For Joshua Ratner, an English teacher at the Friends School of Baltimore, the ICJS Teacher’s Fellowship was a profound professional development experience that gave him new tools—and renewed confidence—for guiding students through conversations about religion in the classroom.
Joshua Ratner
Ratner, who co-teaches a unit for ninth grade students on the Hebrew Bible alongside other faculty, including ICJS fellowship alum Helen Berkeley, credits the Fellowship with deepening his ability to handle students’ religious questions with nuance and respect.
“When a student asks, ‘Do Jews believe in Heaven?,’ I don’t give a simple yes or no,” he explained. “I remind them that religions are internally diverse, culturally embedded, and evolve over time.” That framework—emphasized throughout his time at ICJS and based on the cultural studies approach promoted by Harvard Divinity School’s Religion and Public Life program—has become a recurring theme in his pedagogy.
Wrestling with the Abraham Story—and Its Representations
A pivotal moment in the Fellowship for Ratner was his exploration of the Abraham narrative. Engaging with ICJS scholars and fellows from diverse backgrounds challenged him to consider how religious stories are told and represented, including conversations about visual depictions of religious figures and the cultural sensitivities surrounding them.
One of the key takeaways Ratner brought back to his classroom was a renewed understanding of midrash—interpretive stories that expand upon biblical texts. “Most of what we talk about when we talk about religion is midrash rather than scripture,” he noted, recalling insights shared by a colleague during the Fellowship. This realization shaped one of his core assignments: asking students to create their own midrash. Whether writing from a character’s perspective or imagining a new scene, students are invited to see themselves as active participants in a living tradition of interpretation.
A Story About Faith That’s Not in the Bible
Ratner recounted his own surprise when he realized how much of his familiarity with the Hebrew Bible was rooted in tradition rather than direct reading. As an example, he shared a midrashic tale about the parting of the Red Sea, a pivotal event in the Exodus.
He recalls reading the text of the biblical story, and asking himself, “Where is Nachshon?” referring to a character who appears in midrash, but not in the Bible itself. In the story, Moses tells the Israelites to walk into the Red Sea as they flee Egypt, and they tell Moses they can’t swim.
“Nachshon walks up to his knee and he looks at Moses, and Moses says, ‘Keep going.’ And he walks up to his hips and Moses says, ‘Keep going.’ And he walks until the water is up to his chin, and he’s like, ‘Really?’ And Moses says, ‘Keep going.’
“And it’s only when the water is above his nose that the Red Sea parts. So it becomes a midrash about faith. But it is not part of the Hebrew Bible.”
That’s how students often encounter religion, he said—through stories, practices, and cultural memory.
Making Space for Complexity—and Curiosity
Importantly, the Fellowship also gave Ratner the confidence to embrace complexity in the classroom. He used to worry that students might earn social currency by dismissing the Bible or pointing out its contradictions. But now, by focusing on religious practice—not just scripture or doctrine—he creates space for deeper, more respectful inquiry. “I still say ‘I don’t know’ a lot,” he admitted, “but I also say, ‘Let’s ask someone who knows more. Here’s what I learned at ICJS.’”
Ratner’s time with ICJS didn’t just inform his teaching—it affirmed it. Through shared learning, diverse voices, and honest questions, he discovered new ways to bring authenticity and depth to his classroom.
As he put it, “Helping students feel that they can be part of the conversation—that’s become the heart of what I do.”