Hebrew

New Haggadah Welcomes All to Passover Table

Children of all abilities and disabilities can participate fully in your seder this year with the new Gateways Haggadah. This easy-to-hold, concise Haggadah is respectful to all participants, whatever their abilities, to ensure that all can take part meaningfully in a complete Passover seder. 

Hebrew Through Play: Days of the Week

You shoot, you score, you learn!  Introduce students to the new Basketball Hebrew Days of the Week game, from the popular Alef Bet Quest. This new game allows students to shoot basketballs in a three-point shooting contest. Students will learn to recognize the days of the week in Hebrew and work towards a high score!

Shoot Some Hoops and Tell Us: What's Your High Score?

We've refreshed your favorite primer, Alef Bet Quest, with a few new games for the school year-- how well have you done? After completing each lesson, a matching interactive game will be available to help students learn how to decode Hebrew.  One of the new games allows students to shoot basketballs in a three-point shooting contest. Students will learn to recognize Hebrew letters and vowels as they play through both Jewish cultural words and everyday Hebrew words. 

Everyone Has a Place at the Passover Table

This Passover we are bringing a very special haggadah to your seder tables. The Gateways Haggadah welcomes families with children of all abilities and disabilities to your Passover seder with step-by-step directions for every element of the Passover seder.  Each prayer's meaning is illuminated by more than 70 vibrant photographs and 150 picture communication symbols developed by Mayer-Johnson™.

Kveller is Right, Hebrew School IS Awesome!

Yes, Malina Saval remembers the days memorizing haftarah portions and growing up listening to others complaining that Hebrew school was a waste of time, but in her latest Kveller blog post Saval begs to differ.  Part-time Hebrew School educator, online magazine editor for Kveller, and mother of two spends every Sunday sharing her Jewish wisdom with 8th grade students.

Efficient Ways to Check for Students' Understanding

How can we monitor effective student learning gains? (Hint: it's NOT through standardized testing!) In a recent article from edutopia has the answer; formative assessment. Defined by Bill Younglove as "the frequent, interactive checking of student progress and understanding in order to identify learning needs as adjust teaching appropriately," formative assessment tracks student understanding so educators and students are aware of their learning strengths and weaknesses.

Adding More Hebrew Experiences to Our Program

When Ashley Plotnick, Hebrew School Principal at BJBE, Deerfield, IL ordered 345 sets of Ulpan Alef, we were curious: how was Ashley planning to use the Modern Hebrew folders? So we asked.

Take a Look at the New Hebrew Karaoke App!

Hebrew Karaoke has been downloaded hundreds of times for iPhones and iPads! Have you joined the fun? Take a look at the new app and how you can sing, record, and share the new Alef Bet song today. When you sing along with Hebrew Karaoke on your iPad you can add your own sound effects with a personal drum kit!    

Build Your Own Sukkah on Our New Minecraft Server

When Minecraft broke into the educational world two years ago, teachers quickly enjoyed the creativity and problem-solving that students learned from such a simple game.  We enjoyed it too and want you to join us on the new Sukkah Server. Minecraft is a limitless game made from breaking and building blocks. Players can adventure on their own or play with friends on multiplayer servers.

Free Apps Offer Fun Hebrew Learning

Spend family time practicing Hebrew with these fun and FREE Hebrew apps.  Help children successfully learn to decode the Alef Bet with Unlimited Alef Bet. Behrman House's interactive mobile app for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices introduces children to Hebrew letters and simple words while enjoying animated Hebrew words that talk. 

Hineni is Coming to the OLC and We Need YOUR Help!

The Hineni series has been a long time favorite for teaching prayer with meaning  and soon we will introduce Hineni for the Online Learning Center! We're looking now for teachers to sign up to be testers later this fall. Hineni for the OLC testers will test one of the seven modules that will be available for the OLC. The full seven modules will feature 35 prayers and blessings, including:

Welcome Students Back to School with Refresher Hebrew Exercises

It's been a long summer!

Connect Parents and Students with the Magic of Shabbat Interactive

Families with children, ages 6-11, can explore Shabbat on their own terms with Shabbat Interactive.  This online game helps children make meaning of all the core elements of Jewish identity and is a great resource for educational family time. Usually $9.99, Shabbat Interactive is available free through the Behrman House Online Learning Center this year.

Blogging Jewish Values

Our friends at the Paradigm Project recruited 29 educators to share a tip for families each day of the month, using 29 values from the new Jewish Values Challenge playing cards as prompts. Each micro-blogger is writing a 2-3 sentence tip for families, demonstrating one way to realize the day's Jewish value. You can find them throughout the month below. 'Perseverance' ElulFamilyValues blog, by Lyndall MIller:

How Your Religious School Worship Can Empower Prayer in Communities

As Jews we cherish both the freedom to express ourselves and the obligations we have toward our community in a dynamic tension that can give rise to either inspiration or alienation. Saul Kaiserman from Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, discusses how to help students manage that tension, and give rise to creativity, by helping them become sophisticated, empowered participants in their prayer community. 

Make Prayer by Making Music

We love these videos that demonstrate how we can encourage personal expression while making prayerand Torah study meaningful and relevant for students. What melody or  "prayer mash-up" will speak to your students?  What does the Torah say? Adon Olam (Happy)

Micro-Bloggers Help You Implement Jewish Values in Your Learning Space

The Paradigm Project teamed up with Behrman House for a Blog Elul project to return core values of Judaism and Jewish early childhood education this Elul.  Our friends at the Paradigm Project recruited 29 educators to share a tip for families each day of the month, using 29 values from the new Jewish Values Challenge playing cards as prompts. Each micro-blogger is writing a 2-3 sentence tip for families, demonstrating one way to realize the day's Jewish value. 

Blogging About Jewish Values: How You Can Help

You've mastered enriching your students' experiences with core values in your learning space. Now you can share with other educators and families AND get a free set of our Jewish Values cards.  The Paradigm Project has teamed up with Behrman House for a Blog Elul project and wants to include you. 

Gearing Up for the High Holidays

Feel more comfortable participating in services this year. Don't sit silent just because you feel nervous about Hebrew. We have tools to help learners of all ages practice Hebrew reading skills.  Don't understand what the prayers say or why we say them? Hineni Prayerbook Hebrew for Adults goes beyond teaching rote prayer. It helps you understand the themes, the origins, and the deeper meaning of each one.

Coming Soon: Hineni for the OLC

The Hineni series has been a long time favorite for teaching prayer with meaning. You've been asking and soon we will introduce Hineni for the Online Learning Center! Seven modules will feature 35 prayers and blessings, including:

Teach Israel

 Experience Modern Israel

New from Behrman House. Fly to Israel without a plane ticket.

Discover Israel

 Let's Discover Israel

Offer younger children an exciting and age-appropriate introduction to the Jewish homeland