Educating for pluralism from a Jewish perspective in an Israeli institution of informal education

Contemporary Jewish Education is faced with a fundamental challenge in the form of pluralism, a defining characteristic of postmodern Western reality. The absence of a widely accepted and well formulated definition of pluralism in general, and specifically in the context of Jewish education, increases this challenge. A comprehensive Jewish philosophy of pluralism and a pedagogy derived from it are needed if pluralism is seen as a value, rather than merely a utility. Furthermore, these constructs must be rooted in traditional Jewish ideas and concepts in order to be an integral part of the ever-evolving culture of Jewish tradition.; Utilizing the grounded theory approach of qualitative research, this work examines an inductive process by which two senior educators, facilitating a leadership training course, distilled a Jewish pedagogy of pluralism from their educational worldviews. An understanding of the theoretical context of pluralism within the institution was achieved by a series of interviews. The researcher then assumed a participant-observer role in the year-long course itself, thus achieving a bricoleur or connoisseur level of understanding of the phenomena. Content analysis provided the conceptual frame of reference for the analysis, conceptualization and articulation of the rich data compiled during two hundred hours of field work which included interviews and document analysis.; This process brings to light the main components of the educators' intuitive approach: assuming a questioning posture, the construction of unique language, the role of Midrash, maintaining the tension between the particular and the universal, and the ability to engage in dispute. Building on these components, the study concludes by constructing the foundations of a paradigm of educating for pluralism from a Jewish perspective. Rooted in the "Midrashic Mode" this theory defines the educational setting as a narrative based and process oriented community of discourse. Participants in this discourse acquire a "pluralistic attitude" enabling diverse meaning-making and engendering commitment to the "arena of pluralism." The result is a dynamic, productive process of interpretation bound by passion and discipline, advocating unity beyond uniformity.