Liat Rosov worked for five years after graduation at her alma mater’s Hillel. However, in June, she traded working with young adults for working with young children at Congregation Beth Am Israel, a conservative synagogue on the Main Line in Philadelphia.
Rosov is the synagogue’s new education director, and Rabbi David Ackerman from Beth Am said Rosov, “brings just tremendous creativity and joy to the work.”
Rosov always knew she wanted to work in the Jewish communal world. Growing up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, she said it was really her grandmother that drafted the blueprint to her Jewish life.
“I was lucky enough and grateful enough to be born into a family that really valued Jewish culture, Jewish community, Jewish life,” explained Rosov.
Her grandmother was a Hebrew school teacher and worked at Camp Ramah in the Poconos over the summers, where her mother was a camper when she was younger. Rosov was also a camper and spent time there as a camp counselor, as well. “It’s L’Dor Vador,” she said.
“I started as a camper in 2009 and went all the way through and was a counselor for two years there, as well, and so Ramah really shaped my Jewish identity,” Rosov added. “It’s a very familiar and familial thing. And so really, my ties to my Jewish identity and wanting to work in Jewish communal life comes from, really primarily my grandmother, but from my family and from camp, as well.”
She graduated from Temple University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies, and served as the director of Jewish student life at the university’s Hillel after graduating, but after five years she said she was ready for a change.
“I think the outdoor piece really spoke to me,” said Rosov.
Beth Am Israel’s education program is unique. Ackerman says the goal is for the Hebrew school to feel like camp. “We like for our school to feel like camp as much as possible. In fact, we don’t even call it a school. We call it by its Hebrew name, which is shorashim, and refer to it as our outdoor educational program.”
The synagogue’s educational program encompasses three different parts. Its early childhood program; an outdoor experiential learning program for children ages 3-5 and their families called Nitzanim (or Sprouts in English), the Hebrew School for students in kindergarten through 7th grade called Shorashim (or Roots in English), and a teen program.
Ackerman added, “Our program is an outdoor-based informal [school]. It was really important to us to find somebody who had experience doing informal education and doing it successfully. Camp background was very important to us.”
“Nature’s all around us. It’s what we’re born into. And I think we take it for granted sometimes,” Rosov said. “We at Beth Am have this beautiful outdoor space that we call our Ya’ar and we thought it was really important to incorporate that space into our learning, because it really just enhances Judaism and Jewish values.”
In 2025, Beth Am was voted Best Hebrew School in the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent for its nature education program.
“I think it’s a great way to get their kids outside as well when they’re sort of cooped up at home or in school,” Rosov added. “It’s a good way to get their bodies moving, their brains moving as well. I think being in an outdoor space can create a bit of a mindset shift, as opposed to, you know, being inside with four walls and not many windows.”
Hosting classes outside, Rosov added, is great for children because they are breathing fresh air, moving around and learning hands-on about nature and all it has to offer.