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HOW CAN YOUR CONGREGATION USE PROJECT ZUG?

• Start with a kick-off event to introduce the idea of havruta learning—bring in a scholar from Hadar, or feature the rabbi or a great teacher on your staff. Thoughtfully pair your participants for three months of weekly learning, let each pair choose their own course, and meet on their own schedule. Conclude the season with a Siyyum—come together for a dinner and invite members of the congregation to share something they learned.
• Choose one course that you want to study together as a community. Meet weekly to study in havruta and then have a group conversation. Consider meeting in people’s homes, and maybe even sharing dinner together. This weekly learning could also be done on Shabbat—before or after a weekly service, or on a Shabbat afternoon. You could even build an entire adult ed class using the Project Zug materials taught by an in-house educator.
• Convene a cohort through paired learning. Members of a hesed committee can learn “Visiting the Sick” or parents of Hebrew School children can learn “The Balancing Act: Being a Jewish Parent.” Work with an existing cohort or build a new one! Create programming around the learning such as a tikkun olam project or an art exhibit.
• Build community among members. You can even invite your high school and college students to learn with their parents.

Congregation Beth El of NJ is in their 4th year of an initiative to get their congregation learning together. Over 60 community members of all ages sign up and and are matched with a havruta. Read about their first experience here.

Read about a congregant's experience here!

Check out this video that Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, NJ created to market their Zug program!

HOW CAN YOUR ORGANIZATION USE PROJECT ZUG?

• Learning with Project Zug can help create real, meaningful friendships between members of a committee, board members of an organization, or program alumni who live in different cities.
• Start with a kick-off event to introduce the idea of havruta learning—bring in a scholar from Hadar, or feature the rabbi or a great teacher on your staff. Thoughtfully pair your participants for three months of weekly learning, let each pair choose their own course, and meet on their own schedule. Conclude the season with a Siyyum—come together for a dinner and invite members of the organization to share something they learned.
• Choose one course that you want to study together as a community. Each pair meets weekly to study in havruta, and can come together to have a group conversation. Consider meeting in people’s homes, and maybe even sharing dinner together.
• Connect people in different locations through paired learning. Members of an organization can learn with members who live anywhere around the world. Keep alumni connected to each other through learning, or connect professionals in similar roles who can support one another professionally and personally.

Read how OneTable partnered with Project Zug here: In Havruta: Lessons in Learning, Shabbat, and Partnership.

“I did this with a co-worker and it helped us get to know each other better. Since we were doing the session on the prayer book and its connections to tanakh and other texts, we were able to regularly reference our havruta during work at other times which was great.”

“My havruta and I are coworkers, but we work in different cities. Going through this Project Zug course together has deepened our relationship, our work culture, and the content of our work.”

“My havruta is my colleague. Through this learning, we have developed a much closer relationship and have created a space at work to broaden our thinking.”

HOW CAN YOUR DAY SCHOOL USE PROJECT ZUG?

• Connect parents through paired learning. Learning with Project Zug can help create real, meaningful friendships between parents of students the same age, board members, etc. You can even invite older students to learn with their parents, or connect a pre-existing group or committee to learn with each other.
  • Choose one course that you want to study together as a community or let people choose the course that most interests them. Consider meeting in people’s homes or create a space in your school for parents to gather on a weekly or monthly basis. This weekly learning could even be done while parents wait in line for afternoon pick-up!
  • Start with a kick-off event to introduce the idea of havruta learning—bring in a scholar from Hadar, or feature the rabbi or a great teacher on your staff. Thoughtfully pair your participants for three months of weekly learning, let each pair choose their own course, and meet on their own schedule. Conclude the season with a Siyyum—come together for a dinner and invite members of the organization to share something they learned.
• Professional Development! Show that you are a school that encourages not only student learning, but also learning and relationships among teachers and staff. Create a lunch and learn program or encourage teachers to learn on their own time.
• Learning with Project Zug can help create real, meaningful friendships between parents of students the same age, board members, etc. You can even invite older students to learn with their parents, or connect a pre-existing group or committee to learn with each other.

HOW CAN YOUR HILLEL USE PROJECT ZUG?

Because of our special partnership with Hillel International, Project Zug learning is completely FREE for Hillel professionals and students!

• Create an easy (and meaningful) program with Project Zug. Start with a kick-off event to introduce the idea of havruta learning—bring in a scholar from Hadar, or feature the rabbi or a great teacher on your staff. Thoughtfully pair your participants for three months of weekly learning, let each pair choose their own course, and meet on their own schedule. Conclude the season with a Siyyum—come together for a dinner and invite participants to share something they learned.
• Choose one course that you want to study together as a community. Meet weekly to study in havruta and then have a group conversation. Consider sharing dinner together or creating weekly ritual around the learning. This weekly learning could be done as a full group, or even separately at each pair’s own time.
• Connect a cohort or committee through paired learning. Create a new cohort or work with an existing one like engagement interns or group members/leaders. Members of an upcoming ASB trip could learn Intro to Jewish Social Justice, or a peer engagement cohort could learn the Intro to the Jewish Bookshelf course. Connect students or professionals who are members of committees or pre-existing groups in order to build relationship while also influencing the work they do.
  • UCLA Hillel and MIT Hillel have been using Project Zug learning with their staff teams!
  • Maryland Hillel has a group of 15 students learning in havrutot!

Read how a Hillel professional incorporated her learning here.

“Learning with [my Hillel professional] every week was one of the most special hours that I always look forward to. Right in the middle of such a busy week with constant stress of classes and thoughts about graduation, I knew that there would always be time each week to make sure that I was continuing to learn and to explore my Jewish identity.”

“It has been optimal! Thank you for all the incredible source sheets and materials that you have provided!” - Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, UCLA Campus OU-JLIC

“The learning is going great!! Our whole staff is learning and at each staff meeting, folks have been sharing their learnings, and it’s been insightful for the group, and each havruta, learning at its own level and on it’s own topic of interest, is getting a lot out of it, and everyone has been inspired. I have never seen us so excited to make time for study, in the pairs or as a team. Thank you!” - Rabbi Michelle Fisher, MIT Hillel