Yehuda Arenstein, PhD: Founder & Director
arenstein@yisraelbishlaymuto.education
Yehuda is an educator, innovator, and builder. As a curriculum and programming consultant, he is a skilled and sensitive thought partner who specializes in collaborations that catalyze, develop, and refine new conceptual paradigms and practical frameworks; as a visiting instructor/facilitator working with students/participants for a single session, a unit or module, or an entire course or program, he takes a parallel approach. Alongside his consulting and teaching, Yehuda is developing Machon Yisrael Bishlaymuto, a study-abroad institute based on the Yisrael Bishlaymuto model, which enables him to truly understand his clients' projects from the practitioner's perspective. His approach to working with clients is informed by his own experiences with Jewish education and the chavruta method and by his career in academia, including the unique inquiry- and conference-driven pedagogy that he developed over nearly fifteen years of working with students in and out of the classroom.
Yehuda has held teaching, research, and curriculum- and program-development positions at institutions including Indiana University, St. John's University, and the University of Haifa, specializing in first-year core-curriculum programs and the interdisciplinary history of religious, political, and ecological thought and practice. His publications include several articles proposing new possibilities in Jewish education and exploring contemporary applications of traditional Jewish thought. Complementing his academic career, Yehuda's work with Yisrael Bishlaymuto also builds on his experiences in a wide range of Jewish educational and communal contexts and his background in organizational development and leadership, particularly his role as Director of Strategic Development with Lech-Lecha Journeys.
His multifaceted background enables Yehuda to view every client's project from the perspectives of various stakeholders: classroom teachers, program facilitators, academic administrators, organizational leaders, board members, and others — and most important of all, students and participants.