Graduate of Revivim’s seventeenth cohort, Bible teacher at Gymnasia Rehavia in Jerusalem as of as of the 2020-2021 school year

Why study in Revivim?

I’ll give you four out of a great many reasons:

1. The workshops and practical training. We all know that unfortunate teacher-in-training (really, really unfortunate) who comes to your high school to teach instead of the regular teacher and be observed. Usually the experience for both sides is not very successful. In Revivim it’s different. From the second year on, we come into the classrooms as teachers for all intents and purposes. We teach every week, we prepare exams, check homework, and behave like integral parts of the school’s professional staff. Our weekly workshops offer a place for discussion and thinking, and the instructors’ close supervision opens up a complete world encompassing methods for teaching and functioning in class. Three years of experience in different schools, teaching diverse subjects to a variety of age groups, together with constant and productive mentoring, allow us, graduates of the program, to enter the professional world with experience, a familiarity with students and with the system, and a sense of security and self-confidence.

2. The studies. In our BA, we are exposed to a broad spectrum of courses in diverse departments in Jewish studies, focusing on one and continuing with it for our MA degree as well. Becoming acquainted with a variety of different areas provides us with solid and safe ground in the world of Judaism, even for those who have no prior knowledge. The intensive and challenging studies, which were (almost) always interesting and enlightening. In my opinion, a deeper familiarity with the Jewish world is something positive for us as Israelis and as teachers in the public school system.

3. The group. Missed a class? Need summary notes for a test? Didn’t understand the article? Deliberating how to cope with a complicated class? Can’t manage to prepare a lesson for Wednesday’s 8^th grade class? No need to panic. There’s a group of good friends who will be happy to help you at any time. The experience of studying in a university can be stressful and difficult. The well-consolidated group of Revivim students is a strong support system and turns the years of study into an enjoyable and smooth experience.

4. The “security blanket.” Throughout the years of classes (and afterwards as well), the program’s staffers help students and graduates cope with the difficulties and deliberations of studies or teaching. You can always find a staffer to lend a willing ear in Revivim’s offices, and the program’s directors advice and assistance help overcome bureaucratic hassles. Furthermore, the scholarships and stipends allow you invest seriously in your studies and achieve more.

That is why, in my opinion, the Revivim program is the best and finest choice for someone who wants to integrate Jewish studies with teaching.

Graduate of Revivim’s seventeenth cohort, home-room teacher at Gymnasia Rehavia in Jerusalem as of the 2020-2021 school year

The best decision I ever made in my life was to begin my studies in the Revivim program. All the twists and turns in my life up to then were a kind of miracle. Even today, after four intensive and exhausting years of academic life, with a lot of academic debts still owed as the end of the program approaches, I still stand behind this declaration.

When I reached Revivim, something strange happened. Suddenly the profession of “teacher” became a prestigious one! The same profession that I had until then perceived as something that anyone could do, and about which anyone who was studying and wasn’t sure what to do afterwards could say, “OK, if all else fails, I can always become a teacher” – suddenly this profession became prestigious, demanding a lot of hard work to achieve. The discourse around in Revivim made me feel that in order to become a teacher, I had to be as excellent as possible and continue to aim high. And precisely this strange scenario, in which the increased status of teachers slowly became the norm, came about thanks to Revivim.

There are all sorts of programs in Israel that prepare teachers, but to my knowledge, there is no program like Revivim, which takes its “teaching blooms” the most seriously, demanding hard work, a high degree of professionalism in their teaching, and of course also in the content in which they become professionals (have I already mentioned the MA?). I am so very proud to be a graduate of the program and am convinced that the hard work all along the way really paid off. Not only because I became the best possible teacher I could be (within the limits, of course, of a teacher just starting out), Revivim changed my perception of this profession thanks to its demands.

In short, whether you choose Revivim or not, how very fortunate it is that this program exists and can perhaps help change the world and rehabilitate the misguided perception about the teaching profession.

Graduate of Revivim’s seventeenth cohort, home-room teacher and teacher of Jewish-Israeli Culture in the Kedma School, Jerusalem, as of the 2020-2021 school year

How did I get to Revivim?

I wanted to be a teacher! That’s the answer I gave anyone who asked me “what do you want to do when you grow up?” My journey toward my   answer was long, and actually it hadn’t been my childhood dream. My journey took me from a commanders’ course in the navy through North American summer camps and to guiding tour groups in Israel. All these experiences formed me, and I learned what brought me satisfaction.  One of the most significant things I came to understand was that I really liked structure. That led me to look for something similar in the academic world, although it was not what I had been expecting when I began my studies. I thought that at the most, I would get to know a few fellow-students and be happy with that. During my search I heard more and more about the Revivim Program. It struck me as a very worthwhile deal: four years, two degrees, a teaching certificate, and practical experience in teaching from the second year. I thought to myself that this was excellent and that it precisely suited me, as someone who wanted to be a teacher. As a non-religious youngster growing up in Arad in the south of Israel, the world of Judaism was foreign to me. My past experiences were taking me in the direction of a world with Jewish content, but with the ultimate goal of being a better teacher: and that’s what I did.

Today, as I conclude my four years in the program, I can say that the best thing I am taking with from this journey is the people that accompanied me. The framework I was looking for was the most significant part of my academic life. On the one hand, a group of 16 super-heroes who accomplished fantastic things in their lives and now would continue to do so, but with academic degrees. They taught me about myself and certainly turned me into a better teacher, from the very first minute we met. On the other hand, the Revivim staff that got to know me, to see me, people who knew how to help me and lift me up when I had trouble seeing the whole picture in the academic world, which can sometimes be very cold and alienating.  Here I felt at home. If you want to be teachers and you are looking for a framework that can open you up professionally and personally, make the right choice and apply to the Revivim program.

Graduate of Revivim’s sixteenth cohort, Bible teacher in the Beit Berl Amiassaf High School as of the 2019-2020 school year

Why did I choose to study in Revivim?

I have always wanted to be a teacher. I knew that it was important for me to work with people, and that it would have special meaning for me. At the school where I studied there were home-room teachers who had studied in Revivim, and I knew that when I reached the stage of university studies, I would look for the program. I knew that on the one hand, it was important for me to study what I loved – history, Bible and other subjects – and on the other hand, to have significant experiences. The program enabled me to enjoy a broad scope of studies and to be a teacher for all intents and purposes at the beginning of my practical experience, and even to prepare students for “bagrut” – matriculation – further along. The program allowed me to integrate educational classroom work with advanced academic studies.

In addition to the quality of the studies and the broad scope of experiences, one of the unique aspects of Revivim is the group. Throughout my four years of study, I was part of a group that knew who I was from the very first day and accompanied me all along my studies. The group experience, which included people who were very different from me in their approach and world view, opened a window to becoming familiar with different opinions, various educational approaches, and a diversity of people, and on the other hand enabled me to develop my own world and to crystallize my own self. The group served as an anchor and cozy corner for meaningful discussions and thinking, something you cannot always find at the university. To this day, our group is unified and we have remained in touch, helping one another whenever the need arises.

Graduate of Revivim's fifteenth cohort, Director of International Programming in Ulpan Or since 2018-2019

They say that the profession chooses the person, and not the reverse. In recent years, I’ve begun to believe it’s true.

I came to Revivim after a year working for the Jewish Agency in the U.S., where I was exposed to a diverse Jewish community. This community enriched me, revealing a different Jewish lifestyle than the one I knew in Israel. It was in the Diaspora that I first became curious about the cultural abundance of the Jewish bookshelf, and, at the same time, began to feel that I needed to return to Israel and learn, to enrich my personal knowledge. I wanted to feel that I, too, had ownership over the corpus that constitutes my personal and collective identity.

Revivim is the perfect blend of Jewish studies and pedagogic training. The encounter between the two worlds – academic and experiential – positions us before significant challenges, which I have felt profoundly during my first year of teaching. The exceptional group that is my cohort enriches me. The group makes me confront ideas – and, more importantly, makes me confront people who are different from me. Teaching is an opportunity to have an influence from inside the system, with all of its difficulties and challenges. My colleagues and I are privileged to influence many students and thus to change Israeli society, even in a small way. I began by saying that I was privileged to see a Jewish community in the U.S.; in class, I am privileged to hear from my students about their worldviews, and they shape mine in that dialogue.

“Be the change you want to see in the world,” Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying. The profession most certainly chose me.

Graduate of Revivim's fourteenth cohort, teacher of Bible, History, Jewish-Israeli Culture and Humanities in IASA - Israel Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem since the 2017-2018 school year

For years I was resolute in my assertions that I would not be a teacher. And yet, I find myself in a program that trains Jewish studies teachers. In Revivim I have found an intellectual response to my interest in Jewish subjects and an ideological response to my acceptance of my desire to be a teacher. The centrality of the Jewish bookshelf in my education left me with the understanding that Jewish sources are not purely historical relics, but rather founts of inspiration that can and should be mined for their relevance to modern life due to their abundance – both in practice and in discourse.

In the State of Israel the study of the Jewish world is critical – not just for the enrichment and deepening of identity, which are an outgrowth of learning the ancient sources, but also for conducting an informed, equal, and respectful public discussion. Teaching any subject, I believe, can be used for this purpose; because my skills and interests

relate to our heritage, I am a Bible and history teacher, rather than a teacher of biology or mathematics.

The tremendous support I have felt on the program – from the staff, and in particular from my peers – makes these goals seem more and more attainable each day, despite the juggling that takes place between my studies, teaching, and personal life. I can only recall my past statement with an amused smile and look to my future with serenity and the knowledge that the decision that brought me to this point was correct.    

Graduate of Revivim's twelfth cohort, teacher of Bible, History and Jewish-Israeli Culture in The René Cassin School in Jerusalem since the 2015-2016 school year

In response to the question posed to me, about why to study in Revivim, I can share the following thoughts:

You should join Revivim because of everything you’ll undergo in four years of learning in university – and because of what happens to you after those four years.

I arrived at Revivim with little knowledge of Bible and of Judaism. My university studies opened up a whole new world to me, giving me a broad base and in-depth knowledge that enabled me to feel at home in that world. Revivim taught me how to take the academic knowledge I acquired and make it something that would interest and enrich the students I encounter today in the classroom. This was accomplished through workshops with my peers and – primarily – through intensive training, with careful guidance.

Moreover, I encountered a wonderful group of intelligent and motivated people who made my years of study an extraordinary experience. Studies with the group were one of the prominent benefits of learning in the program. Studying in the group was a great academic advantage; it exposed me to various patterns of thought and action, and of course made the learning experience more enjoyable. Our group continues to be a supportive and meaningful one today as well, despite the fact that we are scattered in different schools in locations around Israel.

Graduate of Revivim's twelfth cohort, Bible and History teacher in Mekif Emek Hahula High School in Kibbutz Kfar Blum since the 2015-2016 school year

In answer to the question posed to me, about why one should study in Revivim, I can offer my personal thoughts, as follows:

I knew that I wanted to be a teacher when I was in the “Beit Yisrael” pre-army mechina program. I also knew that I wanted to study humanities, focusing specifically on Jewish identity. Revivim fit me like a glove; it is a program that trains teachers through high-level academic studies in subjects that interest me.

Due to the significant training period I underwent in Revivim, I feel that I was very well prepared for my first year of teaching as a homeroom teacher in Seligsberg High School in Jerusalem, which is generally thought to be very difficult for new teachers. The unique nature of Revivim is expressed in two central fields:

1. An outstanding peer group. Due to my peers I was able to withstand the heavy academic workload of Revivim. Moreover, the group made it possible for me to develop my identity as an educator. Within the group, which was accepting and intellectually challenging, I developed and shaped myself as a teacher.
2. Significant work experience in education. From my second year I worked in a school as a teacher for all intents and purposes. The hands-on training, alongside the significant mentoring from Revivim, allowed me to experience the great challenge of running a classroom, teaching, and working with students. This experience and the personal and group accompaniment gave me the most important tools that can be acquired in advance of teaching. I find myself sharing the many tools I acquired during my years of training with new teachers I work with.

Studying in Revivim is worthwhile; there is tremendous importance to introducing identity discourse in public education. Revivim provides its students with the tools to create identity discourse and do meaningful educational work with students.