Hebrew/Jewish Learning

HEBREW LEVEL

Fellows who are not conversational Hebrew speakers are required to learn Hebrew. Fellows are encouraged to investigate a variety of ulpanim, private tutors and non-conventional means of learning Hebrew based upon their Hebrew literacy and their learning style. The Dorot Fellowship values Hebrew language as a key to one's engagement in Israel and as a critical ingredient for Jewish leadership.

OTHER LANGUAGES

Fellows who are fluent in Hebrew (or nearly so), can choose to learn Arabic, Russian, or Amharic in addition to, or in place of Hebrew, to enrich their experience of Israel.

JEWISH STUDIES

The DFI believes that Jewish literacy is a prerequisite for Jewish leadership. Hence, Fellows are required to engage in Jewish study, though this may be broadly defined. A Fellow with little formal Jewish education will be required to learn in a traditional chevruta setting, whereas a Fellow with extensive formal Jewish education will be required to explore new material, or explore previously learned material through a new prism.

Learning with private tutors, through engagement with creative arts, through encounters with the Land of Israel, and in varieties of informal settings, is also strongly encouraged.

Some Fellows are encouraged to manage their activities concurrently, while others may concentrate on one component of the experience at a time. (This is particularly true of Fellows whose Hebrew is not yet conversational; they typically begin the year learning Hebrew intensively.) It is expected that Fellows will alter their program throughout the year, with the approval of the DFI Educators, as their needs, interests and skills evolve.

Fellows are typically not permitted to engage in professional training as an element of the Personal Learning Program. (A lawyer may certainly take a course in Jewish law, though a mathematician may not take a seminar in mathematical modeling.)

Fellows may not participate in degree-seeking programs during the course of the Fellowship.