To provide a welcoming, inclusive ceremony for interfaith families, Rabbi Daniel Zemel of Temple Micah in Washington, DC created a different Bar-Bat Mitzvah blessing.
The Zemel Non-Jewish Bar-Bat Mitzvah Parent Aliyah Blessing gives family members with different faith backgrounds a way to be involved in such a big part of the ceremony for their children.
A recent article from Temple Micah's Vine featured the Parent Aliyah Blessing and what it means for interfaith families.
This May, Aurie Hall will be able to participate in her son's bar mitzvah, which she was unable to do two years ago with her oldest son.
"This new prayer recog
Welcome to Tech Tools, our new newsletter feature. Written by Debbie Harris, this column will bring you excellent technology tips to inspire you and add creativity to your teaching.
Animated GIFs - those short little videos that are usually just a few scenes long - are all over social media, and they are a fun way to demonstrate a project, give a few directions or share an idea.
Draw Island is a website that can help you make your own animated GIFs. It allows you to create multiple drawings, and then creates the animation.
To create your set of drawings, you can draw freehand within the website, or choose from the provided menu of pre-drawn shapes. You can also add text to your drawings or upload your own photos to the site.
After you have completed each drawing, click the “Save to animate” button, and it
The women in my family have always lied about their age. My bubby lied, my mother lied and, in keeping with that tradition, I too have lied.
Somehow it seemed fitting that I should be asked to speak to a group of senior citizens about aging. I immediately thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to use Wise Aging, by Rabbi Rachel Cowan and Dr. Linda Thal, as my resource. Wise Aging is organized in a way that works for facilitated or self-created book groups, with enough material and questions for a year's worth of group discussions.
This workshop reminded me of the importance of providing people of all ages with opportunities to learn and study together, and to share their own life experiences in discussion groups.
I began by sharing a personal story: Every year on Mother’s Day, I go to the cemetery in Toronto where my mother and bubby are buried. I share some privat
Children love listening to stories. Whether they’re family stories told around the table, or books read aloud before bedtime or in a group with peers, stories are powerful ways of communication for young people.
Ann Koffsky, an editor at Apples & Honey Press, points out that “our Jewish tradition is full of stories. It starts with the Torah and continues with the Aggadah and Midrashim in the Talmud.” Storytelling is also part of our more modern tradition with the Haggadah on Passover and the stories of Chassidic masters, like the Baal Shem Tov and Rebbe Nachman.
In The Secret of Happy Families, author Bruce Feiler describes research findings that “knowing stories of their family and the history of their family is best single predictor of children’s emotional health and happiness.” When we tell our children the traditional stories that have been handed down to us from generation to generation, we are not just transmitting a code of behavior,
How are you teaching Rosh Hashanah this year?
We've tapped into our rich materials and rounded up a few new ideas for you to enhance student learning this new year.
Few learning experiences are more meaningful than those students create for themselves. Help students recount the story of Isaac's birth, traditionally read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, through a skit. Bring the characters, events, and ideas of the story to life with the script, from Sedra Scenes
The Behrman family has served the educational needs of the Jewish community for 100 years.
Apples & Honey Press
