Life cycle education

the power of tradition, ritual, and transition

Howard Deitcher

pp. 541-559

in: Helena Miller, Lisa Grant, Alex Pomson (eds), International handbook of Jewish education, Berlin, Springer, 2011

Abstract

Throughout Jewish history life-cycle rituals played a critical role in impacting the lives of individual Jews, shaping their communities and reflecting their relationships with the larger non-Jewish societies in which they lived. The current study will examine the following: factors that have secured the prominent role of these rituals in Jewish life, the place of life-cycle programs in Jewish education, research studies that have examined the educational impact of these programs, and finally, the need for future studies in Jewish life-cycle education. The study argues that the growing interest in Jewish life-cycle education continues to impact Jewish life worldwide and the need for creating new and innovative programs will increase over time.