Peoplehood Papers 17: Engaging Millennials with Jewish Peoplehood

The Jewish establishment’s anxiety regarding the Jewish identity of millennials is not unfounded. The emergence of a new generation of Jews who were born and raised in open society with a freedom to choose their Judaism does not necessarily promise continuity. Furthermore, individualism, egocentrism and criticism of existing establishments, tendencies associated with Millennials, created room for additional concerns. These concerns…

Generation Me is Here to Stay!

Taken straight from the headlines: Website Offers Virtual Seder Dancing Bar Mitzvah Boy Donated his $36,000 gift money to Charity Virtual Judaism: Finding Second Life in Online Community Should Auschwitz be a Site for Selfies? When you read these headlines are you confused? concerned? angered? Or are you curious? hopeful? inspired? If you were one of…

Resources for the High Holiday Season

We have chosen some ready-to-use educational resources from the Peoplehood Education Toolkit that bring together themes of Jewish Peoplehood and the High Holiday season. Check them out: Collective Prayer – A text study and activity based on the Vidui (Confession) liturgy of the High Holidays. How do we understand the language of "we" in relation to our…

New Media Resources in the Toolkit

Check out the new media resources in the CJPE Toolkit for Jewish Educators. We are curating and organizing selections of short video clips that educators can use to explore the themes of Jewish Peoplehood. With each video clip we also offer you suggestions for activities to use with those clips, and all part of our interconnected…

Elul News from the CJPE

The Hebrew month of Elul has just begun, and with it comes the countdown to the new year. Rosh HaShana and the season of the High Holydays is only a few weeks away. Elul is a month with enormous power. It is traditionally the time in which Jews start a process of "cheshbon nefesh" (…

Asking Big Questions of Jewish Peoplehood

Big Questions and Hard Questions For whom are we responsible?” is a different question than “What does it mean to be responsible?” or “Do we have a responsibility to our particular heritage?” The latter questions are examples of what I’ve come to call Hard Questions: they matter to everyone, but they invite a response only…

Welcome to Tova Garr!

The Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education is delighted to welcome Tova Garr to the team. Tova is taking a new position for the Center;  the Greater New York Peoplehood Educator. In this role she will be working with institutions and organizations in the New York area, introducing them to the resources of the Center for…

Israel and the Peoplehood Paradigm

There are many ways in which to understand why and how Israel is significant for Jews. Some argue that it is the Promised Land; it is a refuge from persecution; it is the realization of secular Jewish nationalism; it is the hub for Jewish culture and innovation. Each of these approaches reflect a set of…

Jewish Peoplehood for Yom Ha'Atzmaut

At this time of year, following Passover, the Jewish calendar is full of celebrations and commemorations that highlight the national aspects of being Jewish. Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) are powerful and rich expressions of Jewish Peoplehood, and offer many educational opportunities to explore…

Worldwide Purim Album

In the aftermath of Purim take a look at the new Worldwide Purim Album from Beit Hatfutsot . Here are some ideas for using the album to connect your students to Jews across time and space. These ideas would work well with younger children and teens. Have your students bring pictures of themselves in Purim…