Ben Porat Yosef (BPY) is an Early Childhood-8th grade Modern Orthodox yeshiva day school (Paramus, NJ). The school was founded 25 years ago, initially as a Sephardic educational institution, and shortly thereafter shifting to our current model as a dual-curriculum Sephardic and Ashkenazic school, where students who hail from either heritage and tradition are welcomed and celebrated. Moreover, the educational program trains our students in the laws, customs, and culture of the varied Sephardic and Ashkenazic traditions.

The other core element of our mission is to develop in our students a love for Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Medinat Yisrael. This is executed in a variety of ways, and two central components are our Hebrew Immersion model and our shelihim program.

Hebrew Immersion and Shelihim: Hand in Hand, Challenges and Opportunities

Many Diaspora day schools aspire to effectively teach Judaic Studies in Ivrit, for both philosophical and educational reasons. However, there are several significant challenges that have likely contributed to less-than-ideal implementation in the broader field. Finding Diaspora-based staff who have appropriate pedagogical skills and experience, content knowledge, and, of course, the proficiency in spoken Hebrew is a real challenge, especially in an environment where it is already difficult to find quality teachers. Similarly, educators express valid concerns about student comprehension and potential tradeoffs in the depth and breadth of content when transmitted in a foreign language. As Dr. Alan Mintz pointed out, there are also the cultural biases of American society to content with, where foreign language study is less of a priority and a prevalent belief that “anything truly important will be given them in translation.”

To counter these challenges, we have adopted a Hebrew immersion model that relies heavily on a parallel shelihim program. While many institutions have thankfully incorporated shelihim into their school communities, our program is unique in both the size of the shelihim cohort as well as the degree to which they are deeply integrated into the educational structure of the school. With eight Israeli shelihim (four couples) joining the BPY family for three or four years and teaching across all grade levels, our approach views shelihut not simply as a staffing solution, but as a mission of identity formation, cultural bridge-building, and deep educational transformation.

Our guiding philosophy is clear: Am Yisrael (the Jewish people), Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), and Torat Yisrael (the Torah of Israel) are inseparable. Hebrew is the living bridge that connects them. The goal is to move Hebrew from simply serving as a subject that is taught to something that is experienced, connecting our students to all aspects of Israel and the Torah.

Our approach to shelihim provides a number of very tangible benefits to the school, most notably the fact that the majority of our Judaic Studies classes in Grades 1-8 are taught by native Hebrew speakers who are proud emissaries of a Religious Zionist philosophy, and provide an authentic presence that naturally engages students with Hebrew language and with Israeli life on a daily basis. They are also religious role models, benei and benot Torah, who are products of some of the finest Religious Zionist yeshivot and seminaries in Israel.

There are, of course, challenges inherent in our model as well. Integrating shelihim into a Diaspora day school environment requires an adjustment to the cultural differences between the Israeli and American educational system, as well as different classroom management approaches and social norms. Shelihim who come to us are challenged with language and communication barriers, as well as what is often a struggle to understand community expectations and cultures.

Our approach in bringing our shelihim has been honed over the years through trial and error, and with an eye towards successfully integrating each shaliah so that they can not only do their job successfully, but can also feel a sense of fulfillment in accomplishing their lofty goals in educating fellow Jews in the Diaspora.

Selection Criteria: Educators First

The process begins well before we interview our first candidate for the coming year. We have developed a set of criteria and vision for what a successful BPY shaliah looks like. Our shelihim are first and foremost certified educators from Israel’s formal education system. Each holds a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Education and arrives with significant classroom experience. Many are selected as married couples, strengthening both family stability and long-term community integration.

Selection criteria extend beyond academic credentials. We seek educators who embody warmth, cultural pride, adaptability, and a deep understanding that they serve as role models, not only of language, but of Jewish identity and Israeli culture. The shaliah is not a visiting counselor; he or she is a professional teacher, cultural ambassador, and builder of Jewish identity.

Shelihut Preparation Program

Before arriving in the United States, each shaliah undergoes an intensive six-month preparation process implemented by school leadership designed to ensure professional excellence and cultural readiness.

1. Cultural orientation and expectation alignment

Israeli and American classrooms can be quite different. Israeli classrooms often operate with greater informality and direct communication while American classrooms may emphasize structured management systems, social-emotional awareness, differentiated instruction, and frequent parent communication.

Shelihim are trained to understand the nuances of American culture, Jewish day school structures, and the differences between Israeli and American communication styles. Particular emphasis is placed on parent communication and professionalism, the importance of collaborative teamwork within American school systems, cultural sensitivity and adaptability, and American classroom management expectations. This preparation ensures that the transition from an Israeli educational environment to an American Jewish day school is thoughtful and successful, and that shelihim feel like they understand the core elements of an American classroom.

2. Teaching Hebrew as a second language

Teaching Hebrew in Israel differs fundamentally from teaching Hebrew as a second language in the Diaspora. A central component of preparation is understanding the profound differences between teaching in Israel and teaching in American Jewish day schools.

In Israel, Hebrew is taught as a first language. The pace of instruction is faster, and the depth of textual analysis is typically more advanced. Students engage with complex texts at an earlier age because Hebrew surrounds them in every aspect of daily life. Vocabulary acquisition is organic, and grammar is internalized naturally through immersion.

In American day schools, even within an immersion framework, Hebrew is often a second language. Students will likely not speak Hebrew at home. Our teacher training focuses on several key items that will help them reach the American student. Something as basic as an understanding of the pacing of instruction may seem simple but is critically important for shelihim to master. Additionally, we focus our training on scaffolding complex texts and explicitly on building vocabulary.

Our goal is for the shelihim to incorporate more structured language-building strategies, including: breaking down shorashim, analyzing word structures and patterns, teaching prefixes and suffixes, and explicit sentence structure work. Combining the educational experiences and native Hebrew abilities of our shelihim with this formal second-language acquisition training has resulted in much success in reaching our students where they are, and in helping them move from decoding, to comprehension, to confident expression.

3. Experiential learning

One of the challenges of learning in a foreign language is that engagement can be more difficult. This places an even greater need on making the Immersive Hebrew Judaic Studies program experiential and deeply engaging. Shelihim are trained to transform Humash, Navi, Mishnah, Gemara, Halakha, and Ivrit into living experiences which allow students to feel the text, analyze it, and apply it to their own lives.

For example:

• In Navi, when students begin learning about Benei Yisrael crossing the Jordan River, they do not simply read the verses. Students physically go outside, create a symbolic “river,” and reenact the crossing. They experience the movement, uncertainty, and faith of the Jewish people stepping into the water. The narrative becomes embodied learning.
• In Gemara, when studying the structure of the Beit Din and the foundations of Jewish law, the classroom becomes a courtroom. Students assume roles as judges, litigants, and witnesses. They analyze real-life scenarios relevant to their own experiences, such as friendship conflicts, property questions, fairness issues, and apply the Gemara’s principles to modern situations. They see how ancient texts structure contemporary Jewish life.
• In Ivrit classes, students use costumes, dramatizations, songs, and hand motions to internalize vocabulary and grammar. Language becomes active rather than passive.
• In Mishnah classes, students may use rhythm, repetition, and movement to memorize and understand key passages, turning oral tradition into an embodied practice.

Preparing the Whole Family for Shelihut

Another key element that lays the groundwork for successful integration of shelihim is the appreciation that a school is not simply hiring educators. They are bringing a family into the school community. This family has not only uprooted their personal lives and placed their own professional lives on hold, but they are coming, with children, into a completely foreign culture. Helping the family integrate is both a major undertaking that utilizes significant institutional bandwidth, as well as something that each shaliah family deserves.

This process begins with a heavy emphasis on logistics, ensuring that the appropriate travel documents are in order, coordinating on the right neighborhood that the family will live in, and identifying housing and furnishings.

Once the family arrives in the summer prior to the school year, our focus expands to include guidance on cultural adjustment, language adaptation, navigating American bureaucracy, school placement for the children, and social integration and community building within the BPY family. Each arriving family is paired with a host family within the community, often Hebrew-speaking, who provide mentorship, guidance, and practical support during the critical early months. This relational model ensures stability, belonging, and success. When our shelihim families return to Israel, we hold extensive exit interviews soliciting their feedback on the process so that we can incorporate their insights into future integration efforts.

Centering Eretz Yisrael

Besides the classroom, there are several other key areas where Hebrew immersion impacts the education and culture of our school. Our shelihim serve as key partners in the implementation of these programs as well. All celebrations, ceremonies, and commemorations are conducted in Hebrew, including: pre-hagim events, an immersive and powerful Yom HaZikaron ceremony and production, a community-wide Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration and performance, our milestone events such as Mesibat Humash for 2nd grade and Mesibat Siddur for 1st grade, and all school assemblies.

Operating a school with a focus on Hebrew immersion and the integration of a large shelihim cohort is challenging. It has also shown, time and time again, to be a worthy and valuable investment. While the school is a self-contained community, through our programs and the presence and teaching of our shelihim and staff, our students see themselves as active members of a global Am Yisrael.