commitment to the broader construct of Jewish literacy and its importance for Jewish education professionals that most significantly shaped the outlook of the institution as a whole. For more than two decades, whether serving as dean of the college, director of its Jewish Education program, a regular faculty member, or more recently as emerita, Lifsa’s presence has continuously contributed to the general welfare of Jewish Cleveland through her embodiment of commitment to Jewish education and scholarship.

Our faculty senate meetings regularly addressed issues of assuring positive learning outcomes for our students, determining appropriate criteria for assessing student success, and developing effective rubrics in both content comprehension and expression to support those goals. While such conversations may be commonplace in other academic settings, Lifsa and our other Jewish education scholars enriched those deliberations among the Siegal faculty through their specific expertise in areas of pedagogy/andragogy, curriculum design, and learning assessment. I admit a certain failure in my own classical background in that, when I first heard Lifsa introduce the term paideia at one of our faculty meetings, I was at a loss to understand the significance of this word for our work. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the following definition: "education, upbringing; spec. an Athenian system of instruction designed to give pupils a rounded cultural education, esp. with a view to public life." Lifsa helped shape our faculty into one whose view of our charge was not merely in transmitting a body of knowledge or a cultural legacy to our students but rather in serving the greater Jewish good, or indeed society at large, by inculcating broad Judaic literacy with a view towards enriching the broader Jewish community. And this attitude permeated classrooms at Siegal regardless of whether we were teaching young students embarking on careers in Jewish education or adult learners coming to the college for continued intellectual enrichment.

I know my coeditors join me in an expression of gratitude for this contribution Lifsa has made to our work and in extending the notion of education for greater civic good as an embodiment of Siegal College as an institution, in addition to whatever impact we may have had on individual students. Years after I first had direct benefit from Lifsa’s guidance, these ideals of education for purpose still resonate and shape my professional outlook. More than any specific area of academic expertise, Lifsa’s commitment to the broader enterprise of Jewish learning and Jewish continuity through educating both youth and adults represents a vision for communal and institutional success that continues to inspire.

Brian Amkraut, BA, Columbia University; PhD, New York University. Dr. Amkraut is the executive director of the Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University. He taught Jewish history at Oberlin College and Siegal College prior to becoming provost at Siegal College, a post he held for five years. His book Between Home and Homeland: Youth Aliyah from Nazi Germany was published in 2006 and details the movement to bring Jewish teenagers from Germany to Palestine in the 1930s. He has published articles addressing the impact of changing technologies in contemporary Jewish life.

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Seymour Kopelowitz and Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz

There’s so much that Dr. Lifsa Schachter has impacted in the field of Jewish education—professional development, day school curriculum, Jewish early childhood, Hebrew education, and more. It’s our honor to reflect on her contributions to Hebrew education, especially in Cleveland.

In the late 1990’s Dr. Schachter (then professor of Jewish education at Siegal College) and Dr. Sylvia Abrams (then codirector of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland [JECC]) took a look at those teaching Hebrew in our part-time Jewish educational settings and realized that many of the teachers with Hebrew language background were nearing retirement age. And so, these two visionary women developed Moreshet, a multitiered program designed to bring Hebrew to the fore of Cleveland Jewish life. To enrich the environment, synagogues and Jewish institutions received funding to install Hebrew signage. To increase the basic level of Hebrew across the community, a six-hour crash course called Hebrew on One Foot was introduced. Hebrew Story Time was scheduled at a local bookstore on a monthly basis for parents and young children. And, a multi-year program was created to educate the next generation of Hebrew School teachers—its goal was to develop language competence, as well as Hebrew teaching skills.*

With Hebrew as an important focus of her work, Lifsa began creating a Hebrew adaptation of James J. Asher’s Total Physical Response (TPR) method for language instruction. In the day school setting, she started in the early childhood years, working to develop faculty competence and a curriculum that brought children to the level of Hebrew expected by first grade. But she also created a program for part-time Hebrew programs, with a strong following of Cleveland Jewish educators. Over time, with the assistance of the JECC’s Curriculum Department, Dr. Schachter more formally curricularized her approach, enabling it to spread beyond Cleveland to congregations throughout North America. (See http://www.HebrewThroughMovement.org.)

Two of Lifsa’s articles have had great impact in the teaching of Hebrew in part-time Jewish educational settings. For many Jewish educators, Why Bonnie and Ronnie Can’t ‘Read’ (the Siddur) (Journal of Jewish Education, 76, 1: 74–91**) was an eye-opening examination of the reasons why students struggled to learn to decode Hebrew. Lifsa’s core points were that these students didn’t have an oral basis for learning to read (as compared to the five to six years of hearing and speaking English prior to learning to read). Hebrew letters were confusing because they were minimally distinctive (consider the shapes of the Ayin and Tzadi, and the Yud, Vav, and Nun Sofit), and the nuances of Hebrew orthography weren’t understood by most Hebrew teachers. The other more technical article, What You Need to Know to Help Learners Decode Hebrew Effectively (http://thehebrewproject.wikispaces.com/file/view/Alphabet_and_Teaching_Hebrew_Decoding+1+14+(3).pdf) offered a tool kit adaptable to any Hebrew decoding textbook. Lifsa’s influence pushed Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz (one of this article’s authors) to engage the JECC’s Curriculum Department in creating an entirely new Hebrew primer based on these principles.

More than her ability to stay on message about the issues of Hebrew education in our part-time settings and more than her contributions to the solution of Hebrew learning is the personal impact Lifsa has on those involved in exploring these issues with her. We saw educators start a seminar with crossed arms and half-open ears (after all, there are decades of ingrained teaching methods to overcome) who shifted over the course of a couple of hours to become actively engaged in the discussion and, in a few months’ time, demonstrate some remarkable changes in their classroom or educational program.

Lifsa has touched and enriched us in our professional roles at the JECC. We have indeed benefited from her wisdom, her insight and guidance. Above all, her patience and openness as a friend and mentor will remain with us throughout our professional careers.

Thank you, Lifsa.

Dr. Seymour Kopelowitz is the executive director of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland.

Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz is the senior director and the director of curriculum resources for the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland.

*In chapter 6 of this volume, Dr. Sylvia F. Abrams examines the process that established Moreshet: A Comprehensive Initiative to Promote and Improve Hebrew Language Acquisition in Cleveland, Ohio (ed.).

**This article can be found in its entirety as chapter 10 of this volume.

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Sally H. Wertheim

Professor, Scholar, Colleague, Friend, Teacher are words that describe Lifsa Schachter, the professional educator as I know her. To me the compelling word is teacher. Lifsa epitomizes and models what an excellent teacher is and does. And all of us benefit from her efforts on behalf of Jewish education.

I first met Lifsa when she was interviewing for a position at the then Cleveland College of Jewish Studies (CCJS). As we talked and shared experiences and ideas about both Jewish and general education, I became more and more impressed with what Lifsa would be able to offer teachers in the Cleveland Jewish community. She was very au courant with the latest theories and methodologies about education and became interested in the current research on brain development and child development and how it could be applied in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning. The community was very fortunate to be able to recruit Lifsa; her work and contributions have proven numerous times that CCJS made a very astute decision.

Later, I also had the privilege of working with Lifsa on the Cleveland Fellows Program. Though she was the professional and part of the faculty, I was involved as a layperson, and we and others worked very hard to make the program a model that would have impact on the individual teacher and student, as well as the community. We also worked together in similar ways when I served on the Pardes Board of Trustees as the Cleveland community, led by Ilana Horowitz Ratner, tried to develop and start a community day high school. Needless to say, we all learned and grew from this experience.

On a personal note, I have also benefited from my many conversations with Lifsa over the years as we have talked about important and current educational philosophies and our own beliefs about the latest theories, often different from what was being promulgated. I learned from Lifsa in these informal discussions and also from her as a teacher in her classes that I attended. The most recent class I took with Lifsa dealt with Yiddish schools in the United States, a subject of great interest to me with my education history background and my interest in issues of church and state as they pertain to schooling.

I have also had the opportunity of talking with some of Lifsa’s former students and, at times, observing their teaching in both supplementary and day schools. Lifsa’s influence was always there and observable. The difference she made in children’s learning resulted from their teachers having studied with Lifsa. When the distance-learning concept became part of the college curriculum, Lifsa again was one of the faculty members who worked on videoconferencing, among other techniques, to reach students/teachers in many communities.

It is indeed appropriate and fitting that this celebratory volume has been created in Lifsa’s honor. I am pleased to be able to write briefly about my relationship with her. Though I have only touched upon the highlights, my thoughts are meant to show how I experienced Lifsa as a friend, colleague, teacher, professor, scholar and more because that is what and who Lifsa is. I know that many of the readers will agree with my personal reflections, and I hope they will reflect on their own.

Dr. Sally H. Wertheim is currently professor emeritus of the Foundations of Education and dean emeritus at John Carroll University. Dr. Wertheim is or has been active on many community boards, such as the County Board of Mental Health, the Center for Families and Children, Bellefaire/JCB, Jewish Family Service Association (past president), Montefiore Home for the Aged (past president), the National Conference, United Way Services, Jewish Community Federation (past president), Facing History, Milestones, the Mt. Sinai Medical Center, the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, the Mandel Foundation, and others.

STUDENTS’ PRAISE OF LIFSA SCHACHTER, SCHOLAR AND EDUCATOR

In the Talmud, R. Chanina remarked, I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and the most from my students.

—Ta’anit 7a

What follows are short reflections built around the invitation to various students and colleagues to comment on Lifsa’s chochmah (wisdom), eitzah (good advice), and yedidut (human friendship).

Divrei Shevach: In Praise of Lifsa Schachter, the Scholar and Educator

This tribute volume in honor of Dr. Lifsa Schachter celebrates her unique gifts and the breadth of her interests as a scholar and Jewish educator. Throughout her career, Lifsa’s teaching and scholarship have incorporated arenas as diverse as Bible, professional development, the teaching of Hebrew language, the implications of contemporary brain research for education, and Israel education. The breadth of her work is reflected in the diversity of contributions to this volume. The editorial committee invited contributions from educator scholars in all these fields.

Yet as Lifsa herself so often taught, breadth is one thing and depth quite another. The quality of her work as an educator is best captured in the words of the students and colleagues she taught, mentored, and influenced in such profound ways.

What follows in this opening chapter are short reflections built around the invitation to various students and colleagues to comment on Lifsa’s chochmah, eitzah, and yedidut.

Chochmahחכמה

Lifsa is a wonderful example of how important relationships are for the educational process. If the student feels valued and accepted by the teacher, he or she will be open to accepting new ideas. Every student of Lifsa’s feels valued and accepted for who he or she is. And therefore great learning happens!

Lifsa listens to me, gently guides me, and always makes me feel valued, even when I am completely off the mark or simply plain wrong!

Lesley Schwersenski

Dear Lifsa,

Thank you so much for enriching my life. You have taught me so much about education: how amazing the brain truly is, how individuals learn, and how to structure curriculum so that it has both meaning and depth for learners. Most importantly, thank you for not only bringing your academic expertise to our school but also for becoming the heart of Siegal College. Students knew you would always be available to speak about education, Judaism, or personal matters of the heart. In these ways, you will always remain in our hearts.

May you and your family always be surrounded by G-d’s light and love. All the best.

Abbe Seitzman

I will never forget my first meeting with Lifsa. She asked me about my personal educational vision and went on to explain why it is important for community professionals to be able to articulate their own educational vision, rather than just seeing themselves as facilitators of the vision of lay leadership. That conversation was a catalyst for much of my own study these past several years.

Lifsa has been my mentor, my teacher, my colleague, my friend. She models in her everyday living and teaching the principles she espouses in the classroom. She seamlessly weaves the theoretical and the practical. It is with boundless respect and admiration that I wish her well in this next chapter of her life!

Marlyn Bloch Jaffe

When I began studying educational leadership with Lifsa more than twenty years ago, my approach to Jewish education was shaped by her comment that Jewish educators are working with underprivileged families. You could hear the gasp in the room, yet Lifsa went on to remind us of the challenges of providing education for children coming both from families steeped in tradition as well as families with little tradition.

We deal with parents who do not read Hebrew or go to shul and Jewish homes with no Jewish books. The depth of that statement led me to better understand the importance of respecting each family on their own terms, to best determine how our school and congregation could reach them and be a partner in educating their child and, by extension, their family. It’s a lesson that remains with me to this day.

Susan Wyner

May you ever know the true value of the material you imparted to your students, the implicit lessons we gained from you, the ripples of meaningful action you initiated.

With warmest regards,

Joan Myles

Lifsa was always delighted to engage in debate with me, happy to have a discussion on what we were reading. But after a while, she noted that I never really wrote about what was actually happening in my classroom with my students. Little did she know (well, she probably knew all along) how over my head I felt in front of real students. At first, I was just happy to have survived another week of teaching. For me, it was always easier to hide behind an abstract academic discussion of theory than to actually deal with real world events. Lifsa’s ongoing prodding to write about my teaching got me to reflect on what I was doing and why I was doing it, forcing me to look at what was successful and engaging and what was not. I carry that lesson with me to this day.

Mark Davidson

Through her presentation of brain research and its application to teaching and learning Hebrew, Lifsa has encouraged me to refine my teaching methodologies and prepare a better learning environment for the many different types of learners in my classroom. Students maximize their learning in a non-threatening joyful environment. Lifsa not only taught the concepts but also modeled them for us. Lifsa was the first to introduce Hebrew Through Movement to me. This new form of teaching helped to make the teaching/learning environment more enjoyable in my classroom. I continue to look for ways to expand my use of Hebrew Through Movement and encourage other teachers to learn how to incorporate it in their classrooms. Lifsa always is there to listen, support, and advise during happy or difficult times.

Marcia Anouchi

I was a student in the Milwaukee Master Educator’s Program, which I believe was the first distance-learning program of the CCJS. Although most of the courses were taught through videoconferencing, Lifsa made numerous trips to Milwaukee so she could meet with us in person.

In addition to sharing with us her vast and comprehensive knowledge of Jewish sources and educational theory, Lifsa is a true mentor. She asked us to keep journals of our experiences in teaching and learning. Somehow, Lifsa was able to take the time to read all of our journals and to give thoughtful and insightful responses to our questions and observations. I have admired her ability to get to know her students so well and to be an exemplary model of the educational philosophies that form the foundation of Jewish education.

Phyllis Nutkis

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Eitzah עצה

Lifsa has always been a presence for me in this community. More than anything, she has been a model for me of what it means to be a successful, achieving woman in the world of Jewish education. She might hate me for the implied devaluation of teaching, but she showed me that women can aspire to leadership positions beyond the classroom in Jewish education.

Lifsa has also been a good friend, coach, and mentor. To put it bluntly, she pulled my ass out of the fire more than once. I remember one time particularly well. It was in Teacher Corps and I was so frustrated with the Orthodox women in the group who kept putting down Reform Judaism. Lifsa helped me understand their prejudices, my own biases, and just how to handle this emotionally draining