For over 30 years, Teaching Tanakh has been the flagship educational degree program at Herzog College, equiping thousands of teachers for Israel’s religious schools with B.Ed degrees and teaching certificates. Our new M.A. degree in “Teaching Tanakh and Parshanut” takes this program to a higher level for teachers in Israel and around the world, raising the standard of professional learning in the topic central to Judaic studies in educational institutions around the world.
Teaching Tanakh is a multi-disciplinary endeavor, exploring Biblical verses and their commentaries drawn from multiple sources including Talmud, Midrash and Halachic literature. The Herzog approach to the study of Tanakh involves literary analysis of every chapter, understanding its historical context, the places where its events took place, and its philosophical messages. Interpretations of Biblical stories can also be examined through engagement with contemporary literature, poetry, art, cinema and theater.
Students in the M.A. program will study texts from the Tanakh, expand their knowledge of its many classical interpretations, and explore opportunities for engaging multidisciplinary teaching. The program will reflect Herzog College’s unique approach: combining traditional commentaries with new study methods, modern research and interpretative tools, while retaining an authentic religious Jewish commitment to the Torah text.
During the first year of the program, courses will focus on exploring connections between the Biblical text and other Jewish traditional sources and developing pedagogy skills. During the summer program and second year courses, we will develop techniques for interpreting, researching and teaching the Tanakh and its commentaries.
New Master’s Degree Also Taught in English!
Alongside the Hebrew-language Masters’ course taught in Jerusalem, the English-language version of the program will be taught mostly online with one two-week summer semester in Israel in 2025. The two-year program will include 14 hybrid and asynchronous courses in English with the option to take some classes in Hebrew. Course study will focus on Tanakh, Education, Pedagogy, and touring with the Tanakh, as well as two courses geared towards writing a Masters seminar paper.
Many of our existing Tanakh Teaching Courses are accredited as part of this degree. People who have already taken online courses through Herzog College may already have earned credits toward the M.A. degree.
For the first cohort (2024-2026) tuition will cost just 31,000 NIS (approximately $8000) for two years of study, not including flights to Israel or accommodations for the summer semester. Space in the program is limited and the deadline for applications is September 30, 2024. Click here for more details.