About Me
I am a Jewish educator with over 15 years working in Jewish day school settings. Since September 2008, I have been teaching at TanenbaumCHAT in Toronto, Canada. I have taught courses in Jewish history, Israeli history and culture, Jewish philosophy, biblical studies, and Jewish laws and customs.
Alongside my professional work as a high school teacher, I hold a PhD in Jewish Education from Toronto's York University where I also served as the university's first Wexner Fellow & Davidson Scholar. My doctoral research interrogated the intersection between Jewish education and arts-based learning and explored how students use visual and arts-based media to assume the role of biblical commentators.
Since completing my doctoral work, my research interests have evolved and I now primarily study Jewish and Israeli graphic novels and Israel education.
I am the author of four books about Jewish and Israeli comics and one co-edited volume (with Sivan Zakai) about teaching Israel.
Outside of teaching, researching, and writing, I enjoy a good book, a cozy Kith hoodie, a Blue Jays baseball game, and spending time with my family.
Please check out the links on my page and if our research interests intersect or you'd be interested in hiring me to speak to your group, I'd love to hear from you.
- Matt
Scholar in Residence
I have extensive experience as a scholar in residence and would love to be invited to teach classes online or in person for your group!
I have led sessions about contemporary Israeli society and politics, Jewish & Israeli comics, cartoons, and graphic novels, Israel education, and arts-based Jewish education.
Sessions are interactive, participatory, visual, and engaging.
If you are interested in hiring me to speak to your group, send me an email at matt.reingold@gmail.com
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Rachel Kest
Director - Jewish Education & Engagement (Rochester)
Matt Reingold is a brilliant scholar who has tremendous content knowledge of all things Israel. In an unflappable and unassuming way, Matt easily presents delicate information that is both inviting and accessible to all learners. He is easy to work with and will customize a program to fit your needs. I look forward to future partnerships with Matt Reingold.
Rabbanit Hadas Fruchter
Yeshivat Maharat, Mind the Gap Program
Matt brought a vibrant and exciting class to the seminar of Jewish Professionals I was running during the 2021 year on student-created biblical art and an exploration of how the creative process leads to new understandings of texts.He was so exciting to learn from and used many different modalities to engage the participants in the workshop - several of them walked away ignited and inspired towards new careers in the intersection of education and the arts. He was incredibly flexible and even joined us when he wasn't feeling well! Grateful to have had him as part of our program's learning journey.
Danna Livstone, Ed.
Adult Education Chair, Beth El Synagogue, East Windsor NJ
Over the course of a weekend, Matt spoke to us about Mizrachi identity, teaching Israel's complex narratives, and political cartoons featuring Srulik, a cartoon personification of Israel. He was engaging, funny, and very knowledgeable. He also provided our congregants with extensive resources for how to stay up on Israeli current events. I hope you get a chance to learn from Matt!
In June 2022, Reenvisioning Israel Through Political Cartoons was featured on New Books Network's Israel Studies podcast. My conversation with Akin Ajayi
can be downloaded here.
Teaching
I was invited to teach a class for the Valley Beit Midrash in July 2022 about how Israeli cartoonists crafted creative and novel interpretations of how to understand Jewish holidays in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. A video (including slides with the cartoons) can be watched here and an audio-only file can be listened to here.