Singing Torah

There's a lot of questions lately within the field of Jewish education. What is our ultimate goal? Do we care about details and facts, or are we concerned about belonging and connection? I think that relational connections are crucial and seeking them out is a very important goal of Jewish education.

And yet it totally warms my heart when my kids can demonstrate something that they have learned in Religious School....something concrete, specific, and delivered with pride and enthusiasm....



I do believe that our children learn to value what we value.
A little knowledge goes a long way....

We're Tweeting #Torah to the Top all day Friday in preparation for standing at Sinai. Join us!

Finding Joy

A rainstorm might mean you don't have to water the grass.
Or it might mean that you have to check the basement for leaks.
Or that you can't wear your favorite open-toed shoes because you don't like wet feet.
Maybe it means you get to wear your rain boots or your favorite rain coat.
Maybe it means you get to stay inside and snuggle up with a good book.

But as an adult, a rainstorm never leaves behind this kind of joy:




And as I watched him laugh with delight, I remembered just how important it is to find joy in every moment.
To take the time to find it
and examine it
and revel in it

and to get your feet wet.

Miracles and Faith

Silly Hair

Why Jewish Camp Rocks (Reason #4,325*)

*Okay, I'm not sure where I am in the list, but it must be somewhere close to this.

This video is a repeat performance of the last few meals at our house. They've taken to singing at meals, and this is one of David's favorite songs from last year and this year at OSRUI. I think he can't quite handle the lack of song sessions and general camaraderie now that he's back home so he's taken to organizing his siblings into these impromptu song sessions.

He doesn't quite get all the Hebrew words right, even though I've tried and tried to convince him of the correct way to pronounce them. We'll keep working on it...

Make sure you check out the eye roll that David gives his little brother and the enthusiastic drama that Sam brings to the whole experience. And Yael just plays along...



I can't stop smiling when I see them singing together...

Shalom Sesame Shavuot & Hebrew {Reviews}

I received two DVDs of the most recent Shalom Sesame episodes for review.

The first, Counting Down to Shavuot, was adorable. It really managed to get most of the elements of the holiday into the video, if not overtly, then in a subtle way. There was a sofer writing a mezuzzah, there was counting down the weeks to the holiday, decorating the home, eating dairy (including the usual stinky cheese from Moshe Oofnik!), and a really great telling of the story of Kabbalat Torah, the Receiving of the Torah. (I wish that segment was available on their YouTube Channel.) There were a few segments that were silly or too long, like the "chasing the cheese" (?!) and I was a little weirded out by Ben Stiller's choice of costume...why does he want to dress up like cheese? (Plus, since when is the Cable Guy a person in your neighborhood?) I loved the sign language poem at the end of the show, and overall this was a great way to teach kids about Shavuot.

The other video, Grover Learns Hebrew, also had a few highlights. The story of Eliezer Ben Yehuda was great. I plan to use it with kids in Hebrew School - it was really well done:



The rest of the video was a little bit basic for my family, or it was over their heads. The basic stuff? Grover learns just a few words - boker tov (good morning), todah (thank you) and bakbuk (bottle). Over their heads? This really cute segment about onomatopoeia words in Hebrew (I'm embarrassed to tell you how many tries it took for me to get that word typed correctly.)


Cute, right? But totally over the heads of my kids. A nice version of the Aleph-Bet Song - my kids weren't familiar with it but they recognized that the letters were "the same as our Aleph Bet Song, mom!"

So...bottom line? Both videos are worth watching with your kiddos. I recommend the Shavuot one if you're making a choice. 

Full disclosure: I received copies for review from the publisher. I was not obligated to say nice stuff in any way.

A Purim Playlist

Looking for a few good Purim videos to make the week festive?

Here's a Purim playlist for you!











What's your favorite Purim video or song?

Just One Week!

There's only one week left...



G-dcast Spins Chanukah! from G-dcast.com
More Torah cartoons at www.g-dcast.com

The Eternal Question....

(Which is really only a good question for vegetarians or people who like dairy meals, I suppose.)

Which is your preference? Post coming soon declaring my position....

8 Days - Aliyah and Chanukah

 As you may know, my brother made aliyah in August of 2009, with Nefesh b'Nefesh. So they definitely hold a special place in my heart for what they helped him to do. (In case you're wondering, he's doing great and still in the army.)

Here's their entry into the Chanukah YouTube video fun, a trek throughout Israel celebrating each night (well, it's daytime but it's a music video, not really known for their realism) of Chanukah in a different part of the country. Cute, catchy, and entertaining. My favorite part is when he "unearths" a sufganiya, brushes it off with an archaeological tool, and then takes a big bite. Ew! But funny nevertheless.



What's your favorite Chanukah video?

Love is in the Air

The Homeshuler has challenged some of the Jewish bloggers to tell everyone their favorite Jewish love song in honor of Tu B'Av. Tu B'Av is a relatively unknown "holiday" in the Jewish calendar. Coming fast on the heels of Tisha B'Av (the 9th of Av), Tu B'Av (the 15th of Av) is completely its opposite. It is a Jewish "love" day - young unmarried girls would dance in white dresses and sing in the vineyards of Jerusalem. Less than a week after the mournful day of Tisha B'Av, Tu B'Av offers a respite, a reminder that life goes on, that love goes on, that we must endure and continue to celebrate. It is a chance to be joyous and silly after weeks of preparation for mourning.

So...it's a perfect day for love songs.

I'm not great at the whole "what's your favorite song" question. It usually happens to be whatever I'm listening to! So I had do quite a bit of thinking.

First, I thought of the Song of Songs. After all, it is the most well-known, beautiful, ancient (Jewish) love song ever written. Here is a lovely rendition of Dodi Li....from my friend Marci's congregation! (With practically her whole family singing!) This was a totally random find, by the way, when I searched for versions of this song, which was sung at my wedding.



Then, I thought of Erev Shel Shoshanim, always a favorite.



Then, I totally cheated and saw Midianite Manna's post - a Broadway song! Good thinking!

This is one of my favorite love songs....written by Richard Rodgers, one of the greats...and, since he's Jewish, it qualifies for Amy's meme!



Whew. This was tough! What's your favorite love song?

Last year on Tu B'Av, I was celebrating my brother's Aliyah! Mazel tov on one year in Israel, little bro!

Shabbat Rocks My World!

A Guest Poster (sorta)

It's late, it's almost the last day of NaBloPoMo...and here I am...

I haven't written many of these "filler" posts but...motzei Shabbat is as good of a time as any.

So, I went looking for a funny video to share with you instead of writing a post.

But really, please come back tomorrow since I'll be posting a giveaway from RotemGear!

Oh, AND the guest who is looking over my shoulder as I write this, Rabbi Anne Persin, wants to say hi to all my loyal readers. {{{{waving}}}}

Okay, so here's the video that Anne decided I should post today. In case you haven't seen it yet, it's pretty funny:

Actually...

What two-year-old uses "actually" in a sentence!?

Shana tova!

From my family to yours...May you have a year full of joy, goodness, health, and peace.

How Jews Pray

What do you think? How do you pray?

Shabbat Shalom!

The Rabbi Watches YouTube

As I indicated once before, I'm starting an infrequent (read: whenever I feel like it) series called "What Rabbis Do" or something catchy like that.

Right now, what I'm doing is enjoying this post about the Four Questions by Hadassah. She is looking for the Mah Nishtanah in multiple languages, which is such a fun activity. There's a wonderful book of 300 Ways to Say the Four Questions, which are an integral part of the Passover Seder. My favorite one in there is Pig Latin, which I think is perfect on so many levels for a Jewish event!!!

What I am also doing, and this is key to any good modern rabbi's life, is browing through YouTube for all the funny new Pesach videos so that I can be the first to share them with you.

Like this one:


or this



or this one...


Have you found anything great on YouTube lately?
How's your Pesach Prep going? The cold winter-like weather is not putting me quite the right mood yet!

Bring it on, Partridges....

My kids are vying for a family music gig.
Partridge Family, Von Trapp Family...they've got NOTHING on my kids....
Whaddaya think?

I made my Dreidel out of....(ModernTribe Giveaway)

The Chanukah Countdown continues here all week! (Keep reading for today's Giveaway!)








I'm sure you know the Dreidel song. The one about making the dreidel out of clay. Who makes a dreidel out of clay today? The ones we play with are all wood or plastic or something like that. What I like to do is solicit additional materials (paper, ice cream, chocolate, snow) and sing the song, "re-writing" the words as I go along. This is, especially in front of an older audience, a tricky test of your rhyming skills...

For example,
I have a little dreidel, I made it out of paper. I folded it right up and put it away for later.
(it's not perfect. but sing it and you'll see...)
I have a little dreidel, I made it out of snow. I looked for it in the summer, where oh where did it go?

So what are some other things you'd like to make your dreidel out of? Share your verses in the comments!
If you can't wait, how about a Virtual Dreidel Game?

and the Giveaway....
Have you heard of No Limit Texas Dreidel?
Yes, that's right, the game of Dreidel has gotten a face-lift. Now there's a new game in town.

From the ModernTribe website:

Unless you're under the age of five or have an obsession with things that spin, the traditional version of the dreidel game is endearing - but let's face it - the game is mind numbing after a few minutes. In fact, whenever we were ready to end our Hanukkah party we found the subtlest way to clear a guest-filled house was to play a round of dreidel.

And, just because it's really funny, I thought I'd share with you my favorite question and answer from their FAQ:

Q: Can you bet the empty gelt foil?
A: This question comes up from time-to-time, usually by people who've indulged in their winnings before the end of the game. They want to know if the empty foil: sans chocolate, has any betting value. Our answer is definitively: No.

While you're over at ModernTribe, check out all the cool stuff in their Chanukah Shop. (Including this peace sign menorah, which is clearly priceless! Make sure you look at the price...) And they're home of these really cool t-shirts.

The folks at ModernTribe have generously given me one No Limit Texas Dreidel set to give away to one of you, my beloved readers. How cool is that?

How can you share the joy of No Limit Texas Dreidel with your friends and family?

To enter, leave a comment on this post!

Earn an extra entry by tweeting about it. Let me know below in the comments.

Comments will close at 8am Wednesday, December 17th.  

Come back all week and next for some great Chanukah posts and giveaways!
Comments closed....winner is Rebecca, aka @tzurriz! Mazel tov!

Join in the Chanukah Countdown Party - feel free to grab my badge above and link back here with your own Chanukah posts! How do you celebrate, what's your favorite observance, favorite tips and tricks, etc...

Pass the Candle!!!

Thanks to Reiza and Jewschool for the link.

I am definitely going to do this with my kids. But how to be creative....hmm....maybe in front of the Jerusalem stone wall at the synagogue? I'll work on it.

Will you do it!?