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Jeremy Benstein, author of the new book Hebrew Routes, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World discusses the future of Hebrew as the featured guest on The Promised Podcast.

Each spring, the eighth graders at Levine Academy in Dallas visit Israel for almost three weeks. For the 40 or so students, it’s a trip they anticipate with excitement for years, beginning in kindergarten when their day school begins weaving Israel throughout the curriculum and programming.

The trip marks the culmination of their day school experience, and educators at Levine Academy want to ensure the students are prepared. This year they will be using the new Israel…It’s Complicated course in eighth grade.

“We’re very excited. We want to prepare our students to be open and to know more, to ask questions. But first students need the information. The new curriculum brings it all – it’s a great source to open the discussion,” says Anna Katzman, the dean of Hebrew language and programs at Levine Academy.

Here are some highlights from our new materials—our personal favorites—to make your planning easier.

"Language is a key to identity and culture, and Hebrew is a key to Jewish identity and Jewish culture. We just have to approach it as such." So writes Jeremy Benstein, the linguist and cultural anthropologist and author of the newly released Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World.

Benstein explores the significance of Hebrew in the life of Jews and Judaism, and argues that engaging with Hebrew - not with the aim of fluency or solely ritual participation - is a vehicle to enrich our connection to Judaism and its values. "We can try to make Hebrew more accessible

Educating students about modern Israel is no easy task. It's the Jewish homeland, a place of both conflict and peace, both both ancient and modern.

The new Israel…It’s Complicated helps your students understand and navigate this complex terrain and develop their own personal connections to the modern state. Developed in close consultation with today’s top Israel educators, Israel…It’s Complicated is designed for students in grades 6-7, and provides both an overview of the Jewish historical connection to the land and a portrait of today’s modern Israeli culture. At the same time, Israel…It’s Complicated refuses to shy away from the nuance and complexities that Israel navigates.

The archaeologists hard at work excavating ancient Jerusalem are focused on the land, or more precisely, what’s underneath it.

As the unearthing of pathways, walls, pottery, official clay seals and more continues under the watchful eyes of thousands of annual tourists, scholars are learning more about the spot where King David once reigned, now known as the City of David.

What these archaeologists are not consumed with, however, are the borders and politics of the modern land they’re digging beneath—East Jerusalem—mostly inhabited today by Palestinians. And yet their work makes life above ground more complicated, writes New York

Educating students about modern Israel is not an easy task.  It presents numerous challenges, including our personal and political biases, where to devote our energies, and how to help our students truly understand the country’s many complexities. Challenging, however, does not mean impossible. So writes Richard Walter, associate director of the Center for Israel Education at Emory University, in the Foreword to the Israel…It’s Complicated Teacher Resource Guide.

Developed by Behrman House in consultation with the CIE, the resource guide offers a package of materials for teachers of all experience and skill levels. As Walter writes, “Our aim as Israel educators should be to create critical thinkers, not followers, no matter our personal politics.”

Here are three strategies you can focus on for effective Israel education, as excerpted from the Foreword:

1. Focus on the broad concepts like ensuring the future