Turn it and Turn it Again

The study of classical Jewish texts is flourishing in day schools and adult education, synagogues and summer camps, universities and yeshivot. But serious inquiry into the practices and purposes of such study is far rarer. In this book, a diverse collection of empirical and conceptual studies illuminates particular aspects of the teaching of Bible and rabbinic literature to, and the learning of, children and adults. In addition to providing specific insights into the pedagogy of Jewish texts, these studies serve as models of what the disciplined study of pedagogy can look like. The book will be of interest to teachers of Jewish texts in all contexts, and will be particularly valuable for the professional development of Jewish educators.

Levisohn Jon A. :

Jon A. Levisohn is Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Associate Professor of Jewish Educational Thought, Brandeis University.Jon A. Levisohn is Associate Professor of Jewish Education in the Department of Near Eastern & Judaic Studies at Brandeis University, as well as the Assistant Academic Director of the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education. He holds a doctorate from Stanford University and is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship program. He is the author of The Interpretive Virtues: A Philosophical Enquiry into the Teaching and Learning of Historical Narratives (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013).

Susan P. Fendrick received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship program. Her writing has appeared in The Women's Torah Commentary and The Women's Haftarah Commentary, The Women's Seder Sourcebook, the haggadah A Night of Questions, the journals Sh'ma and Living Text, as well as numerous online publications. She previously served as Senior Research Associate at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University.

Michael D. Matlock:
“As I read the pedagogical reflections of the teachers in this book, I was afforded an opportunity to cogitate on the pedagogical strengths and weaknesses of my own teachers as well as my own teaching and discover several innovations. . . . To some degree, every essay illustrates the benefits and instructor gains when she or he slows down enough while teaching a classical Jewish texts course (easily adaptable to any course reading and interpreting sacred texts) to observe carefully and reflect critically how learning outcomes are achieved in the students. . . . Every essay invites readers to explore or ‘turn’ pedagogy from various instructive angles and learn from these reflective teachers about how one’s own orientation to teaching similar sacred texts courses may be strengthened.”

Lee S. Shulman, President Emeritus, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus, Stanford University:
"This book inspires me to turn its pages and return to them again. Levisohn and Fendrick have written, collected and organized significant contributions to the pedagogies of sacred texts. They are coherent, illuminating and a joy to read. These essays connect modern analytic scholarship on classical texts with the most current bodies of theory and practice in the study of teaching and learning. The book deserves a place on the desk of every serious Jewish educator."

Rabbi Ethan Tucker, Rosh Yeshiva, Mechon Hadar:
"Turn it and Turn it Again is, in the words of one of the editors, 'a plea for purpose,' a call to make our subconscious and instinctive modes of teaching a conscious craft. Each offering in this wonderful book is valuable on its own, though it is the combined picture that creates a true kaleidoscope of orientations for teaching classical Jewish texts. Both the substantive studies here and the frame that stands behind them will help sharpen our focus, whether about the inner workings of learning minds or about the electricity and passion of a successful beit midrash. This volume is a must-read for all teachers, since the success of our teaching is unavoidably bound up with how well we teach."

David M. Stern, Moritz and Josephine Berg Professor of Classical Hebrew Literature, University of Pennsylvania:
"With the rise of interest in classical Jewish texts across the spectrum of the Jewish community, this book is a welcome and important addition to the Jewish library. The separate contributions by pedagogues and scholars of various ilks and backgrounds create a diverse and stimulating conversation about the teaching of Jewish texts, its challenges, and promises. The result is an almost Talmudic diversity of visions and statements that scholars, educators, and interested lay persons will all find valuable."