Ayala Dvoretzky Z”L

Curriculum Vitae

Ms. Ayala Dvoretzky (1946-2018) was the Coordinator of the Modern Hebrew Program at Yale (Ayala Dvoretzky, Yale Daily News).

Ms. Dvoretzky taught numerous courses in Modern Hebrew language and was the recipient of the 1993 Yale College Excellence in Teaching Prize. Since her arrival at Yale in 1985, she developed and taught a variety of courses, ranging from introductory to advanced and upper levels of Modern Hebrew. In response to the needs of the developing Hebrew Program, she created courses in Israeli literature, film, culture, and identity and gender. She was also extensively involved in teaching Directed Reading courses.  

Among her academic interests were the incorporation of media and—especially film—into the instruction of language, as well as the use of popular music as a pedagogical tool for in-class cultural exposure. One of her final projects was creating and developing a web-based picture dictionary for Elementary Modern Hebrew, as well as an advanced-level online multimedia reading module about Ethiopian immigration to Israel. Ms. Dvoretzky was also interested in post–Holocaust reactions of the Israeli society, as reflected in literature and film.

Ms. Dvoretzky was an active member of the Yale community and contributed regularly to pedagogical events on campus, as well as community-wide activities. She regularly attended and participated in national and international professional meetings.