Teaching Jewish History


Book Description

Inform your students' lives with the richness of thousands of years of Jewish history, culture, and tradition. Teaching Jewish History tackles separately each of the key Jewish historical periods-Biblical, Rabbinic, Medieval, Early Modern, Enlightenment, and Modern, as well as the North American Jewish experience. The authors shift focus away from rote memorization of dates, names, and places, and instead examine each period through the lens of core historical concepts-the Diaspora, Covenant, acculturation, assimilation, and building community. History comes to life, helping students whether elementary, middle or high school, or adult develop a stronger Jewish identity. Teaching Jewish History gives teachers the tools to: Understand and explain the meaning of key concepts, terms, names, places, and events in each period of history. Identify and examine primary source documents and objects such as artifacts, diaries, sacred texts, photographs, and artwork. Conduct meaningful discussions of how the core concepts of Jewish history recur in and are relevant to each historical period. Develop a variety of activities including field trips, mock trials, oral histories, and role-playing activities. Place historical events on a timeline. Use additional historical and educational resources such as books, articles, videos, and Internet sites. Teaching Jewish History is an invaluable resource for the novice and the expert teacher of religious and day school children and for educators working with adults in synagogues, community centers, and family education programs.







The Chosen Few


Book Description

Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein show that, contrary to previous explanations, this transformation was driven not by anti-Jewish persecution and legal restrictions, but rather by changes within Judaism itself after 70 CE--most importantly, the rise of a new norm that required every Jewish male to read and study the Torah and to send his sons to school. Over the next six centuries, those Jews who found the norms of Judaism too costly to obey converted to other religions, making world Jewry shrink. Later, when urbanization and commercial expansion in the newly established Muslim Caliphates increased the demand for occupations in which literacy was an advantage, the Jews found themselves literate in a world of almost universal illiteracy. From then forward, almost all Jews entered crafts and trade, and many of them began moving in search of business opportunities, creating a worldwide Diaspora in the process.




Teaching Jewish History


Book Description




Jewish History Units


Book Description




The Chosen Few


Book Description

Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein show that, contrary to previous explanations, this transformation was driven not by anti-Jewish persecution and legal restrictions, but rather by changes within Judaism itself after 70 CE--most importantly, the rise of a new norm that required every Jewish male to read and study the Torah and to send his sons to school. Over the next six centuries, those Jews who found the norms of Judaism too costly to obey converted to other religions, making world Jewry shrink. Later, when urbanization and commercial expansion in the newly established Muslim Caliphates increased the demand for occupations in which literacy was an advantage, the Jews found themselves literate in a world of almost universal illiteracy. From then forward, almost all Jews entered crafts and trade, and many of them began moving in search of business opportunities, creating a worldwide Diaspora in the process.







Methods of Teaching Jewish History-Senior Grade


Book Description

Excerpt from Methods of Teaching Jewish History-Senior Grade The period of history covered in this volume is one of the most important in the annals of Israel. It is very desirable that it should be rightly understood and presented by the teacher. It represents the realization of the promises given to the patriarchs, and of the purpose for which their descendants were redeemed out of Egypt. The consciousness of tribal identity, while never entirely lost, becomes, during this period, subordinated to the sense of national unity. The several tribes begin to realize that they are one people, with a common past, a common ancestry and a common heritage, a common hope and a common duty. In response to this they present, for a hundred years, a united front to their common enemies, to subdue them, and to make themselves a powerful, wealthy and formidable nation. It was the high-water mark of their national existence. Never again were the twelve tribes of Israel assembled as one nation under one government. The political aspect of this period, in which a number of loosely cohering tribes became compacted into one people, while interesting, presents no unique phenomenon. It was an experience which the Israelites enjoyed in common with other peoples. Its spiritual significance, however, is very great. The sense of religious unity lay deep, but latent. Tremendously influenced and intensified by this century of close political cohesion, it has never since been destroyed. It survived the shocks of rebellion, subjugation and captivity. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.







How Jewish is Jewish History?


Book Description

Moshe Rosman cogently and critically presents the considerations that must be brought to bear on the writing of Jewish history in the light of post-modernist thinking.