Jewish Education

"Kelman takes readers on a fascinating journey, from the traditional Beit Midrash to the frontiers of the internet, that reveals how people have learned about and engaged with Jewish life across time and place. In accessible prose that is at once playful and serious, this book invites readers to consider both the deep roots and the transformative possibilities of Jewish learning." ~Sivan Zakai, Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

"This is a must-read book for anyone seeking to develop a more informed and carefully theorized understanding of Jewish education, its past, present and future.  As a cutting-edge researcher in the field of Jewish education, Kelman has so much to teach those of us who care about what Jews are learning today and how they are learning it." ~Steven Weitzman, Ella Daviroff Director of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania

"Ari Kelman teaches us that Jewish education is as broad and diverse as all of Jewish culture and life. When seen through his eyes, Jewish education is not simply a project that some Jews undertake, for some years of their life, in some specific locations like schools or synagogues or camps. Instead, Jewish education happens everywhere that Jews enact Jewish culture and bring other Jews into that culture." ~Jon A. Levisohn, associate professor and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center chair in Jewish Educational Thought at Brandeis University

"The literature on Jewish education has largely centered on the teacher, and the educator’s goals and practice over the ages. By examining how students confront and absorb the Jewish content to which they are introduced, Kelman adds an important dimension to our understanding of the field." ~Carol K. Ingall, Dr. Bernard Heller Professor Emerita of Jewish Education, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America