Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education, Targum Shlishi Excellent Learner / Educator / Mentor Awards
Targum Shlishi conceived the Targum Shlishi Excellent Learner/Educator/Mentor Awards (TSELEM) for the Miami Community and approached the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) to administer the program. The impetus behind the awards program is to encourage and motivate educational innovation and excellence. Awards will be based on exemplary dedication and contribution to the field of Jewish education and will enable recipients to deepen their knowledge of and commitment to Jewish education. Targum Shlishi has made a five-year, $50,000 commitment to the program; the awards will be distributed annually for the next five years, beginning in May 2004. There will be ten award recipients each year from a variety of educational settings in the Greater Miami area, including teachers from Jewish day schools, congregational schools, early childhood education, and one lay leader of a Jewish day school. Each of the teachers will receive $1,000 as credit to be used for professional growth and education; the TSELEM committee will decide the use of the funds. The lay leader will be able to designate the $1,000 award for a specific project, pending approval by the TSELEM judges’ committee. “This program will have a dramatic impact on the way in which the Miami Jewish community bestows honor and respect upon its Jewish educators,” said Dr. Chaim Y. Botwinick, president and CEO of CAJE. www.caje-miami.org

Gemara Berura, Computer Learning Tool, Jerusalem
Gemara Berura is a software tool that helps students learn Gemara (Talmud) by using
computer technology to make learning fun and at the same time emulating the way that leading scholars learn Gemara. The tool is interactive, allows students to learn at their own pace, and employs multiple intelligences utilizing visualization, color coding, and textual reformatting. This teaching tool has been adopted by the Ministry of Education in Israel as the leading methodology for teaching Gemara, and many schools in Israel are using it. In the US, it is now being used by twelve leading day schools. The objective of Targum Shlishi’s funding is to bring the Gemara Berura teaching methodology to the attention of North American Jewish schools. This will be done by developing an informational cd-rom that will be sent to targeted schools. Targum Shlishi’s funding will support the development of the cd-rom and its dissemination to schools. The cd-rom will include a presentation of the methodology, an example of Gemara Berura’s textual analysis, and a lesson taught using the methodology. In addition, Targum Shlishi provided funds for a Miami day school to adopt the program. www.gemaraberura.com

Jewish Education Service of North America, Inc., Jewish Education Leadership Summit, Ft. Lauderdale
Targum Shlishi was a sponsor for the first Jewish Education Leadership Summit, organized by the Jewish Education Service of North America, Inc. (JESNA) and held in February 2004 in Ft. Lauderdale. More than 150 leaders from the fields of Jewish education, religious and communal life, and philanthropy gathered in Ft. Lauderdale for the event, entitled “Aseh Lekha Rav”: Recruiting and Retaining the Next Generation of Jewish Leaders. The conference focused on one of the major challenges facing Jewish education today: the shortage of quality personnel for Jewish educational programs and settings. Attendees came from all denominations, represented both local and national interests, and were united in a commitment to work for change. At the summit, attendees learned from one another and shared examples of best practices. Targum Shlishi was a Summit Sponsor; its support helped keep the registration fee modest so that the conference was affordable for educators and other professionals. www.jesna.org

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