Birkat Chaverim
As part of this years Mitzvot Unplugged, I wanted to talk about a classic method of teaching kids mitzvot creatively, the Jewish youth group. As you may know, Birkat Chaverim was started to support Bnei Akiva of North America through the sale of birkonim for family celebrations. I grew up in Bnei Akiva and was also a madricha or counsellor. I also atte ...
A while ago I reviewed the Seven Steps to "Mentschhood", a teaching guide based on a workshop, for helping children to become "mentsch." I mentioned in the review that I was working with my daughter through the seven steps, but in an age appropriate way, since she was younger than the target age of the book. The Seven Steps to Mentschood kid response, a ...
I'm very thankful to everyone who participated in the Mitzvot Unplugged series. We had a wide variety of topics in the series and personally, I am grateful for all the different perspectives. I know that I personally tend to focus on certain types of activities and themes, so its nice to hear from others and ask myself how I can incorporate these appr ...
This is by no means a comprehensive roundup. This post focuses on topics that are not typical for inclusion in teaching about values. Nevertheless, they are topics which definitely need discussing. And from the perspective of your own family values, rather than via mass media. I am always looking for additional links. Please do continue to submit links ...
As part of Mitzvot Unplugged we'd like to welcome Anne Gordon to talk about girls and Talmud Torah or teaching Torah to girls. Said the veteran principal and trainer of teachers: "Kids don't want to learn." Said I to myself, "No, kids don't know that they want to learn." Tell Me Why Try walking down the block with a toddler. Even assuming the chi ...
We are happy to welcome artist Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik as part of the Mitzvot Unplugged Series. Isaac uses innovative materials in his paper-cuts (I encourage you to take a look at them.) He will be talking about the workshops (which he teaches to students young and old.) 1. How do you relay Jewish values in a creative way? Relaying ...
We are happy to have gerontologist, Rakel Berenbaum, as part of our Mitzvot Unplugged series, writing about a creative program which both teaches the value of Chesed and of valuing our elders. "It is very fulfilling to give. When you give, you get something too." Meira, Bat Mitzvah program participant Melabev Beit Shemesh has created two unique pr ...
As part of the Mitzvot Unplugged series we are happy to welcome Amital from Organized Jewish Home to talk about resources her family uses for homeschooling. Some of my favorite learning opportunities aren’t formal learning. There’s so much to talk about as you live your life: brachot as you eat and when there is lightning, chesed as you make a meal for ...
The Mitzvot Unplugged Series has to do with teaching kids Jewish values in a creative way. One of the ways of doing that is through music. I want to thank Julian/Chaim Horowitz from the Maccabeats for agreeing to an interview, as part of this series. How does being representatives of Orthodoxy and the concept of Torah uMadda come out in your song ...
As part of Mitzvot Unplugged I am happy to review Stanley Fischman's Seven Steps to ''Mentschhood'' - How to Help Your Child Become a Mentsch: An Interactive Guide for Parents, published by Urim Publications. Mentschhood at Home In our home we are constantly telling our children that we want them to grow up to be mentchen. However, we did not have a def ...