Where does Jewish history live in your curriculum, culture, and approach to education at your school? Jewish history is central to Jewish education, and can be a locus of meaning, authority, and knowledge for all Jewish day school students. Listen to or watch a special live recording of the Prizmah Podcasts to explore how one school has made the teaching of Jewish History a signature component of its curriculum.
Prizmah Podcast Live: Jewish History - The Core Element of a Jewish Day School Education (Whether You Realize It or Not)
Rachel Bergstein, Director of Center for Excellence and Engagement in Jewish History and Jewish History Department Faculty Member
Rachel Bergstein is the director of the CESJDS Center for Excellence and Engagement in Jewish History and teaches high school Jewish history at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, with a particular emphasis on culture, race and religion. She has an undergraduate degree in Jewish studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and a graduate degree in Jewish history from Yale University. Rachel also studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education in New York. In 2016, Rachel was awarded the Beryl and Norman Meyer Outstanding Educator Award from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, and in 2020, Rachel was selected as a University of Chicago Outstanding Educator.
Rabbi Mitchel Malkus, Head of School
Rabbi Malkus has served as the Head of School at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD since 2013. Formerly, he was Head of School at the Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy of Temple Beth Am. Rabbi Malkus sits on the advisory board and was a past co-chair of the Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE). He holds an Ed.D., MA, and Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, a BA from Columbia University, and studied at the Harvard Principals Center and Yeshivat HaMivtar. He received the Milken Jewish Educator Award in 2009 and was a mentor at the Day School Leadership Training program (DSLTI). He and his wife, Caryn Bunder Malkus, live in Greater Washington D.C. with their children, Eitan and Coby.