JCast Network

After reciting the Brachot (Blessings) for Torah study and for cookies, Kitah Gimel students demonstrated their familiarity with the attendance routine by fluently providing the correct Hebrew responses to the Hebrew questions regarding students present and absent; the date, month, season, and related Holidays. Chevruta and hospitality were important elements in our examination of the […]

We’ve all enjoyed visiting museums and many of us have taken our students there on field trips. My next few posts are a reminder that museums, both secular and Judaic, are excellent sources of ideas for creative learning activities. I recently visited the outstanding Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. www.internationalfolkart.org […]

Shalom. Today in Hebrew class, we began with Brachot and concluded “BaSukkah” (in the Sukkah). In between, were many lively activities. We added topics to the attendance conversation. Hebrew words for days of the week, months, Holidays in the months, and the seasons are now part of the question and answer process. Students wisely pointed […]

On Shabbat, I was speaking with the mother of one of my former students. We discussed how we were looking forward to her daughter’s upcoming Bat Mitzvah. In the course of the conversation, the mother said, “My daughter had her Bat Mitzvah rehearsal with the Cantor. It was ‘awesome’ – in the truest sense of […]

“Each time we say a berachah, we say to ourselves, ‘Pay attention. Something awesome is happening all around us.’ And then we realize that the ordinary world conceals mysteries.” … “When we say God is everywhere, it does not mean that God is invisible. It means that if we look closely, we can find God’s […]

Shalom. In our October 6th Modern Hebrew class, we began by discussing the difference between the Blessings for food and the Blessing for Torah Study – both of which we recite each week. Students expressed their understanding that we acknowledge and thank God as the “Creator” of our food and we recognize God’s Commandment that […]

If walls could talk, the ones in the eduation wing of the synagogue where I teach would say,”Creative learning in progress!” In the hallway, the Early Childhood Center bulletin boards reflect Parshat Noah, our city’s annual Balloon Fiesta, and …gravity. A mosaic-style rainbow made of little colored paper squares arches over a large green and […]

This post started out to be a description of Torah study techniques inspired by a textbook and workbook used in the Israeli public school system. But all that changed when I examined the workbook closely and discovered that it began with a letter. Iona Zielberman and Dalia Korach-Segev, authors of the workbook, had written students […]