Monthly Archives: March 2020

Tech Tools was a regular column of excellent technology tips to inspire you and add creativity to your teaching. Here are a few of those simple tools to enhance remote teaching.

The Hebrew root for "infection" also points to "clinging to one another" - the best way to support each other and maintain a social glue. 

A few years ago, a well-known New York chef embarked on a mission to explore why some matzah—at least in his opinion—tastes better than others. He had enjoyed shmura matzah, which means "guarded” or “watched,” and in tracing the matzah back from the bakery to the field where the wheat grew, found a new appreciation for the entire matzah-making process.

Guarding against chametz begins with the grain, from harvest through to milling. Rabbinic scrutiny ensures that the wheat ripens in the field without use of mechanical driers or chemicals, and is harvested at the ideal moment when moisture content is between 13 and 15 percent. 

"The requirement for close inspections means I’m observing things that would otherwise go unnoticed,” said Klaas Martens, a grain farmer, in the New York Times story. “I apply it to other crops, not with the same vigilance but with … I don’t want to sound corny, but

Here is a checklist to get you started on planning.

In light of the school closures, we are making it easier for you and your students to access popular Hebrew materials from home. 

Getting Good at Getting Older, by Richard Siegel and Rabbi Laura Geller, was named a 2019 National Jewish Book Award Finalist. It is a tour for all of us

We all continue to follow the news and know this is a time of heightened awareness and concern about the health and safety of our families, students, and community.

As you and your schools heed the directives set forth by state and local officials when it comes to preventative measures to stay healthy, we are here to help you transition to remote learning experiences. Behrman House offers a variety of digital learning resources to reinforce skills and continue the learning virtually.

Using Behrman House

An entire generation of families has shared Marvell Ginsburg's book, The Tattooed Torah. Now the beloved story will be introduced to the next generation in an animated short film premiering at the Chicago Jewish Film Festival on March 8. 

The illustrated book tells the true story of the rescue and restoration of a small Torah from Brno, Czechoslovakia. Told from a young boy's perspective, The Tattooed Torah teaches the Holocaust not only as a period of destruction but also as an opportunity for redemption. The film is narrated by Ed Asner. The original illustrator created more than 100 new illustrations for the film in the same style as the original book.

"We are thrilled with how the book adapted so beautifully into the film," says Beth Kopin, the author's daughter, who spearheaded the project in partnership with other family members, as well as the USC Shoah Foundation.