The teaching of Israel has become a high priority for our congregational school system in recent years. There is a documented decline in commitment to Israel among young Jews. The Reform Movement is confronting this challenge in a number of ways. The CHAI Israel Strand Curriculum is a tool to be employed in our classroom to nurture our students' connection to Israel: the land, the people, and the culture. This strand is composed of nineteen lessons, two or three lessons for each CHAI level 1-7, and can be used on its own or complement the rest of your CHAI curriculum. Each of the seven levels focuses on one aspect of Israel and our connection to it as North American progressive Jews. As with each CHAI Curriculum Core, the Israel Strand Curriculum Core includes all the necessary teaching material for each lesson. The full-color workbooks are filled with photographs, maps, and student activities.
My Jewish World: An Early Childhood Music Curriculum (Book/CD set)
Music can be a wonderfully effective teaching tool for preschool aged children. My Jewish World guides teachers through the process of introducing and utilizing song in the classroom to teach Jewish values.
In her comprehensive and easy to follow book, Judy Caplan Ginsburgh includes twenty-six songs, religious and secular, that will help to facilitate an environment of fun and learning. Each song addresses important Jewish concepts and many use Hebrew words and prayers. Judy provides comments, activities, and creative ideas, specific for each song, which can be used in the classroom to learn about being Jewish every day. The importance of saying the Sh'ma each morning, learning the Hebrew words for colors, understanding body parts, and the value of cooperation are only some of the Jewish concepts touched on in the book.
In addition, Judy Ginsburgh includes a list of suggested books for many of the topics. These books help to reinforce and expand the lessons laid out in the curriculum.
With a helpful glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terms and the companion music CD, My Jewish World is a wonderful guide to making music significant in the Jewish classroom.
Duties of the Soul: The Role of Commandments in Liberal Judaism
This outstanding anthology of thirteen essays by esteemed leaders of the Reform rabbinate reexamines the role of mitzvot in liberal Judaism as viewed through philosophical, experiential, and practical contexts. In this groundbreaking collection, Niles E. Goldstein and Peter S. Knobel identify the challenges of living as a Reform Jew in today's rapidly changing world.
Coming from a wide range of experiences and viewpoints, the essayists contend that for Judaism to survive, Reform Jews must find a balance between maintaining a strong presence in the arenas of social action and basic Reform principles and adopting a strong ideology of observance, tradition, and literacy.
Includes 13 essays with an introduction by the editors
Authoritative works by key leaders of the Reform movement
Comprehensive look at today's understanding of mitzvot
