Joel Grishaver used to molest little boys.
How is he still allowed to teach in Jewish life?
Joel Grishaver is a hammer for education . He pounds on the anvil of accepted wisdom and works curlicued miracles out of the staid and the commonplace. He combines the tradition of a maggid, the itinerant teller of the redemptive narrative, with the American Jewish story of the entrepreneur.
Rabbi Mark Boone
Fitzerman, Tulsa
What impressed me most about Joel was a sense of genuine caring and interest in the people with whom he taught, particularly the teens. Not only did he teach them much, but he exhibited a real interest in what they had to say and who they were, which will last a lot longer than the texts he taught. He also conveyed an important message—that relationships are the essence of teaching. His actions make him the consummate text person and an important role model for all of us.
Robin Shiffrin, Temple Sinai, Rochester
Joel Lurie Grishaver is available for scholar-in-residence-weekends and other kinds of teaching experiences. He regularly works with adults, teens, families, intergenerational learning communities, schools age children, and faculties.
His weekend experiences can be for any or all of these audiences.
In the past year Joel has been a:
- Synagogue scholar-in-residence
- Family educator-in-residence (both at camp and in a synagogue)
- Scholar-in-residence in elementary and middle school day schools
- Community scholar shared by a number of institutions
- Speaker at UJA and Federation events
- Guest teacher at Hebrew high schools and other teen settings
- Keynote speaker at a Regional Biennial of the UAHC and at various regional Jewish teacher training events and a guest scholar at the Festival of Reform Judaism in Great Britain
- Faculty member at CAJE, LIMMUD, and The Whizin Institute
