Hebrew In Harmony

We recently received a letter from “Concerned Citizen,” an anonymous 8^th grader from Boston, who noticed that in the Hebrew series Z’Man L’Tefilah (Time for Prayer) “every single illustration in the book depicts white people,” and urged us to do better than to present “a singular image of Jews.”

The student is right. This series, developed in the 1980s by the publishing company A.R.E., is illustrated with small line drawings that present what could be called an Ashkenazic world view, a view that North American Jews are exclusively descended from the Eastern European Jews who immigrated during the late 1800s and early 1900s as they fled pogroms and other atrocities.

Behrman House took over distribution of this series in the early 2000s, and while we regularly review already published titles, as a small independent publisher we do not often have the budget to go back and

Long used to beautify the words and acts of prayer, music creates a safe and welcoming environment rich with opportunities for learning.

The Hebrew in Harmony music-based prayer curriculum invites students to sing and pray in Hebrew, as well as read, explore, and interpret prayer text.

It does this through arts, movement, videos, an app for a full digital learning experience, and the centerpiece—music from top Jewish musicians.

There are 22 individual modules – each devoted to a specific prayer – and designed specifically to be taught by educators. Learn more about Hebrew in Harmony and find sample materials here.

The series features music from more than 60 of today’s top Jewish musicians. Here’s what the co-hosts have been up to recently.

Long used to beautify the words and acts of prayer, music creates a safe and welcoming environment rich with opportunities for learning.

The Hebrew in Harmony music-based prayer curriculum invites students to sing and pray in Hebrew, as well as read, explore, and interpret prayer text.

It does this through arts, movement, videos, an app for a full digital learning experience, and the centerpiece—music from top Jewish musicians.

There are 22 individual modules – each devoted to a specific prayer – and designed specifically to be taught by educators. Learn more about Hebrew in Harmony and find sample materials here.

The series features music from more than 60 of today’s top Jewish musicians. Here’s what some of them have been up to recently.

Of all the challenges students at Congregation Beth Israel in Houston have faced this year, learning Hebrew has not been one of them.

The school uses Hebrew in Harmony curriculum for grades 3-6, and this year, just as in pre-pandemic times, students learn to read Hebrew with fluency and develop connections the prayers. This year, perhaps even faster.

“Our Hebrew program has excelled this year,” says David Scott, director of lifelong learning. “The year has been tremendous in many ways because of Hebrew in Harmony. The curriculum works really well, and we’ve found that being fully online this year has really opened up even more opportunities for us to create and develop new ways of engaging children online with Hebrew.”

The Hebrew goals of the Miriam Browning Jewish Learning Center of Beth Israel are tefilah-based. Students are grouped by skill level, and they work on mastering reading each pray

The Prayer Practice page can now be accessed from all devices, no Flash required.

"We’re seeing that some children have really latched onto their Hebrew as a way to feel like they are DOING something.”

For a limited time, we’re making available the Mah Nishtanah digital module of Hebrew in Harmony - our innovative music-based curriculum - for FREE.

More than 60 prayers and songs from dozens of today’s top Jewish musicians can be found in Hebrew in Harmony Digital.  Individuals can now use the app through the Apple App Store.

This means that parents or other adults who want to learn the music and practice their own Hebrew skills can do so on their own devices.

*Educators using the app with a class or group still need to purchase it through behrmanhouse.com. Once purchased, you can download the app from the Apple App store, sign in, and get started with your class. Alternately, you can play the app from our website. 

Directions for Individual Use 

Beneath the surface prayer program is a rigorous pedagogic structure that has been carefully crafted to home in on specific concepts, skills, and content.

 Parent support and encouragement is key to student learning. This is especially true when introducing a new curriculum that has an at-home component, such as Hebrew in Harmony.

Here are some strategies to get parents comfortable and on board:

• • Make sure children are utterly familiar with the app before sending home information to parents. Use it in class to play the music and watch the introductory videos. Give students opportunities to practice reading Hebrew and playing the games so they can later teach their parents how the app works. The app is available on all devices, and we recommend accessing via an iPad for the best experience.
• • Hold a parent session to demonstrate the app (that their children have already excitedly told them about) and explain the benefits of regular Hebrew practice at home
• • Send parents a