Values

Navigating the Storm: Jewish Values and the Rise of Antisemitism

Navigating the Storm: Jewish Values and the Rise of Antisemitism

With an alarming resurgence of antisemitism, the Jewish community needs to rely on its rich history of values for guidance and strength. In this challenging time, when hatred seems to be on the rise, Jewish values are taking center stage. 

At ShalomLearning, we are proud to offer a Jewish values-based curriculum that teaches young students to connect with their Jewish heritage. Now is the time to elevate the value of Achrayut, doing what you can to make the world a better place. We are proud of how ShalomLearning uses hands-on, relevant activities to help students understand the importance of Achrayut in today’s modern world. 

Antisemitism and Jewish Values

Antisemitism has persisted throughout history. However, the recent surge in global incidents has sparked a need for the Jewish community to respond. From acts of violence to discriminatory rhetoric, we are fighting deeply rooted prejudices. 

Turning to Jewish values to guide us in our personal and communal lives is comforting and offers a roadmap for response. Our values provide a moral compass, fostering a sense of identity and purpose. In the face of antisemitism, values like “Tikkun Olam” (repairing the world) and “Tzedakah” (charity) remind our community of its commitment to making the world a better place for all. Teaching Achrayut in the Face of Antisemitism

Achrayut translates to “responsibility” or “accountability.” This value not only obliges us to take action for ourselves, but also for our broader community. With antisemitism rising, Achrayut urges us to actively engage in efforts to combat prejudice, promote understanding, and work towards a more inclusive society.

In the ShalomLearning curriculum, we leverage 7 core values, including Achrayut, to teach our students the importance of: 

  1. Jewish history and culture: By building awareness we can dispel stereotypes and encourage open conversations on the impact of antisemitism.
  2. Community Engagement: Our curriculum builds and strengthens communities so we can face discrimination together, celebrate diversity, and promote interfaith dialogue.
  3. Advocacy:  We empower individuals to speak out against antisemitism in all forms and collaborate with organizations working towards eradicating hate and discrimination.
  4. Inclusivity: We encourage acts of kindness and support to foster a sense of belonging and  inclusivity.

The resilience of the Jewish people has always been a testament to the enduring power of our values. Achrayut, with its emphasis on responsibility and action, can help the Jewish community navigate the challenges posed by rising antisemitism. 

ShalomLearning instills this value to future generations, so we can continue our efforts to free the world from prejudice and hatred. In the face of darkness, the light of Jewish values continues to shine, guiding the way towards a brighter and more compassionate future.

A Modern Program for Modern Times

In addition to our Jewish values program, ShalomLearning also offers Hebrew curricula and ongoing support and professional development for Jewish educators. To learn more, contact us. 

Using Jewish Values to Respond to This Moment

Using Jewish Values to Respond to This Moment

Today, as we process the shock of the events at our nation’s capital, we struggle to find a message to share with our community. ShalomLearning’s Jewish values curriculum makes Judaism relevant to the lives of our students. It gives them texts and sources to draw from when making real-life decisions. But which of our seven values speaks the loudest at this moment?  Which one will best guide us to move forward?

Teshuvah (Repentance), can we reflect on what occurred and turn it around?  B’tzelem Elohim (Created in the Image of God), aren’t we all deserving of respect?  Achrayut (Responsibility), it’s our responsibility to respect government law and civil authority.   The values of Hakarat Hatov (Recognizing the Good), Koach Haddibur (Power of Words), and Shalom (Peace) can each guide our behavior in peaceful and challenging situations. However, it was the Gevurah (Strength) unit that resonated with us today as it teaches us how to use our inner strength.

Our fifth grade Gevurah unit teaches students about the role of courage in processing an argument, the art of compromise, practical ways for standing up for rights and points of view, and the skill of consensus building. All skills needed at this moment of history.

Therefore, we are sharing two activities from this unit that help students practice conflict resolution wrapped in our Jewish teaching. May these teachings guide us as we teach our children that we have the power to express our will within a democratic process with Jewish values to guide us.

 

Activity 1: Arguing the Right Way/Conflict Resolution

15 Minutes In-Person or Virtual

Tell students: Today, we will explore how to compromise, argue, and stand up for your ideas. We will look at some scenarios and find the piece of truth that each side possesses.

Discussion Questions

  •       When you argue with someone, do you usually feel that you are right and they are wrong? Do you ever feel like they could have a legitimate point of view too?
  •       The Hebrew word for argument is machloket מַחֲלוֹקֶת. But the root of the Hebrew word is chelek חֵלֶק, or part. Why do you think the root of the word machloket מַחֲלוֹקֶת is chelek חֵלֶק, part?
  •       Do you think that in an argument each person may have part of the truth?
  •       When you disagree with someone else, but you acknowledge that they have a chelek חֵלֶק of the truth as well, how does that change things?
  •       Sometimes when you acknowledge other people’s chelek חֵלֶק of the truth, the result is compromise, pesharah פְּשָׁרָה. Do you view compromise as a good result?

 

 

Activity 2: What Would You do? Machloket מַחֲלוֹקֶת Scenario

15 Minutes In-Person or Virtual

Role Play Fishbowl: You may use the following scenario or choose a scenario that you know the students are confronting or that is in the news. If you have never led a fishbowl before, see this site for a helpful description. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/fishbowl (5.3.4 Fishbowl Strategy)

 

It is the first day of school. Elaina has been away the whole summer and is looking forward to seeing her best friend Jessica. When Elaina gets to school, she looks all over for Jessica and finally finds her talking to a new kid. Instead of running over to greet Elaina, Jessica keeps talking to the new kid for ten minutes before she finally goes over to greet Elaina. Elaina is mad. How could Jessica keep her waiting for so long when they haven’t seen each other for two whole months? She tells her friend Andrea that Jessica has really changed and Andrea should not be friends with her. Jessica finds out and gets angry with Elaina.

 

Have two students play the roles of Elaina and Jessica. First, have them role play an argument where they are not interested in seeing the other person’s chelek חֵלֶק of truth and care only about the truth of their position.

Choose two other students to role-play the same argument. This time, they must acknowledge the chelek חֵלֶק of truth in the other person’s position.

Discussion Questions

  •       Who made choices in this story?
  •       How could you defend Elaina’s choices?
  •       How could you defend Jessica’s choices?
  •       What other choices could they have made that may have avoided a fight?
  •       Was there a chelek חֵלֶק of truth for each side of this story?
  •       What would happen if Elaina and Jessica took the time and effort to understand the chelek חֵלֶק of truth in the other person’s argument? What would be the consequences of the argument? 
  •       What would have happened to the friendship if they talked out why they were each upset?
  •       How can respecting another person’s point of view and trying to see their chelek חֵלֶק of truth help you in other arguments and situations?

 

CEO Letter – Faith Is The Answer

CEO Letter – Faith Is The Answer

Shalom Chaverim,

It is always darkest before dawn. As you can imagine, we’ve been busier than ever and the ShalomLearning family has grown tremendously since our last newsletter. We are now helping our 200+ school partners get ready for a new year with 1500 teachers and 10,000 students. However, with the start of a new school season upon us, we’re hearing from many or our partners at religious schools about the challenges they are facing.  The most common worry from education directors is this: enrollment is down because so many families are overwhelmed, and kids have too much Zoom fatigue already for yet another online lesson as Hebrew School appears as something “extra” in their schedules.

The other day, I woke at 5:30 am and went for a walk to reflect on this issue. The sun was rising over the lake and the water reflected the pink clouds lighting up the sky. “There’s God, showing off again,” I thought. It made me stop and just take in what Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel called “radical amazement.”

Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ….get up in the

morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted.

Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life

casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”

                      -Abraham Joshua Heschel

In full disclosure, this is not my typical morning. Raising children and facing life’s endless challenges during a pandemic does not fill me with radical amazement at every waking moment. In fact, I have never known a time of such sorrow, stress, and suffering for the world in my lifetime, as the moment that we are in right now. 

Our children miss camps, sports competitions, live theater and in person clubs and yes, being in school with their friends. We are all braced for another wave of COVID-19 with the cold and flu season coming. When will the vaccine come? Some say it could be another 2 years! To which I say “Oy! Come on!”

Many of my peers involved in Jewish communal engagement are deeply cynical about the future of synagogue life. And they have every reason to feel pessimistic. But reason itself has its own limitations. Our mind can only do what our mind can do. What about the heart? What about faith?

Now faith is a different story. Faith in Hebrew is “Emunah.”

We, as Jews, are part of a global community with a close connection to the Jewish people all over the world. And yet, a lot of Jewish religious life is based around home and family activities. If we do not at least try our best to bring some aspect of spirituality into our homes this upcoming Jewish new year, we will continue to feel lost. I know this all too well. 

Surely we can find one or two hours a week to make Jewish life relevant for our children. This thrust into remote learning is an opportunity to use education technology in a more meaningful way. It’s ironically, even an opportunity to learn about ways to take advantage of the times you are unplugged. Each of our lessons includes a summary teachers can send to parents that include “Table Talk.”  These are questions to be discussed at the next meal.  Ideally over Shabbat dinner, but it can really be anywhere.  We want to meet families where they are and help them connect to Judaism on whichever level they are most comfortable. 

I believe that ShalomLearning is the best option to help synagogues and home schools right now. We train our teachers how to use Edtech seamlessly and we provide the turn-key lessons and support to make Hebrew School into a fun and engaging and relevant educational experience. We also provide “Hands On Activities” that can be used for safe, outdoor, socially distanced learning – including family education for all ages.

Math, reading and science are important. But so is our soul. We need to answer “the spiritual curriculum” (as Mussar puts it) that we face every day. Our children’s secular schools are trying to catch up with Edtech, and everyone is fried with screen time. I get it. But what are we doing as families in respect to educating and nurturing the soul?

Let ShalomLearning help. Open yourself to bring more spiritual Light into your home. Judaism provides so many beautiful and meaningful ways to navigate through the world. If we do not provide these opportunities for our families, we further the risk of the Light going out on our watch. And that would be the saddest day of them all.

The good news is that Shalomlearning can help your families and community learn how to live life in a Jewish way that will help you get through these dark days and help your synagogue get through this crisis.

At some point in the next 3-24 months, this pandemic will end its grip on everything, and we will be free to meet once again in person, go to concerts and restaurants and hug our friends and family. And I believe that people will want to return to synagogues and gather as a Jewish community, perhaps more than ever before. 

Our souls need SOMETHING to bring a light into the darkness in the interim. So let us help you get through this period. Our lessons are designed that they can be taught in person, online, at home, or a hybrid. When synagogue life does return, you will not need to miss a beat in the education of your children. It will simply be, “Last week was Gevurah (Unit 3) lesson three at home. Today, welcome back to our building! Let us continue with lesson four.”

I thank God we have the ability to help religious schools. It is my sincere hope that we can all give Emunah (faith) a better try, as I know that ShalomLearning can help educators and families alike. In the end, we all have the same job in this dark period of history, and that is to do what the Jewish people do best: bring in more light.

Shanah Tovah,

Josh

 

 

Preparing With Uncertainty For The Next School Year

Preparing With Uncertainty For The Next School Year

Hebrew schools across North America made a dramatic and rapid shift into virtual classrooms in the wake of COVID-19. Now, with the potential for a second wave of contagion this fall, educational directors are making plans to keep classes online at the start of the next school year.

The impact of COVID-19 on the Jewish education landscape was severe, with many synagogues scrambling to adapt their curricula to online platforms, some more successfully than others. Online curriculum providers were suddenly flooded with inquiries, many from educational directors who had little to no experience with virtual classrooms or blended (online and in-person) teaching models.

One such nonprofit organization, ShalomLearning, which specializes in online and blended curricula for Hebrew schools, saw demand jump sharply. Since mid-March, an additional 210 teachers began using the platform, while the number of students enrolled in their virtual classrooms grew by 2,000 to 7,800, bringing ShalomLearning’s partnership total to 163 congregations across North America.

“We weren’t surprised that interest rose so quickly as our numbers have been growing every year and teachers, students and families are really enjoying our lessons. And there was an enormous increase in demand for teacher training on how to run a virtual classroom since we had the technology in place since 2011 to address this need ,” said Joshua Troderman, ShalomLearning’s CEO. “What was surprising, however, are the reports that we are receiving that student attendance in the virtual classrooms are rising tremendously. Many Jewish educators who were once reluctant to embrace new technologies were caught off-guard, but they now realize the necessity and are getting on-board, especially considering all the summer camp closures that have been announced this month and what’s expected this Fall.”

Public health officials have begun to warn of a potential second wave of COVID infections later this year, which could be further exacerbated by the return of flu season. With this in mind, several synagogues have already declared their intention to operate virtually at the start of the school year, including Kehilat Shalom in Montgomery Village, MD and Temple Sinai in Brookline, MA.

“We look forward to keeping our virtual learning going in the fall,” said Temple Sinai Director of Education Heidi Smith Hyde. “I’ve heard from a few parents that offering an online option will make their lives easier by eliminating the need for transportation to and from religious school, especially during a busy work week.”

One benefit to online platforms that use a blended model is the ability to seamlessly switch from in-person to online as needed. The curriculums are designed to be flexible and adaptable, which is increasingly important to educators given the current uncertainty over COVID.

“Kids were so bored sitting at home, so having something like ShalomLearning that was programmed and familiar made it more enjoyable for them,” Rabbi Charles Arian of Kehilat Shalom added. “No one knows what’s going to happen by September and this uncertainty is what’s making people antsy. Continuing our online classes will help give people a degree of certainty.” 

 

New Bikkur Cholim Lesson

New Bikkur Cholim Lesson

Bikkur cholim בִּיקוּר חִוֹלים (visiting the sick) is a tangible and easy mitzvah מצְוָה for your students to learn about and practice.  It is more relevant than ever as we continue to struggle with the effects of Covid-19. Everyone has been sick at one time or another and appreciated the extra attention and love of someone close to them during that time. 

We, at ShalomLearning, created a free lesson for teachers to use in a virtual classroom with students ages 5-8 and their parents to explore this Jewish value. Together, the class will learn and share ways to help others feel better even when we are not able to visit in person.

The lesson begins with a social and emotional check in. It is important to connect with families and provide an opportunity for everyone to share feelings.  Through observations and personalization, this lesson helps students explore their thoughts and emotions about visiting and helping those who are not feeling well and encourages empathy. We conclude that the ways we help will lead toward healing. Healing does not always mean that there is a cure; it can also be a healing of the spirit.

Throughout the lesson, students actively share things that help them feel better and create a Get Well Card Video to share with others to support their healing.  The post lesson extensions are full of great ideas that families can do together to perform the mitzvah of bikkur cholim, even when we can’t visit in person.

ShalomLearning has created a version of this stand alone lesson for our Jewish families in the military.  Distributed through our partnership with the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, families on military bases throughout the world will receive this lesson to do together at home.  

Refuah Shleima.  May we all be blessed with healing and kind helpers.

Access this free lesson here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19xG-IlRNQNZlh4uaMDc_gi-dpj274WCMODEchwDcUFk/edit?usp=sharing