Planting Seeds, Harvesting Wisdom: Reflections on ARJE’s 70th Anniversary

For so many of us, it is our mentors that shaped who we are: encouraging us to grow, confronting our challenges, and helping us find our voice. This was evident this past week at the Association of Reform Jewish Educator's (ARJE) Annual Gathering, in the web of relationships in which my mentors were celebrated, my students were my teachers, and I was able to encounter new educators just beginning to discover their own voices.

On Sunday evening, the ARJE celebrated its 70th anniversary in Minneapolis. The were toasts and tears. We honored one of those mentors, Rabbi Jan Katzew, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus at Hebrew Union College. I have witnessed Jan work his magic as one of the instructors of the Executive Master Program in Jewish Education (EMA), but this night was about his broad dedication to the field and his mentorship of many in the room. He received the ARJE Jewish Educational Leadership Award, only the third recipient in ARJE's history. It is given to those whose lifetime of work has shaped both ARJE and the field of Jewish education. His legacy will be additionally recognized through a new ARJE mentorship program named in his honor.

The spirit of the 70th celebration carried over into the rest of the conference, with a Tu Bishvat theme of "Planting the Seeds and Harvesting Wisdom." This theme was woven into the learning, worship, and conversations at meals. But for me, the planting and harvesting was most evident in one of those unplanned moments that often happen at conferences. One of the students in the EMA Introduction to Jewish Educational Leadership class, that is a pre-requisite for application, asked me how the course compared to the program in workload and content. Sitting on a bench in the hallway outside the meeting rooms, I began to give her a response. One of the current students walked by, and stopping him, I asked how he would answer the question. As he started to respond, an alumna walked by and joined in on the conversation, and then another and another, until there was a whole group sharing the experiences, mentorship, and wisdom they gained in the program.

At a session with the CLASP Fellows (a URJ Fellowship that supports individuals who work part time for synagogues during the academic year and at a URJ camp during the summer), I shared a text study that suggested we are better poised to fill our sacred mission when we can bring our own authentic selves to the work of Jewish Education.

Our four days together were a testament to that authenticity: the curiosity, camaraderie, and joy of being together to share ideas, learn from each other and re-engage with the purpose of our work, especially at a time and in a community so fraught with the critical issues unfolding in our country.

In the often-quoted Talmudic story of Honi, Honi comes across a man planting a carob tree and inquires why he should plant a tree if he won't live to see it bear fruit 70 years.  The man replies that he, like his ancestors, are planting for future generations. As ARJE celebrated its 70th, that bearing of fruit was evident. Just as my personal Hebrew Union College and ARJE story are intertwined - as an alumna of the School of Education and Director of the EMA, and as an ARJE Past President and co-chair of this 70th anniversary event, so too is the story of both organizations: our years of planting together have indeed born fruit. I was grateful to be present to celebrate and am even more grateful to work in the School of Education, where we continue to plant those seeds through rigorous learning, mentorship, and enabling our students to find and grow their authentic voices.