The Pedagogy of Death, Season 3, Episode 9

Death and dying are topics that are often avoided, both in the world at large and in the realm of Jewish education. Rabbi Melanie Levav—award-winning educator, chaplain, and certified social worker—not only makes these topics easier to discuss, but suggests that Jewish educators cannot and should not avoid the topic. In this week’s episode of Adapting, Rabbi Melanie and David Bryfman discuss her work and how she brings ancient Jewish wisdom into this emotional space. Their discussion pushes Jewish educators to consider how we can normalize conversations about death and dying, and in doing so reduce fear, promote greater connections, and paradoxically even bring Torah to life at moments of death.

This episode was produced by Dina Nusnbaum and Miranda Lapides.

The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media.

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