By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
It was both funny and tragic when Barbara Streisand, as the young cross-dressing, female yeshiva “bocher” Yentl, felt she needed to hide her gender and play up her boyish side so she could study at the beit midrash, the traditional Jewish house of learning.
Today, the evolving frontier of computer-based, online learning has mostly obliterated the confines of time and space by providing an array of Jewish learning options that you don’t have to change genders for, or leave your native country to use.
What you do need is a big dose of self-directed focus and some basic knowledge of e-mail, chat rooms, discussion forums, firewalls, listserves, Webcasts and “real time” video-conferencing.
Harness that, and a world of Jewish learning could be yours, as Debra Weissman will tell you. The 35-year-old Seattleite and mother of three is getting a second Master’s degree, learning Hebrew and Polish from native speakers, and studying Talmudic texts with renowned rabbis — all from her kitchen table, or on her lunch breaks.
“We meet one Sunday a month at the University of Washington Hillel and use video-conferencing,” explained Weissman during a phone interview with the JTNews.
Weissman attends the Shalom Hartman Institute, a lay leadership online program for non-degree-seeking adult learners who want to deepen their knowledge of Judaic subjects and holy text in a debate-style discussion called chevrutah.
Her three youngsters, 6-year-old Sivan, 4-year-old Bella, and 1-year-old Rakefet play quietly in the background.
“There are about 30 or 40 other people from the Seattle metropolitan area that have signed up. We watch this lecture with other classes in other cities across the country, and then we get to ask questions and have discussion in real time. Everyone gets a beit midrash lecture in real time and it’s a great introduction to world famous professors from Israel who are rabbis, and professors who are Ph.D.s and who really know their stuff.”
Weissman, who works as a group manager in the Windows Live division at Microsoft, is not stopping there. This fall, she will simultaneously work on her doctorate in Jewish History at the University of Washington, where she recently completed their Master’s program on campus in Modern Eastern European History.
However, Weissman is not lounging around in the spare time she saves by not running to classes and campuses. She’s meeting her current program’s language requirements by taking more online courses.
“I’m getting a Master’s in Jewish Studies online at Gratz College and I’m also taking some online Hebrew and Polish language courses at Berlitz,” said Weissman. “Once I get my Ph.D., I’m thinking about going to rabbinical school.”
In the Gratz College program, the teachers, typically rabbis living in different cities across the country, post lectures. Students complete assignments in their own time to meet the deadlines.
In her Berlitz classes, Weissman studies with a Polish woman in Boston and Even Levy, a language teacher living in Israel who meets with her once a week.
His e-card reads, “Learning languages over the Internet — the better way.” So, it’s no surprise he highly recommends the “e-format.”
“No doubt about it,” wrote Levy via e-mail to JTNews. “I do not find any disadvantages. Learning without leaving the home and still getting everything one needs to learn and progress…. For adults in particular who do not have much time and can’t constantly and consistently go to night courses, it’s comfortable, relaxing.”
Both use headphones with microphones connected to their respective computers to talk, as well as an interactive writing program called Blackboard.
“The students and the teachers are more concentrated on the subject,” adds Levy. “The pace is adapted to the student’s ability, speed, and understanding. The voices, the intonations, the studied material and of course a little imagination are the center of the activity.”
The 63-year-old divorced father of three has been teaching French, Hebrew and English online for four years. His students live in the United States, Israel, and several European countries. Levy says that most of the time, both students and instructors form friendly and congenial relationships.
“While studying a language we often talk about the family, the jobs, hobbies, and what we like or dislike,” said Levy. “It certainly tells a lot about the parties involved and helps to build a more friendly atmosphere.”
Weissman thinks it is a win-win because the professors can teach to a wider cross-section of students without leaving their communities and their jobs and taking time off. Rabbis benefit, she says, because they can teach a wider range of people without leaving their congregations.
“With three kids, it’s really helped me to do this stuff on a flexible schedule,” she said. “Most of the people I have met in online programs are typically my age or older. They work and they have kids but they still want to learn and there’s no other way they could do it.”
Online Jewish learning options have proliferated in the last few years and if you’re interested in studying, all you have to do is Google the topic and pick your school.
The learning platforms, academic policies, and entrance requirements vary as well. Many long-standing online university programs meet in chat rooms at appointed times and require minimum grade point averages in core course work — just like their campus-based counterparts.
The costs of attending online classes are typically the same as conventional “brick and mortar” universities. Students who qualify can apply for financial aid in the form of loans and grants, just like a campus-based college.
“I think it’s what you put into it,” Weissman concluded. “It’s as much the people you’re studying with as well as your professors.”