Rabbis and Professors

In the numerous times I have seen Andrea perform, teach and bring Moving Torah into services, I have never seen her work fail to engage people in penetrating the depths of Torah and liturgy in ways that just talking about it can't do.  Andrea is an incredible educator- her Moving Torah methodology brings body, mind, life experience, Torah, spirituality and imagination into a living conversation that has never failed to leave me and everyone else in the room inspired, amazed and wanting more of my Torah study to feel like that!

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann, 
Founding Rabbi, Mishkan Chicago 

For many centuries, Judaism's wisdom was of the heart and the mind, building just communities and righteous people. But the holiness of the body, of movement, of being in the world was neglected. Now, in the work of Andrea Hodos, we bask in a wisdom teacher who dances a Torah of life and motion into the world. We learn how to walk the path of peace by standing with Andrea as she moves us out of our seats and back into the swirling pulse of creation.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson
Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair
Vice President, American Jewish University 


Andrea is a gifted teacher of Torah.  She asks great questions of the biblical text, elicits meaningful personal stories in response, and then translates those jewels into physical movements of midrash that speak louder than any words.  

Rabbi Michelle Missaghieh, 
Temple Israel of Hollywood, Los Angeles


God created a space for the world to manifest in one dancing step. Andrea, in her interpretive weave of dance, movement and text shines insight into the vastness of the unknown. She brings God, Torah and each and every one of us into the light; experiencing who we are in a new way; claiming wisdom we knew not that we withheld! You will be changed every time you work with her, and be grateful for it. I know I have been, and I pray that you will be too!

Reb Mimi Feigelson     

Moving Torah brings study to life -- and brings life to study. It beautifully combines three of the most important parts of Torah learning:  close study of the text, dynamic Chevruta learning, and meaningful personal application. This integrated approach is held together by a uniquely creative emphasis on movement, space and vision. My students reached new depths of understanding when they looked at Torah through the Moving Torah lens. I have watched Andrea work in a number of different settings -- with adults and kids, in large groups and small -- and her instincts as an educator are spot-on. Andrea breathes life into text and Torah study.

Rabbi Shawn Fields-Meyer
School Rabbi, Milken Community High School


Thank you so much for your wonderful teaching this evening. The people who came out of your session seemed to be floating a few inches above the ground, aglow. I thought you commanded a room full of hungry diners brilliantly, bringing laughter as well as deep breath and beauty, as well as a punch of creative adrenalin.

Rabbi Zoe Klein
Temple Isaiah, Los Angeles

On behalf of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, we thank you for adding so much to the experience of Slichot -- quite literally for moving us into the Tshuvah season.

Rabbi Karen Fox
Wilshire Boulevard Temple

Andrea made the midrash come alive through dance and encouraged a talented group of rabbinical students to explore their own possibilities for the creative transmission of ancient texts in a modern idiom. Her presentations in class, with the participation of our students, powerfully demonstrated that dance can communicate and that people can learn and experience in new ways. Andrea's presentations to the entire student body and faculty welcomed all of us into her creative process. The culminating performances of her work "On Dry Ground: Faith, Fear and Transformation at the Edge of the Sea" was one of the most moving spiritual-cultural events many of us had ever witnessed. Andrea Hodos has the unique capacity to touch broad audiences and to make vivid and unforgettable the biblical narrative and its Jewish interpretation through the medium of dance.
 
Rabbi Lewis M. Barth, Professor Emeritus of Midrash and Related Literature and former Dean, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles 


To bring this innovative and inspiring work to your institution or event, contact us.  We look forward to creating meaningful and engaging experiences with you!