The pedagogy of zakhor centers on the sacredness of placing the personal into conversation with the collective, and embodies the notion coined by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel that more than the Jewish people need more textbooks, they need text people. It centers around the manifestations of nostalgia in the contemporary Jewish experience and the ways through which the Jewish people tell stories and take on practices that pass on memories of the past to present generations. At this moment in the arc of Jewish history, there is a generational shift wherein young people are seeking new sources of meaning-making and feelings of belonging while feeling disconnected from a Jewish experience that may feel separate and other from the rest of their lives. Jewish education, therefore, needs new ways to create synergy between the needs of learners and the legacy of the tradition that they are inheriting. Looking backward may be the best way to build the foundation of a shared future. Informed by the past and actualized in the present, the shared future of the Jewish people will consider multiple stories and meaning-making opportunities from the breadth and depth of memories of the collective Jewish experience.
March 2024
Zakhor: A Pedagogy of Memory
Zakhor is a pedagogy of memory through storytelling and embodied experiences.
Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath is a lifelong Jewish educator and learner. She is the Senior Director of Knowledge, Ideas and Learning at The Jewish Education Project. Samantha is a recognized expert on Jewish teens, identity development, antisemitism, and Israel education. She is the author of #antisemitism: Coming of Age During the Resurgence of Hate, a deep dive into the experiences of Jewish Generation Z. Samantha is an alumna of the University of Pittsburgh, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Gratz College. She lives in Westchester, New York with her husband, baby, and two beloved rescue dogs.
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