Academic News

Online Learning: Transforming Higher Jewish Education across the Globe

By Paula Jacobs

Broward County, Florida residents Mike Masarek, Sandra Lilienthal and Michael Simon are classmates. But their graduate school campus is located more than 1000 miles away at Gratz College, a trans-denominational college of Jewish studies founded in 1895 and based in Philadelphia. And their fellow students in the Gratz Online M.A. Program in Jewish Studies hail virtually from across the globe.

Distance learning has transformed education. The virtual classroom has expanded the scope of the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom, creating unimaginable opportunities and possibilities for graduate-level Jewish education.

“First of all, it [online learning] allows students from virtually all over the world to interact with each other, and this can greatly expand our understanding of the diversity of contemporary Jewish life,” says Dr. Ruth Sandberg, Leonard and Ethel Landau Associate Professor of Rabbinics, who has taught in the Gratz Online program since its inception in Fall, 2000.

Second, without the time constraints of traditional classrooms, distance learning enables the flexible use of a wide variety of media, such as PowerPoint presentations or feature films. Third, online learning fosters significant interaction between teachers and students.

“I can have an ongoing discussion with an online student over several days, something that is not always possible on campus,” says Sandberg. “This intensive online relationship between teacher and student can come closer to the traditional Rav/student relationship of the ancient Rabbis than in an on-campus course.”

Sandberg recalls how an online conversation in her “Judaism and Christianity” course about the problem of conversion to Judaism in the ancient Rabbinic period led to further discussion about the difficulty of integrating Jews by choice into the Jewish community. “One student engaged me in a long conversation about her own conversion experience, and how she never understood why it was so difficult for her [as a Jew by choice] to integrate into Jewish life – until she took my course!”

A Flexible Pathway to Lifelong Jewish Learning

Distance learning skillfully addresses the realities of contemporary society where time is a precious commodity. Despite a peaked interest in adult Jewish learning, busy adults often find it difficult to attend classes that meet on a specific time, date and place.

“We are multitasking more than ever before, juggling work and home responsibilities with little leisure time to engage in professional development or personal growth,” says Dr. Carol Harris-Shapiro, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies and Coordinator, Programs in Jewish Communal Service at Gratz College.

Case in point: Mike Masarek, 47, a self-employed life insurance agent and real estate investor from Parkland, Florida. The married father of three is also the 2006 Campaign Chair for the United Jewish Communities of Broward County Federation.

As a busy professional, Masarek appreciates the flexibility of the Gratz Online Jewish Studies program, which allows him to log in to lectures or participate in forums on Sundays, late at night, and early in the morning. Because lectures are delivered electronically, he can also reread them at his convenience.

“A person with my personal, philanthropic, family and professional obligations would have no chance of pursuing this kind of work in a traditional classroom setting,” he says.

Masarek’s graduate studies represent a natural evolution of his Jewish journey – one that began 14 years ago when his family joined Congregation Kol Tikvah in Parkland, Florida. The turning point was a family trip to Israel for the bar mitzvah of son Jason, now 18 and a high school senior.

“As they say, this trip rocked my world,” says Masarek. “It changed just about everything about me. I began to study in earnest and became a voracious reader and student.”

The next step was formal Jewish education. Masarek began to look for a serious graduate program in Jewish studies, with the right mix of Jewish history, religion and culture. Given his hectic schedule, he recognized that distance learning was the only practical choice and he researched the Web, evaluating several alternatives.

“Almost by coincidence, I realized that two good friends of mine -- Sandra Lillienthal and Michael Simon -- were already enrolled in the Gratz program. Besides their enthusiastic response and my desire to not ‘reinvent the wheel,’ I just liked the Gratz program the best.”

Some Gratz online students like Masarek learn for their own enrichment, while other degree-oriented students also seek credentials to advance their careers in Jewish communal service or education. And while some launch right into full-time study, others test the waters by taking one or two courses.

For Sandra Lilienthal, also of Parkland, Florida, the motivation was twofold: learning for its own sake and career advancement. After eighteen years as a Jewish educator and community volunteer in both the U.S. and her native Brazil, she decided it was time to supplement self-study with formal, structured learning.

But with three young daughters (with the oldest then 8-years old) and a rabbi-husband, she could not afford to move or travel for on-campus classes. With its wide course variety and no residency requirement, Gratz Online was a perfect fit.

”For someone like me, who for whatever reasons cannot afford to pick up and leave, the online learning is a blessing! Had it not been for this kind of program, I would not have been able to do this; I really enjoyed it,” says Lilienthal.

Now that she is writing her master’s thesis, “The Relationship between Sisters in the Tanach,” Lilienthal misses the online classes. “But I am loving every minute of my readings and I know that I would not be working on this kind of project had I not taken the Gratz courses!”

For Rabbi Michael Simon, spiritual leader of Temple Beth Kodesh in Boynton, Beach Florida, his online studies at Gratz College represent a continuum of lifelong learning and passion for Judaism. A graduate of the Yeshivah of Flatbush, he practiced law for twenty years before obtaining rabbinical ordination.

“I wanted to increase my knowledge and credentials and had been looking into graduate programs in Jewish studies but there is nothing in Florida or anything online in distance learning that fit my needs,” he explains. “Given my schedule, an online program gives me more flexibility -- between holidays and hurricanes.”

The Gratz College website impressed him for its breadth and quality of courses, enabling him to engage in academic scholarship in such areas as Bible, midrash, Jewish history and Jewish thought. Now he is completing his M.A. dissertation, which traces the development of the midrash about the yeshivah of Shem and Ever.

Online Community: Jewish Learning without Borders

Today’s Jewish community is spread across the globe, but higher Jewish learning is generally restricted to large metropolitan areas. Online learning, on the other hand, lets those who reside where there are few Jewish institutions of higher learning engage in serious Jewish learning. The result: a global community of active learners who bring a wide variety of perspectives and backgrounds.

“This sharing across geographical boundaries happens very rarely in Jewish communal life, and is more exciting as a result,” says Harris-Shapiro.

For instance, in her online course, “Perspectives on American Judaism,” students from across North America have compared very different experiences of Jewish communal organizational life. Students from such Jewish communities as Phoenix, Philadelphia and Charleston brought their unique perspectives, while bonding together as a community of learners.

“ Online Jewish education enables us to form the beginnings of a truly global Jewish community for the twenty-first century, solidifying our connections as one people,” she says.