The Summer Institute is a unique one or two week long campus-based Jewish learning experience. For Philadelphia-based students it is an opportunity to complete a full course in one week. Students also enjoy breakfast, lunch and special programs. For Online students, the Summer Institute provides an opportunity to experience the Gratz College campus, engaging and learning with outstanding professors and fellow students from around the country. Local overnight accommodations and three meals daily are included. In addition to the Summer Institute, Gratz College offers other opportunities for on line and on campus summer study.

• 6 day accredited intensive courses for 3 college credits
• An ideal time for online and new students to visit our suburban Philadelphia campus
• Educational field trips to rich resources in Philadelphia

Week 1 Course Offerings: July 18–23

• Hebrew - Beginners Part I - Hebrew 10301HA      
  Ms. Ilana Margolis
  This course is designed for students with no previous knowledge of Hebrew. The course focuses on the development of all language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). The students will learn the Hebrew Alphabet in the print form for reading and the cursive form for writing. They will also master grammatical principles (nouns, adjectives, prepositions, different verb categories in the present tense, etc.). Texts that reflect Hebrew and Jewish culture will be read and discussed. Topics will include: getting acquainted, daily activities, school, the living environment, etc.

• Making Leviticus Relevant - Rabbinics 40631      
  Dr. Ruth Sandberg
  The biblical book of Leviticus deals primarily with rituals that involved the ancient Temple and its priesthood. After the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the early Rabbis were faced with the challenge of interpreting Leviticus so that it remained a meaningful part of the Torah and a relevant Book to the Jewish world. Their new and creative approach to Leviticus emerges in the midrashic text known as Leviticus Rabbah. In order to understand the Rabbis’ ingenious interpretations of Leviticus, and their relevance to the contemporary Jewish world, selections from Leviticus Rabbah will be studied in English translation
  
• Teaching the Holocaust - Ed 40207/History 30512      
  Ms. Josey Fisher
  Lessons of the Holocaust reflect current concerns with violence, racism and propaganda, and ethical aspects of science and government. This unique course will provide educators with significant background for discussing the questions and introducing them to classroom-tested teaching strategies, curricula, and resources. (May be taken for Education or History credit.) This course is supported by the Clara and Daniel Isaacman Endowment on Teaching the Holocaust
• Issues in Administration in Jewish Early Childhood Programs - Education 40244      
  Ms. Maxine Segal Handelman
  Leading a Jewish early childhood program requires the abilities necessary to meet demands in at least three main areas of responsibility: management, community-building, and supervision. This foundational course, Part I of a two part series, will focus on management and community-building. Initial considerations will include developing a school vision that will guide all future efforts. Management will include understanding state regulations, adhering to institutional policies, developing budgets, creating schedules, and other tasks that promote a comfortable school climate. Community-building will include building interrelationships among teachers, parents, and children, as well as a communication network with the institutional context and relating to the community at large. Each student will review his/her own current program in order to evaluate success and progress in each of the areas listed above as well as overall institutional health.
  

Week 2 Course Offerings: July 25-30

• Hebrew - Beginners Part 2 - Hebrew 10301HB      
  Ms. Ilana Margolis
  This course is designed for students who have completed the equivalent of summer course Hebrew I-Beginners Part I. The course focuses on further development of all language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). The students will master grammatical structures such as different verb categories in the past tense and their infinitives, time expressions, etc. Students will read texts that reflect Hebrew and Jewish culture at a more advanced level. Topics will include: food, the family, the daily schedule, etc.
  
• Selected Problems and Issues in American Jewish History - History 30518      
  Dr. Jerry Kutnick
  This course will examine selected problems and issues in American Jewish history from the emergence of an organized community in the mid-17th century to the present day.
  
• Methods of Teaching Bible - Bible 30122/Ed 40203      
  Dr. Saundra Sterling Epstein
  This seminar examines selected portions from the Bible as tools for transmitting Jewish values to students in Jewish Day as well as Supplementary high schools. The material will be translated into goals and objectives as well as teaching methods and strategies.
  Aside from study of the text itself, there will be opportunities for practical applications of both the construction of instructional objectives and the development of lesson plans. The course will feature micro-teaching by students and required classroom observations.
  

Faculty

Dr. Saundra Sterling Epstein, Adjunct Assistant Professor

Dr. Saundra Sterling Epstein is a nationally recognized Jewish educational consultant and teacher. She received her Ed. D. from the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education where her area of study was curriculum development in Jewish education. Since 1992 she has served as Director of Beyachad, a program to bring best educational practices and Jewish education together. Dr. Epstein has taught in both synagogue schools and day schools, as well as serving as a synagogue Educational Director and the Director of central agencies of Jewish education. She has also taught at the College/University level and adult groups. She has completed a wide range of studies of more than one hundred different communities and schools.

Ms. Josey Fisher, Adjunct Instructor in Holocaust Studies

Josey G. Fisher, Adjunct Instructor in Holocaust Studies and Director of the Holocaust Oral History Archive at Gratz College, has graduate degrees in both clinical social work and Jewish studies and has focused her interdisciplinary background on Holocaust research and education for over 30 years. She serves as Holocaust education consultant to the Jewish Community Relations Council, JCRC’s Mordechai Anielewicz Creative Arts Competition, and edits a bi-annual newsletter for Holocaust educators. She serves as Holocaust education consultant to the Bearing Witness Program for Catholic educators, co-sponsored by ADL, the Archdiocese and the USHMM. As Holocaust education consultant to the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education, she accompanied Philadelphia teens on the International March of the Living. She has served as a consultant for Holocaust documentaries, educational films, and curricula.  She is a member of the Consortium of Holocaust Educators of Greater Philadelphia and the PA Holocaust Education Council. She received her BA and MSW from the U. of Pittsburgh and her Masters in Jewish Studies with a major in Modern European Jewish History from Gratz College.?Her publications include The Persistence of Youth: Oral Testimonies of the Holocaust and contributing to The Call of Memory: Learning About the Holocaust through Narrative – A Teacher’s Guide.

Ms. Maxine Segal Handelman, Adjunct Instructor in Early Childhood Education

Maxine Segal Handelman is the Consultant for Early Childhood Education for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Max holds an M.A. in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks College. Max is the author of Jewish Every Day: The Complete Handbook for Early Childhood Teachers (A.R.E. Publishing, 2000), The Shabbat Angels (UAHC Press, 2003) and What’s Jewish About Butterflies (A.R.E. Publishing, 2004). Max has presented keynotes and workshops at conferences across North America. She is a professional storyteller, and leads Tot Shabbat services for young families at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago, where she lives with her husband Jacob and their two young daughters, Ariana and Yael.

Dr. Jerry Kutnick, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Thought

Dr. Jerry Kutnick is Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of the Samuel Netzky Division of Continuing Education. Dr. Kutnick is an Associate Professor of History and Jewish Thought. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his Ph. D. from Brandeis University. Dr. Kutnick served as assistant professor of Jewish history and director of the Jewish Teacher training Program at McGill University. He is the author of the Hebrew University’s study of Jewish Education in North America and is an expert on American Jewry and American Zionism. Dr. Kutnick is currently pursuing research on Zionists and non-Zionists and on the ideological issues of the interwar period. He has recently authored several articles on the American Jewry and Israel for the Encyclopedia of Modern Middle East. Dr. Kutnick has lectured widely on topics relating to medieval and modern Jewish history, American Jewry, Zionism and contemporary Jewish life.

Ms. Ilana Margolis, Adjunct Instructorof Hebrew Language

Ilana Margolis is the Hebrew Instructor at Gratz College, teaching all academic levels of modern and classical Hebrew, from introductory to advanced. In addition, she teaches Hebrew concurrently at Temple University. Her extensive experience with adult learners includes teaching several levels of the Gratz Ulpan and pioneering adult Hebrew education in venues throughout the Delaware Valley. Ilana is a member of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew, as well as a contributor to the field of Hebrew letters in the United States and Israel. She received her MA with High Honors in Jewish Studies from Gratz College, and her Bachelors Degree in Hebrew Literature and Jewish History from Tel Aviv University. Her research interests are Hebrew Literature and Rabbinics.

Dr. Ruth Sandberg, Professor of Rabbinics

Dr. Ruth N. Sandberg is Leonard and Ethel Landau Professor of Rabbinics at Gratz College, and served as Dean of Students from 2006 to 2008. In addition to teaching courses in Talmud, Midrash, and Rabbinic History, Dr. Sandberg is an instructor in the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School at Gratz College. Before coming to Gratz, Dr. Sandberg served for five years as Director of Education at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Sandberg received her BA in Classical Greek and History of Religion from Bryn Mawr College; Rabbinical Ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; and a Ph.D. in Post-Biblical Hebrew Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sandberg’s areas of special research include: the study of early Tannaitic midrash; classical Rabbinic theology; the relationship between Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity; and the process of Jewish law. Dr. Sandberg is the author of two books: Rabbinic Views of Qohelet (Mellen Biblical Press, 1999 Mellen Press) and Development and Discontinuity in Jewish Law (University Press of America, 2002 University Press)
Dr. Sandberg is married and has one daughter, Yonah.