What do we mean by "lifelong learning?"

A piece I wrote for Jewish Federation of North America's "Ideas in Jewish Education and Engagement" blog appeared on November 28. Entitled, "What do we mean by 'lifelong learning,' I describe two of our most successful (and explicable) programs here at Emanu-El and the big ideas about Jewish education that underscore them.

Here's the tl;dr take-aways:

1. Our classes form a microcosm of Jewish community, where diverse opinions can be expressed and, through thoughtful reflection and mutual respect, our students learn to accept one another for who they are and what they believe, and empower one another to grow as individuals.
2. We study ancient wisdom in the context of intergenerational relationships.
3. Our teen leaders are role models, sharing their expertise and modeling their commitment to Jewish life.
4. The teens are proud of their growth as leaders and of the connections they make with the younger kids. Many describe their work as “giving back” to the community 
5. We publicly acknowledge and celebrate students who go “above and beyond” school attendance. 
6. Children play a crucial role in shaping the lives of the rest of their families.
7. For parents, coming to school-based family activities normalizes the experience of participating in synagogue life, making it easier to prioritize it over other ways to spend their time and to consider coming to another activity even without their own children. 

The Story of Honi and the Carob Tree

Here's me telling the story of Honi and the Carob Tree at Temple Emanu-El last Friday night... a classic tale of miracles, transgenerational ethics, and chocolate substitutes. Enjoy! 

(Full Transcript after the jump)

n.b. Unfortunate drumming noise was apparently caused by a steam pipe; while it was broadcast loudly on the livestream we couldn't hear it during the service itself.

Talking with our children about tragic events

This is what I shared with the Religious School community at Temple Emanu-El after the events at Tree of Life Synagogue:

Dear School Families,

During Religious School on Sunday and Monday, we did not explicitly raise the tragic events at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh with our students. We know that every child is different, and each family must choose to handle the situation in its own way. Yet, we also know that many of our children have questions and fears that we, as their parents, want to address – not to mention our own, adult concerns.

I want to share with you the guidance I gave our faculty, which holds for parents as well:

1. If the children bring up the topic, don’t shut it down. Listen attentively to what they have to say -- their concerns and their questions, their thoughts and feelings -- and let that drive the conversation.
2. Try to answer questions factually without adding unnecessary details. Don’t assume that your questions and concerns are theirs.
3. Reassure the children that Temple Emanu-El is a safe place; we are a sanctuary for all people seeking comfort and support. Here at Emanu-El, there are many adults who are looking out for them and who know exactly what to do to prevent emergencies of all types from happening. A good example is that when there is a fire drill, we all are trained to respond quickly and safely. There are other things that the kids don’t know about that we, the adults, are doing to keep them safe.
4. Let them know that an important part of what it means to be Jewish is that when we hear about tragedy, we want to respond. That is why Emanu-El is participating in city-wide vigils (both to express our emotions and to demonstrate our solidarity) and why our Philanthropic Committee and Student Council are already talking about what we can do to help the people of the Tree of Life Community.
5. Remind them that there are always many more people trying to be good than to do harm, of all religions, backgrounds, and nationalities. Unfortunately, it is so much easier to be destructive than to build, and bad news always gets the headlines – but remember, although there are some dangerous people in the world, nearly everyone you meet is a kind, generous, loving person like yourself.

The Golden Age of Religious School Education

I wrote this article for the March-April 2018 edition of the Temple Emanu-El Bulletin.

The challenges of Jewish education are largely the same as they were more than a century ago, when the first generations of American Jews began attending supplementary schools. Forced by these challenges to be inventive and resourceful, the best educators integrated innovative approaches and cutting-edge practices. And yet, because we are in an era of unprecedented collaboration, I believe we are now in a “Golden Age” for religious schools.

Studying our history to build a Jewish future

In May of 2014, I posted a personal vision statement for Jewish education. Previously, I offered two examples of this vision how we have implemented these ideas in our work at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York: In our curricula for tzedakah (which I will here translate loosely as "social justice") and tefilah ("prayer"). This week, I wish to share with you a little of how we have organized our history curriculum for grades 3-6. In so doing, I want to once again emphasize that collaboration is the cornerstone of our methodology, and I am reporting on the intersection between my philosophy and the work we do, not taking credit for our achievements. As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts, your feedback, and your critique.

The most important thing you can do for your children, writes New York Times columnist Bruce Feiler, is to tell them true stories about your own family. The more children know about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the greater their resilience in the face of stress. By sharing our childhood memories and the stories of our parents and grandparents, we teach our children that they are part of something larger than themselves, something intergenerational and ongoing. As our children discover that they, too, can be story-tellers, they learn how to make sense of the confusing and sometimes unpredictable world around them.

Stories of redemption -- family narratives that tell of overcoming setbacks and recovering from failures -- are the most beneficial, according to psychologist Dan McAdams. We help our children to be courageous in the face of adversity when we let them know that although we have had both good and bad times, we have always persevered. Telling stories about the times when we endured hardship without losing hope gives our children confidence in themselves and their capacity to succeed. Further, McAdams’ research shows that those who have both this sense of personal agency as well as intimate, caring relationships are most likely to demonstrate a concern for and commitment to promoting the well-being of future generations.

Emanu-El Religious School - 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage from England to New York City.  Coverage of Jewish interest is available on-line at the Forward (the original articles from 1912 were published in Yiddish, but don't worry - everything on the website is in English).

That year, our school newspaper (the 1912 Emanu-El Religious School Chronicle) featured poems written by our students in response to this tragedy, with titles like "Ode to the Heroes who Perished on the 'Titanic.'"   According to that venerable news source, Wikipedia:

"The immediate aftermath of the sinking saw an outpouring of poetry, though much of it was dismissed by The New York Times as 'worthless' and 'intolerably bad.'"

I am sharing with you two of the better poems, written by H. Reinheimer in Class II and by Vera K. in Class I.  If this event has been on the minds of the children in your household (or perhaps even if not), you may wish to read these together.  I think they do a fine job of telling the story and expressing its significance to our community.

Jewish Education Is About Living Jewish Values

I wrote the cover story for the Temple Emanu-El Bulletin, Vol. 84, No. 2, October 2011. Here is the text of the article:

In the fall of 2009, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York was named one of 24 “innovating congregations” in the New York area because of our dedication to educational transformation. We became a founding member of LOMED (Hebrew for “learning”), a coalition of diverse institutions from New York City, Long Island and Westchester, all committed to developing educational programs that are relevant, engaging and inspirational.

During the past academic year, LOMED provided the resources for us to create a four-minute video about our seventh grade Mitzvah Corps. (View it at www.youtube.com/emanuelnyc.) LOMED also awarded us a grant supporting professional development for our faculty and experimentation with new approaches to learning. We’ve put this funding to good use: After its pilot year, our eighth grade Lirdof Tzedek (“Seeking Justice”) program was identified as a “highly effective model” recommended for replication by other synagogues.

Most important, our work with LOMED has provided a framework to think deeply about the ultimate aims of our school. What is it we hope our children and their families will gain from the Religious School experience? How will it influence our community, both now and in the future? Through LOMED, we defined the purpose of Jewish education at Emanu-El: To support our families in living Jewish values.

Living Jewish values means much more than remembering stories from the Bible or being able to say a prayer in Hebrew. There are far too many examples of people who are knowledgeable and perhaps even religiously observant but who somehow fail to live ethically. For our students, studying a Bible story involves investigating the dilemmas faced by our ancestors and exploring their actions, the virtuous and the shameful, the praiseworthy and the irresponsible. We ask how the decisions they made might serve as examples in our striving to be wise, just and compassionate individuals.

Many ways exist for educators to talk about what we do, and as in any profession, much of it is insider jargon. LOMED provides a language with which we can articulate the goals of the school curriculum clearly and simply. Using the diagram that accompanies this article as a guide, our teachers collaborate to shape meaningful and vital learning experiences.

This diagram is a clever mnemonic device that highlights four dimensions of effective instruction. First, every lesson must engage and inspire the mind of the learner (the “head”). Second, the “hand” is a reminder that every learning experience must both incorporate and lead to action—perhaps a change in behavior or the development of a new skill. Third, we must consider the “hearts” of our learners, for in everything we teach we must ask, “Why should we care?” And finally, the “feet” remind us that effective Jewish education leads us to take a stand on our beliefs as a part of a community.

This “whole person” approach ensures that our Religious School program is responsive to the genuine questions of our learners, that the learning is applicable to daily life, and that our school community is one in which our children will grow into responsible and capable Jewish adults. Each classroom is a laboratory for Jewish living in which the teachers model the thoughtfulness and mutual respect that we seek to promote in our students. The care and concern our teachers have for each child enables our students to support one another and to challenge themselves to grow as individuals, as family members and as part of an ethical Jewish community.

We are fortunate to be the inheritors of ancient wisdom that guides us in living principled lives in complicated times. At Emanu-El, our students become reflective about their actions, passionate about their beliefs and kindhearted toward one another. As we strive to become the best people we can be, proud of our heritage while accepting no dogma blindly, we are prepared to join together with those of all faiths and backgrounds to build a just and virtuous society.

Best. Chanukah. Video. Ever.

The Great Dreidel Spinoff 5771, from Temple Sinai in Dresher, PA.



Hats off (or maybe on, it's a conservative synagogue) to David Monblatt, Director of Congregational Learning.


I also want to give a shout-out to Temple Emanu-El of West Essex, New Jersey, for a video with great photos of their edible menorah competition (more easily viewed on their flickr photo-stream):



Best quote -- Rabbi Mark Kaiserman, on the miracle of the oil: "The Bible is full of miracles [but] this is not much of a miracle"

Family Israel Trip Mix 2008

I was forwarding this list to a friend, and thought, well, why not share it with everyone? Here's the tracks from the mix CD that was made for one congregation's family Israel trip. Most of these can be found on YouTube (although no guarantees that what you're watching is the actual video created by the band and not a "tribute" by an enthusiastic fan, as in the link for Idan Raichel's song below). Enjoy!

1. Brachot Leshana Chadasha (Blessings for the New Year)

The Idan Raichel Project

2. Kol Galgal (Voice of the Wheel)

Shotey HaNevu’a (The Fools of Prophecy)

3. Salaam (Peace)

Sheva (Seven)

4. Hebrew Man

Ehud Banai

5. Midabrim Al Shalom (Speaking about Peace)

Muki

6. Yihi’ye Tov (It Will be Good)

David Broza

7. Ein Ani (No “I”)

Shotey HaNevu’a (The Fools of Prophecy)

8. Lo Frayerim (We’re not Suckers)

HaDag Nahash (The Fish Snake)

9. Shuvi El Beiti (Return to My Home)

The Idan Raichel Project

10. Ahavtia (I Loved Her)

Shlomo Artzi

11. Hi Kol Kach Yafah (She’s So Pretty)

Kaveret (Beehive) – a/ka “Poogy”

12. Fanan (Awesome, Dude)

HaDag Nahash (The Fish Snake)

13. HaYom (Today)

Ehud Banai

14. LeHavin Et HaMayim (To Understand the Water)

Ivri Lider

15. Sigapo

Beit HaBubot (House of Dolls)

16. Esther

Ehud Banai

17. Tzlil Mehuvan (A Tuned Sound)

Tzlil Mehuvan

18. Yaldutenu (Childhood)

Kaveret (Beehive) – a/ka “Poogy”

Supplementary Jewish Education: The State of the Art

The Autumn 2007 issue of Contact, the journal of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life just came out, and the topic is "Supplementary Jewish Education: What Can Be Done?"

Editor Eli Valley writes in his opening piece:

"... for the majority of American Jews, afternoon schools are and will continue to be the preferred venue of Jewish education. Instead of declaring the demise of Hebrew schools, the community should recommit itself to making afternoon schools work ... afternoon schools can take the initiative in creating innovative, dynamic and rewarding Jewish educational experiences ... that can help form the cornerstone of a revivified Jewish life."

Steinhardt's own contribution advocates for moving supplementary school out of synagogues and away from a curriculum oriented toward bar/bat mitzvah, in favor of home-based learning in small groups. The issue features several profiles of schools by their directors, including the Kesher after-school Hebrew programs in Cambridge and Newton, Tribeca Hebrew in New York City, and Prozdor High School in Boston. There are also more topical pieces on the role of community and vision in making Bar/Bat Mitzvah and family education meaningful.

Other articles include an overview by Nathan Laufer of the work being done by his organization, PELIE, to disseminate both the Kesher model and the model of the NESS program from Philadelphia's Auerbach agency, an explanation of the principles behind the Chai and Mitkadem curricula from the Reform Movement by Rabbis Jan Katzew and Daniel Freedlander, and one by yours truly on the full-time teacher model at Central Synagogue in New York. This is, to my knowledge, the first time that a description of this initiative has appeared on the web. I conclude:

"...It seems self-evident that having more qualified and better compensated teachers working longer hours with more responsibilities outside the classroom will improve a religious school program. The real value of such a shift, however, is the opportunity it provides to align the school’s curriculum, prayer experiences, and social justice activities with the vision and values of the synagogue as a whole. The integration of the religious school faculty into the daily life of the synagogue and the lives of its families provides new potential for building communities of learning and engaged Jewish living. True institutional transformation will come not only from improved pedagogy, but also from the creation of meaningful communal experiences outside the classroom."

The final word in the issue goes to Bill Robinson, who just two weeks ago became Chief Planning and Knowledge Officer for the BJE of NY. In a turn of phrase reminiscent of Douglas Rushkoff, he writes:

" ...in Authentic Jewish Education we will recognize and honor those who have wrestled with Judaism before us. We will also metaphorically kill Judaism every day by taking it apart, turning it upside down and pulling it inside out — constantly creating the new while remembering the past."

Of course, no issue could cover everything - for me, the conspicuous absence is anything relating to technology - but this issue certainly provides one of the most accessible overviews of new trends in supplementary education currently available. Enjoy!

Pluralism, Diversity, and Jewish Education

I am pleased to report that my article "A New Kind of Diversity: Jewish Education in a Pluralistic Society" appears in the Fall 2007 issue of Jewish Education News.

The issue, on "The 21st Century Jewish Learner and the 21st Century Jewish Educator," features several excellent articles on the impact of technology on Jewish education and community, as well as pieces on Jewish professional networks, teacher training, early childhood and older adult learners, and so on. Enjoy!

Some thoughts on Family Education

In my opinion, family education is not simply about bringing the parents in to learn side-by-side with their children: It is about rethinking the relationship between the institution and the home.

For our learners, the home – not the school, synagogue, or summer camp – is the principal arena for the construction of personal meaning. In The Jew Within, Cohen and Eisen wrote that the immediate family exerts the greatest influence on Jewish observance, and parents are the primary agents of their children’s Jewish development. By the choices they make and the kinds of rituals that they incorporate into their homes, they model for their children what is meaningful and significant in Judaism.

Yet, this influence flows in both directions: Parents and children mutually reinforce each other’s Jewish observances and beliefs. In Linking the Silos: How to Accelerate the Momentum in Jewish Education Today, Historian Jack Wertheimer (the Joseph and Martha Mendelson Professor of American Jewish History at JTS) observed that parents can be “spurred on to further their own Jewish education and upgrade their own Jewish knowledge” and to introduce Jewish rituals into their lives as a result of their child’s Jewish involvement. For this reason, Jo Kay, Director of the New York School of Education of Hebrew Union College, suggests that we should look at the individual and the family as an inseparable unit: “Looking at the learner through the lens of the family impacts our perception of who we are teaching. The learner is no longer an individual without a context, but rather a member of a family and the family is ultimately the “student” we are trying to reach” (in her article “Family Education” in the Ultimate Jewish Teachers Handbook).

Our education programs, therefore, must be designed to have clear tie-ins to home observance and family life, providing resources that enable our participants to engage in the content they are learning. For example, giving them the opportunity to explore how they might make their own Passover seders more meaningful or relevant (or hold one in the first place), provides them with the chance to directly impact on their family’s practice.

By the same token, we must provide volunteer opportunities for parents not simply to hand out Chanukah candles and serve latkes, but to play a critical role in setting the agenda for our family education programs. For example, parents ought to be represented in decisions about whether a Religious School’s Hebrew curriculum will place greater emphasis on learning to speak contemporary Israeli Hebrew or on acquiring the skills to participate in a prayer service.

In this way, parents will be empowered to take responsibility for the Jewish upbringing of their own children, students will be empowered to take part in shaping the Jewish life of their families, and the educational program will be a partner in the process rather than the provider of Jewish identity.

Sesame Street returns to Israeli and Palestinian television

Off the air (due to a lack of funding) since 1997, "Rehov Sumsum" returned to the Israeli children's cable television network "Hop!" this past Chanukah (2006). This week, Ma'an, an independent network of Palestinian television stations will begin broadcasting their version of the series. Ha'aretz reports:

"...Producers tailored the Middle Eastern casts and story lines to the fit the audiences. 'Rehov Sumsum,' the Israeli version of the show, for the first time includes a Muppet of Arab origin. Its Palestinian counterpart, 'Shara'a Simsim,' seeks to offer positive role models to boys in the West Bank and Gaza Strip." (April 30, 2007)

A little background:

"...After the shows ended in 1997, a joint Palestinian-Israeli production in the planning stages was shelved when the Palestinians launched the second intifada in 2000.

"Instead, a limited series called 'Sesame Stories' was produced in 2004 by independent Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian production teams. The animations and live-action episodes were dubbed and aired on each other's series.

'The Muppets couldn't speak each other's languages, but they connected over falafel and hummus, and a common dislike of onions,' Knell said.

"The new Israeli and Palestinian shows are produced independently, placing an emphasis on educating children about their own societies. Like any "Sesame Street," they also teach basic skills like numbers and letters, good manners and keeping the environment clean.

"'Rechov Sumsum' teaches tolerance by portraying a street inhabited by Israelis of varying backgrounds who live together peacefully: Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, veterans and immigrants. The neighbors are real-life children and adult characters, including a Jewish man named Tzahi, an Arab woman named Ibtisam, a Russian woman named Irina and an Ethiopian student named Malkamo." (JTA, May 14, 2007)

Sesame Workshop, in a press release from last December, described the initiative as part of their commitment "to creating and providing positive media content for children in the Middle East." Along with the new Israeli and Palestinian versions, this includes productions in Egypt ('Alam Simsim', now entering its 10th year) and Jordan (Hikayat Simsim). The new Palestinian series:

"...will be accompanied by an educational outreach campaign, will feature a new set that now includes a Fix-It shop run by Salim, a new male character in his early 20’s. Beloved Palestinian Muppet characters Haneen, a 5-year-old learning how to count and read, and Kareem, a 7-year-old rooster, who is organized, tidy, timely, and traditional, return to Shara’a Simsim. The new season responds directly to the needs of Palestinian children by focusing on boys’ empowerment and introducing the character of Salim, who will serve as a positive role model for young children."

All this is great news for Israelis (and the rest of us) who until now have had to turn to YouTube to hear "Barvazoni" ("Rubber Duckie" sung in Hebrew).

Wicked Good?

What should we think of the wicked child, who challenges all of us gathered around the seder table at Passover with the question "What does this practice mean to you?"

First, you might not realize that the wicked child is quoting from the Bible - Exodus 12:26, to be precise. In its original context (at the very first Passover celebration on the eve of the Exodus from Egypt), the question is framed as the one that will be asked by future generations - and it receives a straightforward response, an explanation of the meaning of Passover.

The haggadah, however, sees the question in a less positive light (as is made obvious by labeling the child as "wicked"). It indicates that asking what Passover means to "you" signifies the wicked child's hostility to the community. We are instructed to set the child's "teeth on edge" and quote scripture back to the child: "It is because of what God did for ME when I went free from Egypt" (Exodus 13:8). Had you been there, wicked child, you would have been left behind in Egypt.

Two recent books use the wicked child's question as the jumping off point for treatises on the alienation many contemporary Jews experience from Jewish community.

David Mamet, in his 2006 book The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-Hatred, and the Jews (part of the fabulous NextBook series), begins with the premise that "the world hates the Jews" and so every Jew must choose sides: "In or out" (7). He writes that the "wickedness of the wicked son" is that he "would not stand with those who would stand with him:"

"He feels free to enjoy his intellectual heritage, the Jewish love of learning, and reverence for accomplishment; he enjoys, aware or not, a heritage of millenia of Jewish Law and values; he enjoys his very life, which would have been denied him and his ancestors in the Europe they suffered to leave; he enjoys the right to protection from the community he disavows and, through it all, parrots, 'My parents were Jews, but I do not consider myself a Jew'" (128-9).

In his book, Mamet seeks to issue a wake-up call to such Jews, telling all wicked children to cease blaming Jewish community for its shortcomings and to take pride in their heritage as the descendants "of kings and queens, a holy nation and a kingdom of priests" (180).

A very different response is offered by Mitchell Silver in Respecting the Wicked Child: A Philosophy of Secular Jewish Identity and Education. He observes that the "sin" of the wicked child is "the expression of alienation from the tradition" while the other children "ask how to celebrate the seder properly or what it is all about." Noting that for liberal and secular Jews, not only is it a challenge "to find reasons to maintain a Jewish identity,"

"...it is also hard to overcome reasons against maintaining a Jewish identity. The most powerful arguments for assimilation stem from the liberal Enlightenment vision of a universal common humanity. On this view all that is significantly human is, or ought to be, universal . . ." (3)

Silver takes a more positive view of the wicked child than Mamet, writing that "among contemporary Jews there are many wicked children, and they merit answers that amount to more than the traditional scornful dismissal" (1).

Silver's fascinating book attempts to provide a philosophical basis for a Jewish identity that doesn't compromise liberal or secular values. His premise is that "the wicked child's question has a certain logical and moral priority" over that of the wise child, who wants to know all the details for observing the seder. Once the wicked child is satisfied with a more general understanding of "what it is all about, the desire for details will follow. The transition from wickedness to wisdom, from estrangement to communion, is a natural one" (189).

I'd like to chart a middle-path between Mamet's decrying, and Silver's celebrating, of the Wicked Child's question. On the one hand, I think that the question itself is a legitimate one. After all, at the seder we are instructed to invite all who are hungry to join us, and the wicked child might be a guest who is a stranger and - who knows - maybe not Jewish? At least the wicked child is paying attention enough to ask a question!

On the other hand, I want to take the haggadah seriously in calling the child "wicked." The haggadah's response only makes sense if we hear in the question not only the voice of an alienated Jew trying to find a place within the community, but also the voice of apathy, of hostility, of a challenge to the legitimacy of the Passover seder and to the community of all those present: Prove to me that this is worth doing, that I should consider myself one of you.

Yet - even though the wicked child's question is confrontational, I'd rather have the child at the table - sitting uncomfortably and annoyed, perhaps - than for the child not to be there at all. I want to thank the wicked child for joining us for the seder, despite having those feelings of alienation and anger.

I would suggest - and here, I think the haggadah agrees with me - that all four children ought to be present at the table. We should be glad when the wise child doesn't go off to hold a seder composed entirely of other wise children, but is willing to suffer through the questions of the simple child (probably with much eye-rolling). The simple child, too, must find the meticulous questions of the wise child tedious, waiting impatiently through even more details of the laws of the afikomen.

Let us not be quick to dismiss the wicked child, any more than we ignore the silent child or become frustrated with the endless questions of the wise and simple children. All four voices - even the silent voice - need to be heard. I'd rather have the seder be a place where the wicked child's question can be asked than leave it go unspoken, with the wicked child sullenly refusing to participate but not explaining why.

Five resources for Passover 5767

Although by no means a comprehensive list (or even necessarily the best of what's out there), here are a few gems that I've discovered over the past few days while researching the previous posts (in no particular order):

• Eliezer Segel's modern classic "Uncle Eli's Special-for-Kids Most Fun Ever Under-the-Table Passover Haggadah" is written in the style of Dr. Seuss and provides brief, straightforward explanations of all the seder rituals and Hebrew terms.


• Dr. Barry Dov Lerner's jewishfreeware.org has a hosts a variety of downloadable Passover texts, including a variety of haggadas, a songbook, and a handy guide to creating your own "heirloom family haggadah."


• The Jewish Agency for Israel hosts an astonishingly comprehensive variety of educational resources for Passover, and in five languages.


• Rabbi Mark Zimmerman at SiddurAudio.com provides (Ashkenazi style) audio clips for most of the prayers and songs of the seder.


• And finally, among the many Passover resources of the Distance Learning project of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America is Dr. Steve Brown's guide to leading a Passover seder based on his many years of experience leading model seders.

Happy Passover, everyone!

Seder Suggestion: An Empty Chair for Darfur

Rabbi David Levin-Kruss offers this idea (which has generated some controversy on the Lookjed discussion group):

Like many, I watch the events unfolding in Darfur and wonder what I can do to help.

This year I have decided to use our Pesach seder as a way to further the cause and I suggest you do the same. Rather as in the days of the Soviet Jewry movement I propose that we leave a chair empty for those in Sudan and donate the cost of one meal to a charity working to alleviate and change the situation. We could also ask our guests to donate rather than to bring gifts.

In the Vehee She'amda prayer in the haggadah we read that in every generation others have stood against us to destroy us, but the blessed Holy One saved us. This is an appropriate point to say something along the following lines:

"In this prayer we read that we are and have been persecuted. Let's remember that we are not the only persecuted in the world and that others suffer too e.g. those in Darfur. Let us pledge today to act as G-d's mouth and hands by speaking truth to power and doing what we can (politically, militarily, financially, and personally) to bring about a better situation. Let us hope that next year we will not need to leave a chair open to mark those who do not share the freedom we have."

For more information about what is happening in Darfur and what you can do, check out these resources from Raising Awareness Destination: Darfur (RAD:D), founded by High School student Sarit Rosenstock and hosted by Areyvut. Organizations seeking funds for relief and advocacy efforts include American Jewish World Service (AJWS), the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (JCDR), Jewish World Watch (JWW), and the Save Darfur Coalition.


This final organization makes it possible to take immediate action by sending an email to President Bush.

Job Posting: Family Learning Coordinator at Congregation Emanu-El of NYC

Please forward this posting to anyone you think might be interested:

Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York
FAMILY LEARNING COORDINATOR

Congregation Emanu-El, the first Reform congregation in New York City, seeks to hire a part-time (20 hours / week) Family Learning Coordinator. This is a new position that is being created as an outcome of a year-long process of re-envisioning congregational learning.

The Family Learning Coordinator will be responsible for the planning and execution of formal and informal learning experiences for Nursery and Religious School-aged students and their families during and outside of school hours. Key responsibilities will include developing, directing, and evaluating holiday and Shabbat programming, field trips, and social action projects, and teaching both in and out of the classroom. Although this will be a largely programmatic role, the Coordinator will manage certain financial and administrative tasks (such as bookkeeping, registration, and publicity).

The Family Learning Coordinator will:
• Broaden and cultivate the target base served by formal and informal family programs
• Assess the interests of this population, and develop new educational, social, cultural, and religious initiatives
• Support the creation and execution of parallel learning opportunities for parents and home-learning experiences, including content delivered via email and the synagogue website
• Staff all family activities and events, including retreats and planning meetings
• Hire and supervise additional staff, volunteers, and chaperones as needed
• Develop adult leadership and build family participation.
• Evaluate and assess family programs and student achievement.

The ideal candidate:
• Brings new ideas and the ability to implement them
• Has both formal and informal educational experience
• Builds a pluralistic and Reform Jewish environment
• Has a strong understanding of family dynamics and child development
• Is familiar with Hebrew language and Reform Jewish liturgy
• Is committed to professional growth
• Is a team player, working collaboratively with clergy, other teachers, and parents
• Has excellent communication and organizational skills
• Is passionate, fun, enthusiastic, creative, and energetic
• Thinks big picture: How family activities fit into congregational living and learning

Candidates with a background in songleading, drama, and/or ropes-course are especially encouraged to apply. This is a challenging position that brings with it tremendous opportunity for achievement. We seek reflective practitioners who are committed to professional growth, are effective team-members, and who are able to share a love for learning and of Judaism with all members of our synagogue community. An advanced degree in Education and/or Judaic Studies is preferred.

The position requires evening and weekend work throughout the academic year. The ideal starting date will be July 10, 2007. This is a half-time (20 hours / week) position and salary is $25-30K based on experience. The Family Learning Coordinator will be supervised by the Director of Life-Long Learning.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Saul Kaiserman at saulkaiserman@gmail.com.