Cyber-Jewish Exploration

Today you can take a meaningful Jewish journey without leaving your office chair.  All you need do is turn on your computer and point your mouse in the right direction.    Last week, I participated in a three-day conference on utilizing technology in developing the field of Jewish education.  Considering myself tech-savvy, I wasn’t sure what I would get out of the program, I was humbled to realize just how little I knew about legitimate websites that can spark and guide Jewish self-discovery.  The internet is exploding with opportunities to explore Judaism, some that are intrinsically Jewish and others that you wouldn’t think of right away like YouTube and wonderhowto.com.

Some advantages of internet Jewish discovery are the ability to cater your browsing to your own interests and explore these topics at your own schedule.  The most frequent explanation I hear for why interested adult learners are not engaging in Jewish learning is “I’d love to but I just don’t have the time.”  Cyberspace learning makes this explanation an excuse. If you are interested in a “traditional” Jewish learning experience, you can sign up to receive daily or weekly e-mails from around the world and participate in the ongoing study of Jewish texts, including challenging opportunities such as the daily cycle of Talmud study or halachic (legal) literature.  Many of these websites also create podcasts and videos that you can use for self-guided learning.  If you are interested in something more structured, it is now possible to take online college courses from universities such as Gratz College, Siegal College of Jewish Studies, and Spertus College.  Many of these programs offer on-line degrees as well. 

As a casual explorer, the possibilities for Jewish learning are seemingly endless.  If you are an information seeker, the Jewish Virtual Library, a division of the American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, is a vast resource for all things Jewish on history, literature, Israel, religion, culture, and politics.  The site provides concise entries that link to other areas of the library, allowing browsers to expand their search across multiple subject areas.  The site also includes an article about how to evaluate the quality of internet resources, a necessity in an age when everyone can create a webpage of their own. 

If you are a seeking insights into Jewish practice or a trans-denominational exploration of Jewish thought, myjewishlearning.com, is a great source for a pluralistic approach to Judaism.  Of course, many denominational websites also exist, with each of the major movements, and their associated institutions of higher learning, offering their perspective on Jewish living and learning that often includes an exploration of the weekly Torah portion or of the significance of an upcoming holiday.  If you are interested in a specialized subject matter, sites such as the Jewish Women’s Archive (jwa.org) or the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (jofa.org) are dedicated to exploring the history, contributions, and challenges of Jewish women.  Websites also exist to provide information and support to interfaith families (interfaithfamily.com) and others dedicated to providing curricular materials to teachers in Jewish schools (chinuch.org).

Technology has fundamentally changed our ability to access information and explore our world.  Although I think that the best Jewish interactions are those between people, the internet may be a very comfortable gateway to Jewish discovery.  If we recognize that on-line Jewish learning cannot be a substitute for face to face learning encounters, we can use the internet wisely to broaden our Jewish experiences and find creative and accessible ways to continue our self-discovery