Educator Cohort 

Sacred Spaces, with the support of The Covenant Foundation, created the Respect and Responsibility Educator’s Cohort to provide Jewish educators with the tools to bring conversations about cultivating cultures of safety and respect back to their communities utilizing Jewish texts.

 

Applications for Cohort 3 are open!

Deadline to apply is August 15, 2024.

Program Details

The cohort will use texts from the Respect and Responsibility: Jewish Ethics Study Guide published by Sacred Spaces and the Center for Jewish Ethics with the support of the Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah and The Covenant Foundation.

As a cohort participant, you will:

1. Explore ideas, concepts, and texts about harassment, discrimination, abuse, and other institutional abuses of power in the Jewish community.
2. Engage with peers who are also working with the study guide materials.
3. Learn to facilitate discussions based on Jewish texts and traditions that support us to align our organizational values as we cultivate safer and more sacred organizations.
4. Facilitate two text-based learning sessions in your community using materials from the Study Guide or inspired by your cohort learning.
5. Receive a stipend of $500 towards hosting two conversations in your community.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

How much does it cost? 

Thanks to the generous support of The Covenant Foundation the cohort is free to all participants.

Who should apply? 

We are looking for applicants who are: 

• Experienced Jewish educators, rabbis, or cantors
• Looking to deepen their understanding of Jewish texts 
• In an organization committed to safety, respect, and equity
• Committed to building relationships with fellow cohort participants

What is the format?

This is a totally virtual cohort

What’s the time commitment?

Three-Part Training Series

Cohort members will participate in a fall Webinar Series. Sessions include: 

• Institutional Abuse in the Jewish Community (facilitated by Dr. Shira Berkovits, Sacred Spaces’ President and CEO)
• Must Power Corrupt? Judah, David, and the Bible’s Model for Safeguarding the Public (facilitated by Judy Klitsner, Senior Educator at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies)
• Tochekha: The Power of Speech to Make a Difference (facilitated by Rabbi Dr. Mira Wasserman, Director of the Center for Jewish Ethics and Assistant Professor of Rabbinic Literature at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College)

Participants must attend all of the following webinars:

• November 5 from 12-1:30pm EST/9-10:30am PST
• November 19 from 12-1:30pm EST/9-10:30am PST
• December 3 from 12-1:30pm EST/9-10:30am PST

Four-Part Community of Practice 

Beyond the training series, as you prepare and lead discussions in your community, the cohort will gather four additional times workshopping, sharing challenges, and celebrating successes. 

Participants must attend two of the following Community of Practice sessions: 

• January 14 from 12-1pm EST/9-10am PST 
• February 11 from 12-1pm EST/9-10am PST
• March 11 from 12-1pm EST/9-10am PST
• May 13 from 12-1pm EST/9-10am PST

Individual Coaching

In addition to the Community of Practice sessions, 1:1 coaching calls are offered by Sacred Spaces staff to provide additional support throughout the cohort.

What’s the Application Process?

The application process is open from July 1-August 15, 2024. Applicants will be contacted in September 2024. 

 

Applications for Cohort 3 are open! APPLY NOW

 

For any questions, email: studyguide@jewishsacredspaces.org