<p> <b>How does the ritualist conceptualize the educational elements of the</b> <i><b>brit milah</b></i> <b>process? </b></p><p> Jewish educators function in diverse roles and venues. Teachers formally instruct in classroom settings, camp counselors informally teach in the bunk or dining hall and clergy teach about our Jewish tradition by carefully planning experiential education programs, preaching from the <i>bimah</i> (podium), chanting from the lectern and carrying on their daily activities in synagogues. In accord with an expansive vision of Jewish education, I suggest that ritualists too, through language and action, teach fundamental aspects of Jewish life as they interact with others in the context of guiding families through life-cycle events. </p><p> This dissertation examines the interactions of the ritual leader or circumciser referred to as the <i>mohel</i> during the life-cycle rite of passage of ritual circumcision or <i>brit milah.</i> I examine the <i> mohel'</i>s educational work by describing his interactions with celebrant families and their guests before, during and after the ritual ceremony. After reviewing aspects of ritual theory and educational theory, I employ Schwab's four commonplaces of education as the lens through which to determine how ritual affects pedagogy and, as a corollary, how pedagogy is affected by ritual structure. This study explores the conceptualizations of seven prominent <i> mohalim,</i> three of whom were studied in-depth over a seven month period. I used a mixed methods qualitative research approach by conducting in-depth interviews, observing <i>mohalim</i> in their natural settings and conducting follow-up interviews. In addition to material gathered from these interviews, data collection included field notes, transcription recordings and artifact collection. </p><p> The data analysis shows that <i>mohalim</i> employ a number of teaching styles and orientations and accommodate multiple meanings during the <i>brit milah</i> process. Additionally, through their interactions, <i> mohalim</i> implicitly teach about both ritual structure and Judaism in general. </p><p> A conclusion of the research shows that both through their actions and use of ritual language, it is the educational goal of <i>mohalim</i> to present and communicate a vision of Judaism as a morally sound way of life, and that by fostering feelings of connectedness, to family, generations, spiritual ancestors, community, the people of Israel, or the heritage of Judaism, people's lives become imbued with great meaning and significance. As two practical implications of the study, I propose nine pedagogic principles of ritual engagement and the expansion of collegial interaction which may serve as useful tools for <i>mohalim</i> as they become more reflective regarding their educational responsibilities. Additionally, this work implies a new way to orient the educational thinking of ritualists in general as they approach their work as a potentially transformative experience found along a continuum of Jewish encounters with celebrant families.</p>

<p> The Jewish community has increasingly relied upon Experiential Education as a pedagogical approach to instilling Jewish identity and communal affiliation over the past twenty years. The Experiential Education format of travel programs has specifically been emphasized and promoted for Jewish Emerging Adults for this purpose, and outcome studies of these trip programs have demonstrated success in instilling identification and affiliation with both the Jewish community and the state of Israel among their participants. However, little is actually empirically known about the processes that impact the participant during the trip experience &ndash; the so-called "black box" &ndash; or how significant a participant's predisposition towards Israel and Judaism are in how they process their trip experiences. Even less is empirically known about the identity development of Jewish Emerging Adults in large part due to a pre-disposition to study Jews developmentally only as affiliates of a religion rather than members of a distinctly multi-layered group. </p><p> This grounded theory study examines participants in two different trip experiences, Taglit Birthright Israel and an Alternative Spring Break, through post-trip interviews. The emergent theory suggests three conclusions: The predisposition of a participant towards their own Jewish identity can influence how they process their experiences on the trip; the actual trip experience can be best understood as repeatedly processing multiple and ongoing experiences within the trip itself; the processing of those experiences can be descriptively modeled as a theory that allows an glimpse in to the "black box." Such a theoretical model can be used to better train trip staff on how the trip experience impacts the Jewish identity of those participants and also to plan trip itineraries to optimize the trip's experiential impact on participant Jewish and Zionist identity and communal affiliation.</p>