Honoring the art of teaching

Teaching is an art. So it is fitting that this year’s winner of the Sue Pinsky Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, Rena Grosser, is an artist as well as a teacher.

The annual award from the JUF Education department will be presented to Grosser later this year.

The award was named for Sue Pinsky Gardner, a Highland Park resident who taught early childhood education for decades at the Weinger Jewish Community Center. This prestigious award was endowed in honor of Pinsky by her son, Mark, and his wife, Lisa, through JUF’s Agency Endowment Program to ensure that it is given in perpetuity.

A Judaic Atelierista (studio teacher) and Jewish Studies Educator at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School since 2015, Grosser has a background in art therapy. “The creative process is a tool for self-expression and exploration,” said Grosser, who is also an art photographer. “I created a learning space that [conveys] Jewish education through an artistic and playful approach.”

Grosser learned of her award during her weekly Kabbalat Shabbat ritual with her students. “We were about to recite the blessing on the candles, when I was joyfully interrupted by some of my colleagues with flowers and hugs to share the surprising honor,” she recalled. “Then, together with the excited students, we danced and sang. My heart was very full with gratitude and appreciation.”

Grosser grew up in Skokie and attended Ida Crown Jewish Academy and Queens College, and earned her master’s degree in Creative Arts Therapy from Hofstra University. A freelance writer for Jewish Chicago, Grosser now lives in Lakeview with her husband and three children, and their goldendoodle.

“Ms. Grosser is so passionate in what she is doing in class and is extremely dedicated,” said one student’s parent. “She has an amazing skill to communicate and educate… in a way that 3 and 4 year old kids can remember, learn, and even share with us. The entire nursery class is learning so much from Ms. Grosser: how to be better listeners, [be] calmer, have more patience, love Jewish traditions and values.”

Nominations for the 2023 award will open in December 2022.