“A Revolution in the High Schools: Students are Loving to Learn Bible.” This bold headline appeared in Israel’s popular daily newspaper, Ma’ariv. The article goes on to outline the innovative steps in education that Drora Halevy, the Ministry of Education’s National Supervisor for Bible Studies, is planning to implement. Recently promoted to this key position, Drora’s face has been a familiar one at SIJS these past few years. Last month she stood among 80 of her colleagues, as she proudly received her MA in ­­­­­Interdisciplinary Jewish Studies. She continues to consult regularly with SIJS faculty on developing curriculum programs and teaching methods.

The article (in translation) that follows below provides satisfying reinforcement of the notion that what we are doing here at SIJS does make a difference, for its language embodies the essence of our educational mission: making Judaism relevant and accessible for all Israelis. This mission is carried out each week through the lectures of our gifted faculty, the coursework undertaken by our more than 400 graduate students, and in the final analysis, the degrees that each one of them receives in applied Jewish Studies. We wish Drora the best of luck in her new position and may she succeed gallantly in bringing a “Torah that speaks to our times” to the more than one million Israeli school children presently learning in Israel’s school system.

A Revolution in the High Schools: Students are Loving to Learn Bible.

Bible Now: A rise of 30% has been registered in the number of high school students taking Bible Comps at the 5-point level. The dramatic rise in the popularity of Bible studies is, due in large part, to the integration of a number of fields such as art, poetry, midrash, and the Dead Sea Scrolls into the study of Bible, according to Ministry of Education National Supervisor for Bible Studies, Drora Halevy.

"Our goal is to transform the study of Bible into an intellectual experience that touches on all aspects of our lives," explains the supervisor. "Over the last few years, growing numbers of teachers have participated in in-service training and workshops that have provided them with a variety of new methodologies for teaching. For example, we've integrated into the system the poems of Yehuda Ami-hai as well as research studies of senior university lecturers that touch upon the issues of morality, justice and ethical dilemmas. These studies are then used to discuss many of the stories found in the Bible. We are giving the students the opportunity to wrestle with the material, to discuss and then judge the behavior of our Biblical characters."

For the next school year, the Ministry of Education is planning a new Bible curriculum for all ages that will emphasize the pluralistic aspects of the Bible, as well as the great wealth of opinions and arguments found within its pages. As part of the new curriculum, outside texts will be utilized from the fourth grade on. "Our intent is to tie the Bible to our times, transforming it into something tangible for our students," adds the supervisor. "In fourth grade classrooms, for example, students will be shown pictures of a wandering Bedouin woman analogous to Biblical Hagar."