Skits and Shpiels


Book Description

Accompanying CD-ROM ... provides each script as a text file in MS Word format for both PC and Macintosh computers.




Teaching Mitzvot


Book Description

This exceptional guide for learning and teaching about mitzvot offers overviews of 41 mitzvot in six areas: holidays, rituals, word and thought, tzedakah, gemilut chasadim, and ahavah. All-school programs for each mitzvah and more than 600 activities spanning all grade levels help you implement creative classroom techniques and enrich your students' experiences.




The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature


Book Description

This History offers an unparalleled examination of all aspects of Jewish American literature. Jewish writing has played a central role in the formation of the national literature of the United States, from the Hebraic sources of the Puritan imagination to narratives of immigration and acculturation. This body of writing has also enriched global Jewish literature in its engagement with Jewish history and Jewish multilingual culture. Written by a host of leading scholars, The Cambridge History of Jewish American Literature offers an array of approaches that contribute to current debates about ethnic writing, minority discourse, transnational literature, gender studies, and multilingualism. This History takes a fresh look at celebrated authors, introduces new voices, locates Jewish American literature on the map of American ethnicity as well as the spaces of exile and diaspora, and stretches the boundaries of American literature beyond the Americas and the West.




Shtetl Tales


Book Description

This collection of stories takes place in the fictional shtetl of Patchentuch, located somewhere in the backwater of Eastern Poland in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The stories, which transcend the grim reality of shtetl life to another geography, tell of the lighthearted adventures and misadventures of the town’s residents. My hope is that these tales will provide the same pleasure for the reader that I derived from creating them.




The Whole Megillah


Book Description

Includes abbreviated chapter summaries of the Book of Esther, commentaries, a play script, and music and costume ideas.







Open It Up! Integrating the Arts Into Jewish Education


Book Description

Sixty-four dynamic activities in four arts disciplines--music, drama, creative writing, and visual arts--weave the arts directly into the Jewish school curriculum and "open up" the big ideas of Jewish education. An extensive introduction examines the importance of the arts in Jewish life and Jewish education and explains the philosophy of this unique integrative approach. Includes four topic areas (Holidays, Torah, Mitzvot and Middot, and Jewish Life Cycle) with activities for four grade levels (K-1, 2-3, 4-6, and Family Education) and, within each grade level, one activity in each of the four arts disciplines. CONTENTS: Part I: Holidays Shabbat (Grades K-1) Chanukah (Grades 2-3) Sukkot (Grades 4-6) Pesach (Family Education) Part II: Torah Noah's Ark (Grades K-1) Three Righteous Women (Grades 2-3) Moses and the Burning Bush (Grades 4-6) Jacob and Esau (Family Education) Part III: Mitzvot and Middot Tza'ar Ba'alay Chayim: Kindness to Animals (Grades K-1) Hachnasat Orchim: Welcoming Guests (Grades 2-3) Derech Eretz: Proper Behavior (Grades 4-6) Bal Tashchit: Do Not Destroy (Family Education) Part IV: Jewish Life Cycle Baby Naming (Grades K-1) Growing Older (Grades 2-3) Bar/Bat Mitzvah (Grades 4-6) Death (Family Education) SPECIAL FEATURES: "Big Idea" and "Inspiration" sections provide the background and the rationale for each activity. Clearly stated objectives for each activity tie directly to the Big Ideas. Materials lists, step-by-step instructions, helpful hints, and suggested resources make activities easy to implement. Activities are adaptable to higher or lower grade levels, providing hundreds of creative opportunities. Ideal for average classroom teachers who think they are not artists, in addition to arts specialists




Patriotic Holiday Plays


Book Description




Judaism for Two


Book Description

The Special Times of the Jewish Year Can Be a Framework for Your Life as a Couple “Through the holiday cycle we have seen that life is a complex weave of light and darkness, bitter and sweet, striving and surrendering. The twisted candle reminds us that as a couple our two lives have become intertwined as one. Two souls enter a partnership, interwoven yet always distinct, joined by a third strand, the Divine Presence. As we perform the ritual of Havdalah, we hold our hands up to the flame and catch the reflection of the last light on our fingertips. We pray that the light will continue to shine through our words and deeds, in our homes and in the world.” —from Chapter 9 More than just calendar commitments, the Jewish holidays carry with them a view of what is important in life, a set of assumptions that can challenge and deepen the way we think about relationships. This inspiring and practical guidebook helps you to understand your life as a couple in the context of the themes of Jewish holidays (Yom Kippur, Purim, Pesah, Sukkot, Shabbat): Forgiving and Growing Playing, Laughing and Taking Risks Coming Home, Finding Freedom Blessing Bounty, Facing Impermanence Pausing to Bless What Is ... and more Drawing from ancient and contemporary texts, Jewish tradition and personal stories, Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer and Rabbi Nancy H. Wiener provide creative exercises, rituals and guided discussions that help you make connections to tradition, community and each other. By experiencing the Jewish holidays as times to focus on your relationship, you’ll find renewed meaning in these holy celebrations and new opportunities for spiritual growth all year long.




Dynamic Women of the Bible


Book Description

Though we often focus more on the male heroes and villains in the Bible, the pages of Scripture are brimming with women who are edgy, strong willed, and controversial. Far from the stereotype of sweet and submissive, many women of the Bible steal the show despite being cast in the supporting roles. What parts did these women have in the vast family of God? What challenges did they face that we face even today? And what can we learn from them if we allow them to be the three-dimensional people they really were? In Dynamic Women of the Bible, the lives of more than fifty biblical women are summoned from their graves to live again by the author who brought you The Biographical Bible. Scripture references, biographical profiles, sidebars (featuring twenty additional women of the Bible), discussion questions, and life applications make this book perfect for small groups, Bible studies, book clubs, and personal reading.