The Four Modern Pillars of Shmitah

Elyssa Hurwitz recently moved to the Manhattan from Jerusalem, where she has been working toward her MA in Jewish Experiential Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Prior to this, Elyssa worked in Greater Portland Hillel in Oregon as the Jewish Experience Engagement Associate and Ezra Fellow. Her work with students across multiple campuses focused on building relationships through innovative engagement and education, intentional community building, and integration of Jewish texts and traditions in a way that was accessible and relevant. Elyssa was born and raised in the California Bay Area, and graduated from Michigan State University after building her own major in the College of Social Sciences. Her overall studies were on the health of societies, which she explored through anthropology, religious studies, bioethics, and kinesiology. Her two main areas of professional interest are in experiential Jewish education and in the creation of ritual for the purpose of making meaning in liminal stages throughout people’s lives. She aims to continue to collaborate with those who want to create and facilitate intentionality and meaning-making in various spaces for young Jewish adults.