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It is easy to get the sense that in today’s public sphere so much of our discourse happens at each other as opposed to with each other. Sound bites and 140-character messages do little to help others understand our positions, and the louder we shout the less we are heard….

Models of healthy, open, frank conversation in public or private discourse are all too rare. In public discourse, what little evidence of listening that we do hear is primarily in the service of stockpiling rhetorical…

“I want to invite you to our home for dinner so that my wife can tell you all about my blind spots and challenges in my relationships as well as a few of my charming qualities. I think it will help you to get to know me. I…

When the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in Glen Spey, New York began including campers with disabilities in 1970, it began attracting campers and families from a range of Jewish backgrounds—from unaffiliated to Hasidic. At…

“One who holds in his hand even a tiny portion of this treasure has no right to keep it to himself.” Jewish educators are well-acquainted with the notion that everyone who has some Jewish knowledge is obligated to share it…

Unless you live in an extreme community which shuns technology, most likely you, your children, or your students are active social media users. Through social media people are spending more time in conversation with…

For many educators, teaching Israel, especially about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, demands a delicate political and symbolic balance. When teaching high school seniors, the political and symbolic stakes exponentially…

Ma nishtana halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? Why is this night different from all other nights? This question is asked at the Pesah Seder table by the youngest person in attendance, highlighting the importance of asking…

In 2012, a team of curriculum specialists at The Lookstein Center were approached by a large Jewish day school. The school felt that the content of their existing curriculum was not adequately fulfilling its educational…

In the creation narrative, each act of cosmic proportions is preceded by the Almighty’s verbal declaration – vayomer (“He said”). The power of the word is immeasurable. It can be understood that speech is the catalyst of…

In an iconic scene from the film The Princess Bride, two characters engage in a battle of wits. One must determine which of two goblets of wine contains a tasteless, odorless fatal poison. He will drink from the goblet of…