Jewish Futures 2026 Conference to Examine Technology's Impact on Jewish Education
Hundreds of educators will gather at New York's Temple Emanu-El to explore how artificial intelligence and emerging tools are reshaping learning, and what parts of education must remain human.
By True Press Post Staff ·
Jewish educators and thought leaders will gather at Temple Emanu-El in New York City on Monday for Jewish Futures 2026: 'Becoming Tomorrow's Educators,' the annual conference hosted by The Jewish Education Project.
The gathering will focus on how artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are transforming the ways young people learn, connect with one another, and process information, and on how the role of educators must develop in response to those changes.
A central feature of the program is an interactive exercise called 'Tzomet Games: Shaping the Jewish Future,' in which teams of participants will weigh potential scenarios for Jewish life in the year 2050. The activity aims to help educators anticipate coming challenges, test new approaches to learning, and decide which core elements of Jewish education will stay essential no matter how far technology advances.
Organizers emphasized that the field cannot afford to sit back and respond only after change has already arrived. 'We are living through extraordinary changes in how young people encounter information and make meaning,' said Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath, Senior Director of Knowledge, Ideas and Learning at The Jewish Education Project.
'Jewish education cannot simply react to those changes after they happen. Our responsibility is to help educators understand what is coming, experiment with new possibilities, and also identify the deeply human elements of education that technology can never replace. Jewish Futures is about giving educators the opportunity to help shape that future rather than simply adjust to it,' she added.
The keynote address will be delivered by technology entrepreneur Sam Glassenberg under the title 'The Jewish Neuron at Play: What Games and AI Can Teach Us about Learning, Identity, and Our Kids' Future.' Glassenberg leads Emerging Healthtech Initiatives at Sheba Medical Center in Israel and previously served as CEO of FTX Games and as founder of Level Ex.
His talk will look at what educators can take away from systems engineered to hold people's attention. Drawing on game design, neuroscience, and AI, Glassenberg will examine how games teach through challenge, feedback, and reward.
He will also explore how new AI tools open fresh avenues for studying Jewish history and identity, with examples ranging from analyzing the Cairo Geniza to mapping the Jewish genome.
The conference will close with an interactive session titled 'Educators Assemble!' led by Shoshana Bloom, an ICF PCC-certified coach and speaker whose work focuses on burnout, overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and procrastination.
Bloom will help participants identify their individual strengths, consider how those traits complement their fellow educators, and turn the day's conversations about future challenges into concrete, actionable steps.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
