Yosef's Assimilation
When Yosef went down to Egypt, how does he hold on to who he is and who he wants to be? What were the expectations of living in a foreign country and acculturation vs assimilation? Join Sepha Kirshblum as she explores these questions in context to the story of Chanukah and how our religion and culture were being pried away from us. How did we manage, and continue to manage, to hold on to who we are?
Yosef's Assimilation: Yosef’s Assimilation
In just a week and a half we will be celebrating Chanukah, which commemorates a time that we had to fight a war to defend our rights to follow our faith and remain committed to our beliefs and practices. But who are our role models for staying true to who we are? Tonight we begin a 2 part mini series understanding what it means to acculturate into a society and how Yosef and some others have the strength to be true to who they are and teach us by example.
Yosef's Assimilation: Yosef’s Assimilation
Last week we got to see the story of Yosef, and the challenges he suffered even after he was sold. And even when he was successful in each scenario he was still seen as an “Ivri.” Tonight we will understand what he was holding onto in his past and how that was able to keep him strong in the hardest of times.
Mrs. Sepha Kirshblum teaches Tanach and Jewish Thought at Midreshet Moriah. Sepha, as our students call her, has a genuine love for both her students and Torah, especially Tanach. She tries to create a balance of creativity, fun, humor and kavod Ha-Torah in the classroom to help her students love learning as much as she does. Before making aliyah, Sepha taught Tanach at the Ramaz Upper School, where she was also Senior Grade Advisor, Israel Advisor, and involved in extracurricular programming. Sepha received her BA from Stern College with a Major in Judaic Studies and a Minor in Psychology. She received a dual Masters in both special and regular Education from Hunter College. Sepha lives in Efrat with her family.