by Dr. Ron Wolfson Last fall, I joined my family to celebrate the first birthday of our first grandchild, Ellie Brooklyn, which happened to be on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. Yes, her middle name is Brooklyn, because one of her great grandparents and a grandma hail from there, the “B” remembers my late mother Bernice, and her parents just like the name. We have come to call her “Ellie B.” Having learned the value of creative family celebration from her mother, Ellie B’s mom developed a “bee” theme for the intersecting occasions, combining the ritual traditions of a honey-infused Rosh Hashanah with a birthday party and fashioning a unique Jewish family experience. The family is the single most important influence on Jewish identity development - not just for children, but … Continue Reading
New Group Moving Jewish Family Education to the Forefront
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Fourth-grade students at Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY recently gathered for one of a series of Havdalah programs, splitting into groups and discussing the blessings and ritual objects and even making some of their own. Not particularly unusual on its face. But what made it more notable was the fact that it occurred beyond the synagogue walls, in someone’s home, and most importantly, that parents participated as well. “We try to give parents the knowledge too, so that they can be educated,” said Lisa Schwartz, Principal of the religious school at Temple Israel Center. “We are making Jewish education intergenerational, reinforcing it beyond the classroom, and strengthening the family Jewishly. This is very empowering, and critical for Jewish … Continue Reading
Covenant Foundation Announces New Grants
The Covenant Foundation today announced nearly $900,000 in new grants as part of its mission to support and advance excellence and impact in Jewish education. The new round of grants underscores a commitment to initiatives across the landscape of Jewish educational experiences, settings and audiences, and propel innovative work in technology, new media, youth engagement and community building through education. Foundation grants are divided into two categories: Signature grants, which provide funding for up to $250,000 for up to five years, and Ignition grants, of up to $20,000 for one year to support new and untested approaches. The grants announced today are part of approximately $1.7 million to be distributed this year. Signature grantees include: The Center for Jewish Living and … Continue Reading
Hanukkah Lights Illuminate A Submerged Jewish Identity
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Boston, December 23, 2011 - In some respects, it’s just amazing that this Hanukkah party took place at all. On a recent afternoon in a daycare center in suburban Chestnut Hill, just west of here, preschoolers gathered with parents and grandparents to watch Hanukkah skits, don Maccabee-like costumes, sing holiday songs, and indulge in hot latkes and sticky jelly donuts. Ordinary, but only up to a point. A thick Russian accent here. Tales of anti-Semitism there. A tentative step toward Judaism by one. A full embrace by another. Boston or Newton or Chestnut Hill vs. Kiev or Moscow or Baku. “For many in the older generations, being Jewish was something to hide,” said Larisa Bankovsky, owner of the daycare where the holiday festivities unfolded. “My family … Continue Reading
Inaugural Prize Recognizes Promising Jewish Educators
Five promising Jewish educators from across the country are the first-ever recipients of The Pomegranate Prize, established by The Covenant Foundation to honor and nurture exceptional, emerging professionals. Recipients, representing a range of educational settings and approaches, are: Rabbi Marc Baker, Head of School at Gann Academy - The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston; Robert Beiser, Campus/JConnect Repair the World Director at Hillel at the University of Washington in Seattle; Anna Hartman, Director of Early Childhood Education at Greenfield Hebrew Academy in Atlanta; Gilah Kletenik, Congregational Scholar at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York; and, Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, Associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, NY. The Foundation announced the … Continue Reading
Grassroots Green Paints Metro Baltimore
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz Baltimore, Oct 26, 2011 - It started out as a simple study session about Sukkot. It evolved into an emotional exchange of recollections and histories. And no one will forget it anytime soon. Those gathered in the community room at Weinberg Village, a retirement complex northwest of here, had decades to draw upon when naming the ushpizin - or visitors - they might invite into a sukkah. For one participant, it was a lost mother and sister. For another, a daughter. And one tearfully described a beloved surrogate mother from his boyhood. Through the window, a small garden loomed large. Here, this group of dedicated seniors planted, tended and toiled beginning last spring, through the summer and into the fall. They nurtured plants and vegetables, but what also grew … Continue Reading
Ages-Old Jewish Thought Goes Post-Modern
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz It’s a bit of a no-man’s land for a very 21st century medium, and the Jewish educational and theological communities are noticing. The first two entries in a series of animated shorts by video artist Hanan Harchol examining Jewish thought and teachings are now ricocheting through social networking sites, and making the rounds virally through old-fashioned email. Here is Repair, the first segment that delves into teshuvah, the Jewish imperative and framework for fixing one’s relationship with others and oneself. Next is Landlord, a short presenting the Jewish perspective on giving and receiving forgiveness. It’s no accident that these first two installments, part of a larger series, are debuting now. As Jews worldwide mark the High Holidays, these themes … Continue Reading
Behavior, Surroundings and Attitude Impact Learning Opportunities
by Marcia P. Neeley for Hidden Sparks New York, September 14, 2011: This is a story of passion, provoking thought, and pushing ideas beyond the usual boundaries. Driven by passion and proudly citing her participation as a marcher with Martin Luther King, Laurel Shashani, a 3rd Grade teacher, explained, "I'm saving lives. I want to give all children the opportunity to growth, and I need to grow, too. " Unraveling the problems of struggling children, passionate teachers looked below the surface of classroom behaviors and troubled kids. Questioning and challenging, Hidden Sparks' educators probe the different reasons children struggle to succeed in the classroom. Recognizing that children struggle for different reasons, Hidden Sparks convened a series of pilot workshops for educators - … Continue Reading
Jewish Girls Look to Role Models (Next Door)
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz St. Louis, July 12, 2011 - For an 11-year-old girl, Jasmine Ford is as sure-footed as they come. But she knows there’s a bit of a curve up ahead, and she has to navigate it carefully. So for the past three years, the soon-to-be sixth grader at the Truman Middle School here has been hanging out with some older girls. Some older Jewish girls, that is. Together, they’ve performed mitzvah projects throughout the community. And they’ve taken on other activities tackling issues like self-confidence and other growing-up challenges, all through a particularly Jewish lens. “It’s good to be learning and talking with older girls about some of the things that I’ll be going through,” she said. “I’ve really learned from them.” It’s all within the … Continue Reading
The Art Of Questioning In The 21st Century
by H. Glenn Rosenkrantz San Francisco, California, June 16, 2011 - Take the ages-old Jewish impulse to question and challenge. Add 21st century technology. And mix it up a bit with educators’ emerging embrace of new media. The result is potent. And it’s poised to change approaches and outcomes in Jewish educational settings. Out here, capital of Google, Facebook, Apple and countless other cyber heavies - and with an open-eyed Jewish educational community to boot - an experiment is taking place, just blocks from Twitter headquarters, at the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM). In the Yud Gallery, with its 60-foot ceilings, 36 skylights and embracing whiteness atop the Daniel Libeskind-designed building, a multi-media exhibit landed this spring. It is corralling new media forms, robotics, … Continue Reading
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