This week, eleven leading professionals from Jewish communities of North America and England will come together in Jerusalem for four days of practice-driven, theory-informed learning to explore the theme of “Learning from Mistakes” with each other and the faculty of the Mandel Leadership Institute (MLI) at the Institute’s third annual Consultation.

Participants in the 2010 Summer Consultation include Daniel Brenner, Sharon Brous, Sara Hurwitz, Adam Gaynor, Daniel Libenson, David Cygielman, Joshua Avedon, Naava Frank, Claire Mandel, Judith Rosenbaum and Rabbi Daniel Smokler.

The Consultation program includes sessions focused on theories of learning, peer-review workshops, Jewish text study, a site visit, and “open space” time in which participants explore topics of concern in their professional lives.

According to Daniel Barnett, Senior Associate for Planning and Development at MLI, the goals for the Summer Consultation are twofold. “Firstly, we aim to give participants a taste of the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows program, of the kind of learning we engage in here,” he said. “We don’t deal in leadership training as the term is commonly understood, but rather seek to explore big ideas and their implications for educational and communal work.” Second, Mandel faculty seek to learn from and about Consultation participants and their work, the challenges and trends molding Jewish experience today, and how big ideas and profound conceptualizations can inform their work as Jewish educational and social innovators.