Post by Tikvah Wiener

🏛️ ZEI Fellowship – Day 2 (Afternoon) 🇮🇱✨ The afternoon shifted from learning about Israel to experiencing it as an old-new land. 🎭 Through our second signature pedagogy—the Hot Seat Protocol—fellows stepped into the shoes of leaders and personalities from across Jewish and Israeli history, bringing ancient and modern voices into conversation. Their challenge: How can we draw on the wisdom of our past leaders to help heal the internal divisions facing the Jewish people today? The role-playing sparked thoughtful, nuanced, and inspiring conversations that bridged past and present. 🏺 We then began literally walking the land with a visit to the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. A huge thank you to the incredible Nachliel Selavan—The Museum Guy—for an outstanding tour that immersed us in the art and artifacts of the ancient Near East. Through objects mentioned in the Tanakh—and others that illuminate its historical and cultural context—fellows gained a richer understanding of the world in which the biblical story unfolds. 🧭 After the tour, Nachliel invited fellows to choose from three different pathways through the museum, each designed to encourage them to think like educators. As they explored, fellows considered how they could use art and artifacts to spark inquiry, deepen historical understanding, and bring Tanakh and Israeli history to life for their own students. From role-playing Israel's leaders to encountering the material culture of the biblical world, Day 2 reminded us that history comes alive when we step into it. 🇮🇱❤️ #ZEIFellowship #IsraelEducation #StudentCenteredLearning #TeachingTanakh #BibleLandsMuseum #WalkingTheLand #OldNewLand #JewishEducation Nefesh B'Nefesh Joshua Spodek Unpacked for Educators Nachliel Selavan