Celebrating Devin Schain’s 60th birthday and ShalomLearning’s 15th anniversary
Fifteen years ago, ShalomLearning didn’t begin with a grand vision. It began with a familiar tension.
Busy days. Carpools. Homework. Sports. Long work hours. And thenHebrew school.
For many modern Jewish families, it felt like one commitment too many.
Devin Schain didn’t set out to build a global Jewish education organization. He set out to solve a simple, human problem: How do we make Jewish learning meaningful without asking families or kids to choose between Judaism and real life?
What grew from that question is now ShalomLearning: a nonprofit serving more than 11,000 students each year, partnering with 200+ synagogues across 11 countries, and supporting educators with curriculum, training, and technology designed for life as it actually is.
This year, we celebrate two milestones at once: ShalomLearning’s 15th anniversary and Devin’s 60th birthday. Together, they mark not only what has been built but also why it was built and what it has made possible for thousands of Jewish learners, teachers, and communities.
A surprising origin story: the kid who didn’t love Hebrew school
In a Washington Jewish Week profile, Devin shares something disarmingly honest: he “hated Hebrew school.”
Not because Judaism didn’t matter—but because the model didn’t fit his life. He loved school, sports, and being a kid. Hebrew school felt like an add-on at the end of already long days. Eventually, his parents allowed him to leave the program and learn one-on-one before his bar mitzvah.
That experience mattered. It shaped the kind of founder Devin became—not someone defending “the way it’s always been,” but someone willing to ask a better question:
What if we stop blaming families for being busy—and start designing Jewish education that actually works for them?
Years later, when his own children reached Hebrew school age, the tension returned, this time with higher stakes. A great tutor helped his kids feel engaged and connected. The flexibility worked. But then came a pivotal moment: a conversation with synagogue leadership about whether a rabbi would officiate at his children’s b’nai mitzvah if they weren’t enrolled in the traditional program.
Devin didn’t walk away. He didn’t complain. He did what entrepreneurs do.
He went home, looked honestly at the realities families and synagogues faced, and built a better model.
What Devin built is bigger than a platform
Founded in 2011, ShalomLearning was created to make Jewish education engaging, relevant, and accessible without sacrificing depth or tradition.
Yes, there is technology, curriculum, and professional development.
But more importantly, ShalomLearning provides a stronger framework that connects Jewish life with real life.
It allows families to navigate full weeks without breaking.
It equips educators with confidence rather than overwhelming them.
It helps communities modernize teaching while staying rooted in meaning. That’s why ShalomLearning resonates across geography, denominations, and circumstances, helping Jewish learning survive and endure during disruption and change.
A birthday wish and a 15-year promise
At moments like this, it’s easy to focus on numbers: growth, reach, scale.
But the real impact shows up more quietly:
- A student saying a Hebrew prayer out loud for the first time with pride.
- A teacher walking into class prepared, supported, and energized.
- A family having a real conversation at the dinner table because a lesson landed.
- A community, whether stateside, overseas, or on a military base, feeling less alone.
Devin’s story began with a kid who didn’t love Hebrew school. It became the story of an adult who decided Jewish education was too important to leave stuck in an outdated model.
Fifteen years later, that choice has shaped thousands of Jewish journeys.
So, here’s to Devin on his 60th birthday and to ShalomLearning at 15.
For the humility to listen, the resolve to build, and the conviction that Jewish learning can be deeply rooted and brilliantly responsive to the world we’re living in now.
And for all of us, an invitation: to learn more, to get involved, and to help carry this work forward..
