How to Light the Inner Spark of Today’s Jewish Learners

This week on Adapting, David sits down with Rabbi Mark Wildes, the founder of Manhattan Jewish Experience. Together, the pair explore what it really means to inspire Jewish connection in young adults today.  

Drawing on insights and Torah from his new book, The Jewish Experience: Discovering the Soul of Jewish Thought and Practice, Rabbi Wildes shares that Jewish education isn’t about molding students into something completely new. Rather, it’s about how educators can spark the innate pilot light of Judaism, the pintele Yid, that we have inside us. Discover how nurturing that inner spark can transform not only the Jewish learner, but the future of Jewish life itself. 

Explore how The Jewish Education Project is reimagining Jewish education in our Strategic Plan. 

Register for Jewish Futures 2025.

Learn more about The Jewish Education Project here.

This episode was produced by Miranda Lapides and Rina Cohen Schwarz. The show’s executive producers are David Bryfman, Karen Cummins, and Nessa Liben. 

This episode was engineered and edited by Nathan J. Vaughan of NJV Media. 

If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a 5-star rating and review, or even better, share it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be the first to know when new episodes are released. To learn more about The Jewish Education Project visit jewishedproject.org where you can find links to our Jewish Educator Portal and learn more about our mission, history, and staff. We are a proud partner of UJA-Federation of New York.