

The Covenant Grants
Project Open Book: Kolel Resource Library
Organization: Kolel: The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning, Toronto, ON
Grant Year: 2006
Project Director: Rabbi Elyse Goldstein
Type of Grant: Signature
Grant Amount: $110,000 (2.5 years)
To update and formalize its educational materials, to publish them in digital format, and to create an interactive online learning environment for their use. Kolel’s main goal as an organization is to provide adult education. The grant allowed the organization to update and formalize its educational materials as well as to publish the materials in digital format.
Kolel was originally a Toronto-based education center but decided to target a larger audience when it realized that people from all over the world were subscribing to the organization’s weekly emails. The grant funding allowed the material to be formatted into online classes.
Participants:
The primary target population was individuals in other countries who were living in communities without rabbis or access to Jewish education. Secondary audiences and visitors to the website included Jewish educators and rabbis in small communities, non-Jews curious about learning about Judaism, and other Jewish internet users looking for credible information.
Results/Impact:
Classes were created that could either be taken online by an individual or used as a teaching tool in a physical classroom. The classes covered four major themes: the Torah, Jewish life, family, and women. The material currently online corresponds to over 15 years of curricula collected or created by Kolel.