Adam Grant and The Case for Nuance in Jewish Education – Jewish Journal
Posted By admin on February 19, 2021
The word nuance is more than a buzzword, but often it can feel like one. Nuance is the single most important element of a healthy educational experience. What is nuance, and how does using a nuanced approach to a difficult question lead to surprising outcomes and cause us to rethink our previously held assumptions? And why does it matter in education?
A nuanced approach breaks through echo chambers by exploring the wide contours of dispute that exist on any given issue. When we encounter diverse perspectives on any given issue, we gain a more complete understanding of the issue and people who are different from us.
This approach is needed now more than ever because it will counter the polarization in our politics, media and social lives. And bringing a nuanced approach into our classrooms is not only necessary if we want to break down the silos in the Jewish world and expand understanding of one another; this approach is also fundamental to Judaism and our responsibility as Jewish educators.
In the Talmud (Eruvin 13b), there is a well-known debate concerning whether the law ought to follow the opinion of Beit Hillel or Beit Shammai. For three years, this was debated. These two schools of thought had fundamentally different approaches to education and the law.
Beit Shammai was what the Talmud describes as charifei tuva, meaning they were significantly sharper than Beit Hillel. They knew the facts involved and had a clear answer to every legal question. In modern parlance, one might say they were adept at logical argumentation and analysis of an issue. Perhaps that is why there is a tradition of believing that in the Messianic era, the opinions of Shammai will prevail.
But until that Messianic Era, Beit Hillel is the victor for decision making in Jewish law. The Talmud provides three reasons for this:
Beit Shammai was also a deeply important part of the Jewish tradition, but they only engaged in their own positions. Micah Goodman, in his new book Chazara Bli Teshuva (The Wandering Jew), explains that Beit Shammai was an echo chamber. Beit Hillel,who we are the descendants of and whose legacy we inherited, behaved differently. They reached outside of their own school of thought and learned the positions of Beit Shammai as well as their own.
The two schools different behaviors likely stemmed from their radically different ideas about the goals of Jewish education. To quote the organizational psychologist Adam Grant in his recent book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Dont Know, Beit Hillel understood that the purpose of learning isnt to affirm our beliefs; its to evolve our beliefs.
Beit Hillel understood that the purpose of learning isnt to affirm our beliefs; its to evolve our beliefs.
Beit Hillel was not merely interested in proving their existing views right. Rather, by including Beit Shammais views,they sought a complete understanding of the issue as well as the other. They viewed their intellectual and religious rival with respect, integrity and dignity. This approach is the Jewish peoples foundational narrative of what it means to engage in education.
Where the two schools differed was in how they arrived at those positions. Specifically, Beit Hillel considered diverse perspectives as part of their standard process of forming opinions and reaching conclusions. By proactively including Beit Shammais opinions and genuinely considering them, Beit Hillel was able to reduce the chance of falling into two common psychological traps Grant discusses in his book: confirmation bias (seeing what we expect to see) and desirability bias (seeing what we want to see).
We may have the impulse to follow the example of Beit Shammai and be right, but that is not our heritage as Jewish educators. So, how can we follow in the footsteps of Beit Hillel and bring a nuanced approach into our classrooms?
Two thousand years ago, Beit Hillel modeled a way to reach beyond the silos in the Jewish world, explore the perspectives of their religious counterparts and gain a more complete understanding of any given topic. As Jewish educators, lay leaders or parents, we are all descendants of Beit Hillel, and it is our responsibility to follow in their footsteps and break through the echo chambers and division that characterize our own times.
In a world in which too many people have huddled into their silos and taken hardline partisan positions, we need to make nuanced Jewish education accessible to everyone. As Beit Hillel demonstrated, nuance does not mean having less conviction; it means bringing more people into the discussion. Nuance does not mean being less passionate; it means being more compassionate.
The world has a population of almost eight billion people. Comparatively, the Jewish people are merely trying to crack the 15 million mark. Because of our relatively small population size, we simply do not have the luxury of shunning others within our Jewish family. By using nuanced educational approaches, we can help reverse polarization trends in our community and build a Jewish future that is more compassionate, empathetic, informed and connected to Judaism and each other. We have no time to waste.
Dr. Noam Weissman is senior vice president and head of content at OpenDor Media and Unpacked for Educators, a Jewish educational non-profit company that is creating videos, podcasts, articles and films that are animated by a nuanced educational approach.
Read the original post:
Adam Grant and The Case for Nuance in Jewish Education - Jewish Journal
- Is it kosher to smoke weed for Purim? - Forward - March 3rd, 2021
- New Haggadah brings big-screen superheroes to the Passover seder - Jewish Insider - March 3rd, 2021
- Your Shabbat table is magic. No, really. The rabbis said so. - The Jewish News of Northern California - March 3rd, 2021
- Jewish History Proves Jews Are Indigenous to Israel - Algemeiner - March 3rd, 2021
- The Jewish Education Night of Networking Yeshiva University News - Yu News - March 3rd, 2021
- Searching Jewish wisdom for guidance on vaccination | Ohr Chadash | stljewishlight.com - St. Louis Jewish Light - March 3rd, 2021
- Rabbi Megan Doherty on the Heartbeat Bill The Oberlin Review - The Oberlin Review - March 3rd, 2021
- Jonah Sanderson Successfully Navigates His Disability, Aims to Make Jewish Community More Inclusive - Jewish Journal - March 3rd, 2021
- Death Is Nothing to Celebrate - The Atlantic - February 23rd, 2021
- Leadership Lessons from Shushan | Charles E. Savenor | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - February 23rd, 2021
- Procrastination, Colors, And The IKEA Effect - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - February 21st, 2021
- CLERGY CORNER: Is there a blessing for the COVID-19 vaccine? - newportri.com - February 21st, 2021
- What kind of Jew are you? - comment - The Jerusalem Post - February 21st, 2021
- Commentary: Looking for 'blind spots' when it comes to race - Canton Repository - February 21st, 2021
- Time to shift attitude to one of belonging - Cleveland Jewish News - February 19th, 2021
- A rabbis open letter to his haredi brethren - The Jerusalem Post - February 19th, 2021
- Terumah: Elevating our intentions - The Jewish Standard - February 19th, 2021
- Limmud AZ set for its first virtual event - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix - February 19th, 2021
- My son, Mohammed El Halabi, is innocent of funding Hamas - opinion - The Jerusalem Post - February 19th, 2021
- Yiddish professor goes viral in town hall with President Biden - Forward - February 19th, 2021
- The power and the mystery of the cherubim, explained J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - February 19th, 2021
- ASTROLOJEW Month of Adar: Milk the magic for all it's worth - The Jewish News of Northern California - February 19th, 2021
- At one JCC, new classes make it easy for adults with disabilities to tune in - Forward - February 19th, 2021
- Guest Opinion: America can heal when it works to become righteous - GoErie.com - February 16th, 2021
- Angry at discrimination, a rabbi creates a shul, and seminary, serving the Deaf community - Forward - February 16th, 2021
- Comments on: Drinking on Purim (or not)? Read This First - Jewish Journal - February 16th, 2021
- Parashat Mishpatim: The soul and the law - The Jerusalem Post - February 12th, 2021
- The Bigness of Little Things - Jewish Exponent - February 12th, 2021
- Parshat Mishpatim: Voices in the Gates - Jewish Week - February 12th, 2021
- Hershey Felder Creates a Grand Celebration of Sholem Aleichem and a Seductive Fiddler - WTTW News - February 12th, 2021
- PEARRELL: Stay true to the core of Christianity - Rockdale Newton Citizen - February 12th, 2021
- The Rebbe Everyone Is Talking About! - Yeshiva World News - February 12th, 2021
- Prince of the Torah - Arkansas Online - February 12th, 2021
- Soldiering on for the Jews and Israel - JNS.org - February 12th, 2021
- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin: In an era of divisons, Jews must emphasize our ties to one another - Forward - February 12th, 2021
- Karen Lewis and Rahm Emanuel: Rocky relationship started in one place and ended in another - Chicago Sun-Times - February 12th, 2021
- Chabad course explores life, death and the afterlife in the age of COVID-19 - The Columbus Dispatch - February 1st, 2021
- How did the letter ayin become a vowel in Yiddish? - Forward - February 1st, 2021
- The tragedy for haredim from COVID has created a crisis for Judaism itself - JNS.org - February 1st, 2021
- Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, 90, Leading Authority on Substance Abuse - Author of more than 60 popular books and founder of Gateway Rehabilitation... - February 1st, 2021
- A Rabbi's Message on Coping With Covid | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com - Algemeiner - February 1st, 2021
- New Class on the Jewish Perspective of the Afterlife Detroit Jewish News - The Jewish News - February 1st, 2021
- Youve probably never heard about the worlds first female rabbi. Sigal Samuel wants to change that - Forward - February 1st, 2021
- Free Will Astrology | Astrology - North Coast Journal - February 1st, 2021
- Worlds 1st female rabbi led a 16th century Mosul yeshiva for Kurdish Jewry - The Times of Israel - February 1st, 2021
- Andrew Yangs $1000-a-month stipend reminds me of a time-honored Jewish tradition - Forward - February 1st, 2021
- Tu B'Shvat connects us to the beautiful world outside - Jewish Community Voice - January 28th, 2021
- Rewinding Jimi Hendrixs National Anthem - The New Yorker - January 28th, 2021
- Individual Consciousness, Lengthy Biographies and Other Letters to the Editor - The New York Times - January 28th, 2021
- Israel's ultra-Orthodox and the future of the state - The Jerusalem Post - January 28th, 2021
- Parashat Bo: The Miracle of Mixed Multitudes - My Jewish Learning - January 28th, 2021
- 52 years ago, 9 Jews were hanged in Baghdad. Today, their descendants risk losing everything they left behind. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - January 28th, 2021
- Is It Proper? Is it ever appropriate to get drunk? - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - January 28th, 2021
- Tu B'Shevat: An annual reminder to appreciate the beauty of the land of Israel - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix - January 28th, 2021
- Tu B'Shevat the original Arbor Day: And a recipe for fruitcake that will never get re-gifted - Worcester Telegram - January 28th, 2021
- Three Ladies, Three Lattes: Still coffee-ing after all these years - The Jerusalem Post - January 28th, 2021
- Live Intentionally This Shevat - Atlanta Jewish Times - January 28th, 2021
- Free Will Astrology: Week of January 28, 2021 - Newcity - January 28th, 2021
- JUF News | Jewish Women's Foundation allocates $413000 in grants supporting women and girls - Jewish United Fund - January 22nd, 2021
- Israel tops 4,000 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic - The Jerusalem Post - January 22nd, 2021
- I resisted the call to include non-male voices every time I taught Torah. Then I tried it. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - January 4th, 2021
- Law professor Ray Bernstein, 56, dies in bike accident - The Jewish News of Northern California - January 4th, 2021
- Let's head into the new year in a new frame of mind - The Jewish News of Northern California - January 4th, 2021
- The Purpose Of Chassidus In The Alter Rebbe's Own Words - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - January 4th, 2021
- Opinion/Keep the Faith: Hanukkah reminds us of light and hope, even in dark times - Worcester Telegram - December 19th, 2020
- Opinion: The true meaning of Hanukkah (hint, it's not about joy) - The Detroit News - December 19th, 2020
- Is the Temple Menorah Hidden in the Vatican? - Questions & Answers - Chabad.org - December 19th, 2020
- Circumcision, Berzerkeley, and the Power of Five Minutes - Chabad.org - December 19th, 2020
- He Flew in From London for Reasons He'd Never Imagined - Chabad.org - December 19th, 2020
- Rabbis and Jewish ethicists hail vaccine for COVID-19, encourage its use - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix - December 19th, 2020
- Why it's kosher to go a little wild with the Hanukkah swag - Los Angeles Times - December 16th, 2020
- Increasing the Light of Allyship This Hanukkah - Jewish Journal - December 16th, 2020
- Why it's kosher to bring a little zing to the Hanukkah celebration - Bangor Daily News - December 16th, 2020
- Is the Menorah Hidden in the Vatican? - Chabad.org - December 16th, 2020
- Community mourns the passing of former CJC president Goldie Hershon - The Suburban Newspaper - December 16th, 2020
- Perseverence Vs. Perfection - An Essay on Vayigash - Kabbalah, Chassidism and Jewish Mysticism - Chabad.org - December 16th, 2020
- The New Generation of LGBTQ Jews and Tattoos - jewishboston.com - December 16th, 2020
- Men have dominated Jewish texts for most of history. These women are trying to change that. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - December 11th, 2020
- I knew Hanukkah celebrated defeating the Greeks. Then I moved to Athens and the story got complicated. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - December 11th, 2020
- What are good vegetarian dishes to have on Shabbat? - opinion - The Jerusalem Post - December 11th, 2020
Comments