Ignited By PresenTense
Check out some of the ventures that PresenTense has helped launch.
Check out some of the ventures that PresenTense has helped launch.
MediaMidrash
Russel Neiss and Charlie Schwartz - PTI '09
www.mediamidrash.org
The Problem
Research shows that education technology helps further student learning in today's digital age. Yet the Jewish educational world has moved glacially in integrating technologies into the Jewish educational experience of students. The few attempted initiatives dress up old pedagogy and curricula in a tech-savvy frock, rather than creating vibrant, interactive, and meaningful educational opportunities for a new generation of Jewish learners. While the hardware and infrastructure for the 21st-century classroom is being funded, quality curricular content for this classroom is needed. Online Jewish multimedia is currently scattered throughout the internet in disparate locations. This content needs to be packaged in a more successful way for the vast majority of Jewish educational professionals working in the nearly 3,000 North American Jewish educational institutions.
MediaMidrash - Taking Jewish Education into the 21st Century
MediaMidrash, a venture ignited by the PresenTense Institute, aims to enable educators to quickly, efficiently, and effectively use multimedia technology in their classrooms in an easy-to-use, search-optimized user interface. An online platform links multimedia content to innovative curricula, allowing Jewish educators to bring art, animation, film, and music directly into their classrooms for free. MediaMidrash's value extends beyond educators, providing Jewish media content creators with the ideal platform to publicize their work with students and teachers. Combining a system for new content with the goal to gather the scattered Jewish educational material currently online, MediaMidrash plans to become a hub of educational media accessible to users at the click of a finger. Students will finally be able to learn Judaism's rich art, history, and traditions on their terms.MediaMidrash was formulated at PresenTense Institute's Summer Fellowship by two young, innovative Jewish educators with extensive experience in formal and informal Jewish education. Russel Neiss and Charlie Schwartz used PTI as a stepping-stone to hone their business skills, learn the tools needed for a successful venture, and grow their network.
www.mediamidrash.org
The Problem
Research shows that education technology helps further student learning in today's digital age. Yet the Jewish educational world has moved glacially in integrating technologies into the Jewish educational experience of students. The few attempted initiatives dress up old pedagogy and curricula in a tech-savvy frock, rather than creating vibrant, interactive, and meaningful educational opportunities for a new generation of Jewish learners. While the hardware and infrastructure for the 21st-century classroom is being funded, quality curricular content for this classroom is needed. Online Jewish multimedia is currently scattered throughout the internet in disparate locations. This content needs to be packaged in a more successful way for the vast majority of Jewish educational professionals working in the nearly 3,000 North American Jewish educational institutions.
MediaMidrash - Taking Jewish Education into the 21st Century
MediaMidrash, a venture ignited by the PresenTense Institute, aims to enable educators to quickly, efficiently, and effectively use multimedia technology in their classrooms in an easy-to-use, search-optimized user interface. An online platform links multimedia content to innovative curricula, allowing Jewish educators to bring art, animation, film, and music directly into their classrooms for free. MediaMidrash's value extends beyond educators, providing Jewish media content creators with the ideal platform to publicize their work with students and teachers. Combining a system for new content with the goal to gather the scattered Jewish educational material currently online, MediaMidrash plans to become a hub of educational media accessible to users at the click of a finger. Students will finally be able to learn Judaism's rich art, history, and traditions on their terms.MediaMidrash was formulated at PresenTense Institute's Summer Fellowship by two young, innovative Jewish educators with extensive experience in formal and informal Jewish education. Russel Neiss and Charlie Schwartz used PTI as a stepping-stone to hone their business skills, learn the tools needed for a successful venture, and grow their network.
Be A Kli
Bradley Cohen - PTI '08
www.allforthekids.org
The Problem Children who lack basic necessities such as food, education, and loving homes miss the opportunities that all children deserve in order to fulfill their potential. Poverty and abuse continue in developing areas because children do not learn values needed to break this cycle. If children had the opportunities to learn these values in their homes and schools, they would have the chance to become an empowered, morally upstanding generation that could grow and help its communities for the better.
Be A Kli - Social Action Retreats in India
Be A Kli runs 10-day "Introduction to Social Action" retreats for backpackers who are already in India. Volunteers help children who are suffering and in turn learn about local culture and needs. Projects revolve around teaching English and other subjects, building sanitary facilities and repainting schools, creating vegetable gardens for sustainability, and encouraging local crafts for business and to raise money. Helped by JDC funding, over 200 children are provided with notebooks, pens, sports and music equipment, English and Hindi story books, and wall charts and posters. The rewarding work is coupled with workshops to help the young adult volunteers find meaning, identity, and direction in their lives. The workshops, staffed by secular and religious Israelis and Indians, explore life purpose and spirituality with a focus on the Jewish role in tikkun olam.
PresenTense fully believes in the great opportunity of this project for the community and volunteers alike.
www.allforthekids.org
The Problem Children who lack basic necessities such as food, education, and loving homes miss the opportunities that all children deserve in order to fulfill their potential. Poverty and abuse continue in developing areas because children do not learn values needed to break this cycle. If children had the opportunities to learn these values in their homes and schools, they would have the chance to become an empowered, morally upstanding generation that could grow and help its communities for the better.
Be A Kli - Social Action Retreats in India
Be A Kli runs 10-day "Introduction to Social Action" retreats for backpackers who are already in India. Volunteers help children who are suffering and in turn learn about local culture and needs. Projects revolve around teaching English and other subjects, building sanitary facilities and repainting schools, creating vegetable gardens for sustainability, and encouraging local crafts for business and to raise money. Helped by JDC funding, over 200 children are provided with notebooks, pens, sports and music equipment, English and Hindi story books, and wall charts and posters. The rewarding work is coupled with workshops to help the young adult volunteers find meaning, identity, and direction in their lives. The workshops, staffed by secular and religious Israelis and Indians, explore life purpose and spirituality with a focus on the Jewish role in tikkun olam.
PresenTense fully believes in the great opportunity of this project for the community and volunteers alike.
Bible Raps
Matt Bar - PTI '07
www.bibleraps.com
The Problem
Today's youth are growing up -- and Jewish educational methods are not prepared for them. Hebrew school teachers of all grades are finding it more and more difficult to relate the material to their students, not because the material is bland, but because students cannot connect to it on an emotional or physical level. Students will continue to absorb less of the history and traditions of Judaism.
Bible Raps - Exciting Jewish Students to Learn
The Bible Raps Project is a new initiative sparked by PresenTense that aims at exciting young Jewish students about Judaism, Jewish heritage, and Jewish texts. Built around a series of raps that draw on texts from the Bible and Midrash, the Bible Raps Project resonates with Jewish youth in a way that traditional media cannot by fusing rap music -- this generation's most powerful mode of cultural communication -- with Jewish discourse. It is an innovative strategy, consisting of professional-grade music and an accompanying curriculum to express the value of Jewish Peoplehood and cultural relevancy among young Jews while injecting needed excitement into the Jewish educational experience.
Bible Raps was founded by rapper-turned-Jewish-educator Matt Bar -- and ignited at the PresenTense Institute.
www.bibleraps.com
The Problem
Today's youth are growing up -- and Jewish educational methods are not prepared for them. Hebrew school teachers of all grades are finding it more and more difficult to relate the material to their students, not because the material is bland, but because students cannot connect to it on an emotional or physical level. Students will continue to absorb less of the history and traditions of Judaism.
Bible Raps - Exciting Jewish Students to Learn
The Bible Raps Project is a new initiative sparked by PresenTense that aims at exciting young Jewish students about Judaism, Jewish heritage, and Jewish texts. Built around a series of raps that draw on texts from the Bible and Midrash, the Bible Raps Project resonates with Jewish youth in a way that traditional media cannot by fusing rap music -- this generation's most powerful mode of cultural communication -- with Jewish discourse. It is an innovative strategy, consisting of professional-grade music and an accompanying curriculum to express the value of Jewish Peoplehood and cultural relevancy among young Jews while injecting needed excitement into the Jewish educational experience.
Bible Raps was founded by rapper-turned-Jewish-educator Matt Bar -- and ignited at the PresenTense Institute.
Shomer Achi
Jodi Meyerowitz and Jamie Zebrak - PTI '08
www.shomerachi.weebly.com
The Problem
Today the Jewish world is in flux. Some communities are growing, while unfortunately, many others are assimilating and dying out. The connection to Judaism is dwindling in these communities throughout the Diaspora due to lack of leadership and education. In some cases, Jewish communities of certain backgrounds have no idea of their distant counterparts' traditions, views, differences, and similarities. The job now at hand is for us to slow down the assimilation and dwindling of Jewish communities, and to speed up the growth, pride, and development of the Jewish People worldwide.
Shomer Achi - Strengthening Jewish Communities through their Leaders
Shomer Achi is a program fostered by the PresenTense Institute that is designed to unify the Jewish people and strengthen Jewish identity. It is a yearlong program that promotes sustainable and community-based connections between Diaspora and Israeli college students through parallel community service initiatives, dialogue, and leadership training. The program emphasizes responsibility for and accountability to the local and global communities, which gain from its social justice activities. Shomer Achi is unique in that it focuses on people rather than place, emphasizes dialogue as opposed to instruction, and encourages leadership in addition to activism.
Shomer Achi embraces a dynamic and individualized approach to Jewish identity that is in tune with the needs of younger Jews. The social justice issues each hub explores during the year are chosen by the community according to its needs. Flexible people-based programming with Jewish values as a beacon is one way that Shomer Achi stands out from the rest.
www.shomerachi.weebly.com
The Problem
Today the Jewish world is in flux. Some communities are growing, while unfortunately, many others are assimilating and dying out. The connection to Judaism is dwindling in these communities throughout the Diaspora due to lack of leadership and education. In some cases, Jewish communities of certain backgrounds have no idea of their distant counterparts' traditions, views, differences, and similarities. The job now at hand is for us to slow down the assimilation and dwindling of Jewish communities, and to speed up the growth, pride, and development of the Jewish People worldwide.
Shomer Achi - Strengthening Jewish Communities through their Leaders
Shomer Achi is a program fostered by the PresenTense Institute that is designed to unify the Jewish people and strengthen Jewish identity. It is a yearlong program that promotes sustainable and community-based connections between Diaspora and Israeli college students through parallel community service initiatives, dialogue, and leadership training. The program emphasizes responsibility for and accountability to the local and global communities, which gain from its social justice activities. Shomer Achi is unique in that it focuses on people rather than place, emphasizes dialogue as opposed to instruction, and encourages leadership in addition to activism.
Shomer Achi embraces a dynamic and individualized approach to Jewish identity that is in tune with the needs of younger Jews. The social justice issues each hub explores during the year are chosen by the community according to its needs. Flexible people-based programming with Jewish values as a beacon is one way that Shomer Achi stands out from the rest.
Open Siddur Project
Aharon Varady - PTI '09
www.opensiddur.net
The Problem
Over the last two thousand years the liturgy contained in the Siddur has represented the most universal and accessible tool for educating Jewish people in the values and contents of Judaism. The plethora of published siddurim reveal an amazing diversity of the Jewish people: in the regional traditions presented, religious philosophies expressed, languages used, translations and commentary offered, and even the font design and layout of biblical and medieval poetry and prose. Furthermore, the text of the liturgy expressed in the Siddur is itself an aggregate of many different historical periods representing a creative legacy for the Jewish people. The problem is that no Siddur exists that presents the liturgy as layers of historical and creative contributions. No Siddur exists that is large enough to contain the multitude of traditional and regional variations, translations and commentaries that make the Siddur such a valuable legacy for the transmission of Jewish culture.
Open Siddur Project - Craft your own Jewish prayer book
The siddur has long served as the single common spiritual and educational tool for Jews of all backgrounds. The Open Siddur Project makes accessible all the creativity preserved in traditions that was historically separated by geography, and currently by the limitations of non-digital publishing, in the Siddurs of the world. The Open Siddur is a free and open source software project that is developing a collaborative publishing platform for anyone to craft the siddur they have always wanted. The Project crafts a siddur that is completely customizable, allowing one to not only see unfamiliar and obscure nusḥaot (regional traditions) but also to remix the siddur with piyyutim (liturgical poetry), with personally chosen translations, commentary, transliterations, template layouts, and art.
Open Siddur continues to grow by using today's technology. The open source software platform allows for volunteer developers to use and build the existing system that makes for a more collaborative project - truly a Jewish tradition! Along with development, Open Siddur uses the open source platform so that material may be accessed, shared, adapted, and improved on by the entire Jewish community.
The Open Siddur Project holds a great potential, one in which grew out of PresenTense's support. The potential of this project allows for Jews all over the world to be exposed to and better understand the rich history and traditions of the Jewish people while at the same time making it personal to themselves. PresenTense recognized this and through the PresenTense Institute Aharon Varady, founder of Open Siddur Project, became equipped to manage and build his future and turn it into the present.
www.opensiddur.net
The Problem
Over the last two thousand years the liturgy contained in the Siddur has represented the most universal and accessible tool for educating Jewish people in the values and contents of Judaism. The plethora of published siddurim reveal an amazing diversity of the Jewish people: in the regional traditions presented, religious philosophies expressed, languages used, translations and commentary offered, and even the font design and layout of biblical and medieval poetry and prose. Furthermore, the text of the liturgy expressed in the Siddur is itself an aggregate of many different historical periods representing a creative legacy for the Jewish people. The problem is that no Siddur exists that presents the liturgy as layers of historical and creative contributions. No Siddur exists that is large enough to contain the multitude of traditional and regional variations, translations and commentaries that make the Siddur such a valuable legacy for the transmission of Jewish culture.
Open Siddur Project - Craft your own Jewish prayer book
The siddur has long served as the single common spiritual and educational tool for Jews of all backgrounds. The Open Siddur Project makes accessible all the creativity preserved in traditions that was historically separated by geography, and currently by the limitations of non-digital publishing, in the Siddurs of the world. The Open Siddur is a free and open source software project that is developing a collaborative publishing platform for anyone to craft the siddur they have always wanted. The Project crafts a siddur that is completely customizable, allowing one to not only see unfamiliar and obscure nusḥaot (regional traditions) but also to remix the siddur with piyyutim (liturgical poetry), with personally chosen translations, commentary, transliterations, template layouts, and art.
Open Siddur continues to grow by using today's technology. The open source software platform allows for volunteer developers to use and build the existing system that makes for a more collaborative project - truly a Jewish tradition! Along with development, Open Siddur uses the open source platform so that material may be accessed, shared, adapted, and improved on by the entire Jewish community.
The Open Siddur Project holds a great potential, one in which grew out of PresenTense's support. The potential of this project allows for Jews all over the world to be exposed to and better understand the rich history and traditions of the Jewish people while at the same time making it personal to themselves. PresenTense recognized this and through the PresenTense Institute Aharon Varady, founder of Open Siddur Project, became equipped to manage and build his future and turn it into the present.
Challah for Hunger
Eli Winkelman - PTI '07
www.challahforhunger.org
The Problem
Tragedies throughout the world are in need of aid through donations or simply raising awareness about them. Yet many Jews are hesitant to take part in charitable activism, even though tzedakah is a concept rooted in the foundation of Judaism. Nothing is more powerful than a community that rallies around a common goal. But a charitable event will often not succeed without a common medium to join the community together to work towards its goal.
Challah for Hunger - Activism Through the Sale of Challah Bread
Challah for Hunger (CfH) provides opportunities for volunteers and customers to be involved in a fun community, to address humanitarian problems, to develop and practice new skills, and to become involved in advocacy. CfH raises awareness and money for hunger and disaster relief through the production and sale of challah bread. Challah bread is just bread, but it is also a popular Jewish cultural symbol that both religious and secular Jews, and even non-Jews, can relate to. Through challah bread, Jews and non-Jews have a medium to gather to advocate, and expanding and growing chapters have proven this concept successful. CfH not only brings a community together - it also builds it. Because the community comes together for simple fun, growth, and activism, many secular Jews find themselves able to ease themselves into the Jewish community through a non-religious event.
Customers not only give their support for activism through the purchase of challah, but are also encouraged to advocate for themselves as well. Customers who pledge an “Act of Advocacy,” a letter or phone call to a public official or a media outlet about the situation in Sudan (CfH's main cause), receive a discount on their challah. This gives the customers a nudge and an opportunity to feel empowered by their own doing, something PresenTense relates to well.
Eli Winkelman - PTI '07
www.challahforhunger.org
The Problem
Tragedies throughout the world are in need of aid through donations or simply raising awareness about them. Yet many Jews are hesitant to take part in charitable activism, even though tzedakah is a concept rooted in the foundation of Judaism. Nothing is more powerful than a community that rallies around a common goal. But a charitable event will often not succeed without a common medium to join the community together to work towards its goal.
Challah for Hunger - Activism Through the Sale of Challah Bread
Challah for Hunger (CfH) provides opportunities for volunteers and customers to be involved in a fun community, to address humanitarian problems, to develop and practice new skills, and to become involved in advocacy. CfH raises awareness and money for hunger and disaster relief through the production and sale of challah bread. Challah bread is just bread, but it is also a popular Jewish cultural symbol that both religious and secular Jews, and even non-Jews, can relate to. Through challah bread, Jews and non-Jews have a medium to gather to advocate, and expanding and growing chapters have proven this concept successful. CfH not only brings a community together - it also builds it. Because the community comes together for simple fun, growth, and activism, many secular Jews find themselves able to ease themselves into the Jewish community through a non-religious event.
Customers not only give their support for activism through the purchase of challah, but are also encouraged to advocate for themselves as well. Customers who pledge an “Act of Advocacy,” a letter or phone call to a public official or a media outlet about the situation in Sudan (CfH's main cause), receive a discount on their challah. This gives the customers a nudge and an opportunity to feel empowered by their own doing, something PresenTense relates to well.