Stefanie Gordon was born in Wilmington, Delaware. Upon high school graduation, she went on to major in English and minor in Jewish Studies at the University of Delaware where she also ran Division One cross country, indoor, and outdoor track. Stefanie fell in love with Israel after going on Birthright. She went on to study abroad for a semester at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Around this time she also won a fellowship to study with the Ivy League Torah Study Experience, a summer text-based immersion in the Catskills. Upon graduation, she moved to Manhattan to work as a finance reporter on Wall Street. Although the experience encouraged plenty of personal growth, Stefanie realized finance was not where her heart lay. After much introspection, she knew she wanted to work in the Jewish communal world. She began achieving this goal by working as a Hebrew teacher for the Brotherhood Synagogue of Manhattan. Stefanie is currently pursuing a dual-M.A. at New York University in Jewish Studies and Jewish Education. When she’s not in school, she works as Communications and Development Associate for the Berman Jewish Policy Archive, in addition to being a track and field coach at the Chapin School and a Pilates instructor. She looks forward to returning to Israel this summer as a recipient of a Shapiro Family Fellowship.
Stefanie's paper questions our societal practices-an age where technology is omnipresent and the internet just a mouse click away, should we view the Web as a friend or foe to a Torah-true lifestyle? Is it possible for one to be a light unto the nations in the age of iPads and Androids? The author argues that the Internet, downsides notwithstanding, is a great aide to Torah learning and Jewish outreach and connectivity. It should not be shunned, but be embraced by the religious and secular communities.
This presentation was delivered at the Sinai Scholars Academic Symposium 2012. The Sinai Scholars Symposium is a yearly conference for university students, hosted by the Sinai Scholars Society. Students from around the world gather with an esteemed panel of Ivy League professors, world-class Torah scholars and experts in their field to study, discuss and present their thoughts on various subjects that deal with Judaism and the modern world. Each student prepares an academic paper which they present to their colleagues and a panel of judges
Paper: Is it possible for one to be a light unto the nations in the age of iPads and Androids?
