Like many of my later learning experiences of Torah and parsha, I felt that I needed to learn in a group setting, or one on one in order for any meaningful experience to take place. Well, technology changed all that and it is really making Torah learning much more accessible than I originally thought. The virtual world of education is one that is rapidly growing and it is entering the the Jewish world as well.
I did not have a bat-mitzvah but my brother did. Back in the eighties, he learned portion by portion until he felt comfortable with the passage often at times, learning a bit by heart. As an analytical learner, I need to understand the meaning behind what I’m learning. In fact, I think all Torah should be taught in this light of both value and spiritual understanding.
Last summer I became an online tutor with edufire.com and I found that this was definitely a venue that opened other doors. Online torah coaches are making their move too – check out a website by Mr. Justin Epner, who tutors Torah, Haftara and the brachot (blessings) for bar and bat mitzvahs. What a wonderful combination. Like many Jewish websites with a mission, his website service fulfills the daily mission of reaching out to Jewish communities. I love the welcome message of his home page: “We are more than Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutors: We are mentors and partners.”
In acknowledging the relationship between technology and Judaism, Mr. Justin Epner records every lesson for his students’ future use and shows/shares documents, among other great features. I think that has important implications for learning as well – not everything needs to be routinely memorized. It seems therefore, that online learning can in fact, be accomodating to learning styles including the auditory and visual ones.
I suppose the younger you are, the better. If I were a young adult again, I would defintitely want to gain the love of Torah and learn Torah online, too.