To open our session on the 21st Century Classroom, Shaina gave a dvar Torah (dedicated to the memory of Steven Covey, author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," who passed away this week). We looked at the last few verses from parshat Pikudei:
| 34. And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan. | | לד. וַיְכַס הֶעָנָן אֶת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וּכְבוֹד יְ־הֹוָ־ה מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן: |
| 35. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud rested upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan. | | לה. וְלֹא יָכֹל מֹשֶׁה לָבוֹא אֶל אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד כִּי שָׁכַן עָלָיו הֶעָנָן וּכְבוֹד יְ־הֹוָ־ה מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן: |
| 36. When the cloud rose up from over the Mishkan, the children of Israel set out in all their journeys. | | לו. וּבְהֵעָלוֹת הֶעָנָן מֵעַל הַמִּשְׁכָּן יִסְעוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכֹל מַסְעֵיהֶם: |
| 37. But if the cloud did not rise up, they did not set out until the day that it rose. | | לז. וְאִם לֹא יֵעָלֶה הֶעָנָן וְלֹא יִסְעוּ עַד יוֹם הֵעָלֹתוֹ: |
| 38. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the Mishkan by day, and there was fire within it at night, before the eyes of the entire house of Israel in all their journeys. | | לח. כִּי עֲנַן יְ־הֹוָ־ה עַל הַמִּשְׁכָּן יוֹמָם וְאֵשׁ תִּהְיֶה לַיְלָה בּוֹ לְעֵינֵי כָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכָל מַסְעֵיהֶם: |
We asked: what do these verses have to do with the notion of a 21st Century classroom?
Some of the responses included:
- The cloud is going with the crowd, not forcing it along, or dragging behind.
- The fire and the cloud represent illumination - enlightening students - and protection - providing and safe space for learning.
- The piece about Moses not entering is reminiscent of the concept of tzimtzum, withdrawing oneself to make room for creation. Even those with knowledge need to hold back to make room for others' growth.
- The feeling of a makom kadosh - a holy space - is key to any Jewish learning environment.
- There's a sense of commitment, vision, passion - the fire could be representative of bringing out the godliness within each of the Israelites (learners).
Shaina noted that, in her experience, there were a lot of texts about teachers, learners, what to learn, etc., but not so many about the space. So this was a reminder of that, and the importance of seeing ourselves as doing holy work.
The main conversation was hosted by Jill. The humping-off point was the following infographic that had been posted in the Jewish Education Project staff Facebook group:
We discussed what we appreciated about this representation, what was missing, and began building our own thoughts out on a wall covered in butcher paper...
The following video was referenced several times:
As was the following article by Dan Libenson,
"Jewish Education for a Time of Wandering."
