Adina Roth – educator, leader, psychologist and deep thinker 

Emanuel School’s extensive and lengthy search for a new Head of Jewish Life commenced in April 2021. We were looking for an engaging and driven leader who shares in the values of our School – an excellent communicator who can represent Emanuel School within the community and create engaging, meaningful programs for our students to build a sense of pride in their Jewish identity and heritage. They needed to possess a deep expertise in Jewish Studies, and a passion to develop and extend the learning and depth of Jewish knowledge of both our staff and students.

The School’s campaign extended to networks, synagogues and schools across Israel, USA, Canada and South Africa. Despite an extensive search, a series of interviews and fresh advertisements across the following year, we could not locate the ideal candidate. It was not until September 2021 that we interviewed Adina Roth, and we struck gold! Adina started full time in October 2022.

We asked Adina some questions about herself to get to know her better:

Adina Roth – Head of Jewish Life

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My parents were vegetarian and spiritual and, when deciding on where to send me and my sister for our early education, instead of sending us to the mainstream Zionist community school of Johannesburg, King David, they decided to send us to a school where we would learn Jewish mysticism, the Chabad School in Johannesburg – Torah Academy. Even though my parents were not strictly observant and quite alternative in some ways, Torah Academy gave me an amazing grounding in Jewish texts and a love and respect for Jewish learning. I also come from a family of Jewish educators, my late grandfather, Mike Rubinowitz, was the principal of King David Linksfield and Herzlia (both Jewish Modern Orthodox Schools in Johannesburg).

In my early adult years, South Africa was becoming a democracy and it was an incredible time to study at Wits University where I majored in literature and psychology. But I was always drawn back to Jewish learning and eventually did my Masters on the story of creation comparing a Hasidic and post-modern reading of the story. 

I spent a year in Israel, including a semester at Pardes. I also worked for the World Union of Jewish students on a women’s leadership training program called Kol Isha, the Voice of Women. This program was life changing. I had come from a South African, traditional background and had never really considered my role as a woman in Jewish life and community, but Kol Isha raised my awareness and led to a life-long calling to create more spaces for Jewish women to find spirituality. I was privileged to be part of the pioneers in South Africa creating women’s megillah and torah readings, Rosh Chodesh groups and more. 

I went to study Bible as Literature at New York University and wrote my Masters there on the story of Exodus, comparing a psychoanalytic and postcolonial reading of the story. I then spent a year studying Talmud at the Drisha Institute in New York. On returning to South Africa, I married my husband Farryl and created an independent Jewish program called B’tocham Education. My focus was on the journey of Bar and Batmitzvah. I worked with very special families in South Africa over a period of 17 years to create rites of passage that included Torah learning and reading, trips to mountains, African and Jewish dancing, Havdalah ceremonies, parent-children lessons and trips to refugee shelters to learn about tzedakah.

At first, my aim was to create halachic spaces were girls could learn for their Batmitzvah from the Torah. As I worked, I realised that girls and boys needed meaningful spaces for learning, experiencing, playing and thriving to mark this very special time in their lives. I eventually also began classes for younger kids and I taught many courses for adults in Tanach, using literature and psychology and ancient Midrash to create meaning from Jewish texts.

I ran a private practice as a clinical psychologist for many years, while teaching Jewish Studies in the B’tocham programs. For me, it was a wonderful balance. 

During that time, I was involved in building Limmud South Africa. It was incredibly rewarding to work with people from across the Jewish community and create a diverse space of Jewish learning. Limmud is a festival of Jewish life which celebrates everything Jewish and I learned from volunteering in that space that when people of all ages and from across the denominational and political spectrums can work together with a common vision, the most incredible magic and transformation can happen. 

Through Limmud, I met many families who were looking for an alternative space to daven and find community. Together we formed the Jozi Partnership Minyan, which was modelled on the Shirah Chadasha community of Jerusalem. As a grassroots community, we met once a month and on all the Jewish holidays. Our community was a warm and welcoming space for people from orthodox and observant to reform and also for those who were unaffiliated. A few years ago, I started to study towards my rabbinical studies through the modern orthodox Yeshjvat Maharat in New York City. I am studying online and I am currently in the third year of the four year program. 

What have you enjoyed working at Emanuel thus far?
As I get to know the people more at the School, I realise that there is a very high calibre of person at the school, both professionally and in terms of character and integrity – I feel that this is a place where I can really grow and be stretched. The scope of the job description feels incredibly challenging, exciting, humbling and hopeful. I am familiar with pluralistic community because of my work at Limmud. I feel this is an exciting place to build Jewish education and community. 

There is also an openness to innovation in curriculum and to new ideas. I believe deeply that a pluralistic school can have a strong and positive influence on the wider Jewish community, creating both tolerance and openness, while driving passion and enthusiasm. 

What is your teaching philosophy / something you’d like to impart to your students?
I am passionate about Jewish texts and text-based learning. I guess I have confidence in my product which at the end of the day, is Torah in all its richness, subtlety, nuance, depth and humour. As the Rabbis tell us, you can turn it ‘over and over’ and it still continues to offer up insight and meaning. I believe the stories of the Torah speak to the human condition. We can find stories of rage, jealousy, loneliness, lust and pain. We can find social injustice and social activism, we can find cruelty and kindness. The challenge is to bring these stories to our students in ways that speak to them. 

Younger children still have a sense of wonder and can ‘play’ with the idea of a talking snake or the sea that split. But it’s important to start to teach them, at that age, that these stories are not simply literal. They have symbolic meaning and even younger kids need to be challenged to relate to these stories metaphorically. This capacity for symbolic thinking will give them the tools as they become older teens, to know that the Torah contains wisdom, even as they become more cynical.

I also like to incorporate creativity into every single lesson I teach, whether it is with younger kids or teenagers. We first do basic textual learning, we engage in commentary and the students share their opinions. We may look at a modern analogue, a movie or a poem. And then we move to acting, art, song, creative writing. The students need to own the text and have fun with it. If it’s alive, you can feel it in the room and if it’s not…you can feel that too. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share?
It isn’t easy emigrating after spending a lifetime immersed in the South African Jewish community. I do feel that coming to Emanuel School has made it a softer landing. I am grateful for the warmth of the school community and the staff who have been incredibly welcoming, kind and patient. Some of them have taught me technology, some have handed me tissues when I missed my family, some of them have pushed me to stretch myself – they have all shown me kindness. 

I am also grateful to the warmth of the wider community. It has been heartwarming to find South African products and delis. I can see that Sydney’s Jewish community is in part, a continuation of the South African Jewish story and it is also a community with its own unique stories of immigration, history and survival. I feel grateful and humbled to have joined this community and to begin a journey here with my husband and two children. 

Adina and her family