Teachers & Educators

Hebrew Spotlight: Hineni Prayer Booklets

When it comes to teaching Hebrew, you’ve got lots of choices. Which approach you choose depends on your goals for Hebrew.

New Storybooks to Delight Young Learners and Dreamers

Children love listening to stories. Whether they’re family stories told around the table, or books read aloud before bedtime or in a group with peers, stories are powerful ways of communication for young people.

San Diego Congregation Uses CHAI Student Books to Complement Learning

Joseph Maghen, education director at Temple Emanu-El in San Diego, believes that students need opportunities to reflect on discussions and activities and write down their ideas. “There’s value in putting their thinking down on paper instead of just verbalizing thoughts,” he says.

Engage Emotions to Help Learning

Good teachers know that meaningful, long-lasting learning happens when students feel invested in the content. Something happens on an emotional level that resonates with students, making what they're learning feel relevant to their lives.

Join the First Cohort of Hebrew in Harmony Teachers

Registrations for the Hebrew in Harmony online teacher training course continue to roll in, and there’s still space for you to join the inaugural class. Beginning July 11 and through the end of September, Gratz College’s NEXTprogram, an expert provider of online learning for supplementary school Jewish educators, will teach you how to use the prayer-through-music curriculum Hebrew in Harmony. Course instructor Dina Maiben has prepared a dynamic program including:

Get Inspired by Fellow Educators

As you begin to plan the next school year curriculum, your fellow educators have got you covered. Whether you’re fresh out of ideas or simply looking to try something new, you can trust that you’ll find inspiration from skilled teachers on the Babaganewz Jewish Educator Marketplace.

Stop By and See Us at NewCAJE

We’d love to see you at the NewCAJE conference at Naperville, Illinois, which begins July 31. Schedule an appointment or stop by the Behrman House booth in the exhibit hall. We’d be happy to:

Meet Josh Warshawsky: A Featured Hebrew in Harmony Musician

Hebrew in Harmony—the new prayer curriculum for 4th-6th graders—features music from today's top Jewish musicians. This is part of a series profiling some of these talented artists.

OLC For All Ages: One School's Experience

Rabbi Mark Levine believes firmly in the power of technology to enhance student learning. An early adopter of the Behrman House Online Learning Center (OLC), this education director at Congregation Beth El in Bethesda, Maryland, reports that three years later, students and teachers in his large school are thriving in the digital learning space.

We've Cleared More URJ Titles

We are happy to announce that two more URJ Press titles have been cleared and are now available. 

More Help Using the Online Learning Center

As you begin planning for your fall program, it’s time to revisit the ways the Online Learning Center can enrich your students’ learning. This FREE platform offers a variety of learning features, including free prayer practice, a fast-paced Hebrew letter game, and a virtual Hebrew keyboard. And it also provides a virtual classroom environment where you can upload your own materials, create a variety of projects and experiences, and have learners post and show their work as a virtual portfolio.

Announcing Teacher Training for Hebrew in Harmony

Prepare to teach Hebrew through music! Beginning July 11 and through the end of September, join other educators in an online Hebrew in Harmony training course offered by Behrman House, in partnership with Gratz College’s NEXT program, an expert provider of online learning for supplementary school Jewish educators. Registration is open now. 

Gifts and Gratitude: Educator Reflections on Shavuot

What’s the best gift you ever received? For the Jewish people, receiving the Torah ranks pretty high.This Shavuot, explore how to connect this gift to values-based learning.We celebrate this gift on Shavuot, which begins on Saturday evening. Originally an agricultural celebration, over time, Shavuot has come to be a thanksgiving of mitzvot, marked by reading both the story of receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai and the Book of Ruth.

Meet Billy Jonas: A Featured Hebrew in Harmony Musician

Hebrew in Harmony—the new prayer curriculum for 4th-6th graders—features music from today's top Jewish musicians. This is part of a series profiling some of these talented artists. Billy Jonas, founder of the Billy Jonas Band Who are your musical influences? World music, Joni Mitchell, Mr. Rogers, Pete Seeger, Igor Stravinsky

New CHAI and Mitkadem Tutorials

For many schools, the CHAI  and Mitkadem Hebrew curricula have long been mainstays. For those new to the programs, we are developing a series of tutorials that cover the basics of what they are and how they work. The first videos are now available.  Mitkadem is a self-paced Hebrew program focused on prayer and synagogue skills, where students move at their own speed. The curriculum is organized into 23 levels that introduce grammar, vocabulary, and reading. 

Help Us Help You

Yes, the school year is just ending--and the planning cycle for next year will soon be in full swing. At Behrman House we are looking forward to helping you get ready for fall and a new year. Here are a few tips to help things go smoothly when you place your school order.

Help Students Connect the Outdoors to Jewish Values

What do Jewish traditions have to do with the environment? Judaism is not only based on the stories we tell, but on the behaviors we are expected to do. As the weather warms and we spend more time outdoors, it’s a good time to visit some Jewish values and traditions that teach us how to behave toward nature.

The Stories We Tell About Ourselves

This week marks Lag Ba’Omer, a joyful holiday celebrated with bonfires and telling stories about ancient scholars who kept alive the light of learning during times of oppression. There’s much more to storytelling though than simply listening to or reading about other people. Personal storytelling can help us understand ourselves better. 

Hebrew in Harmony Taps Music as the Source of Kavanah

  You’re not musically inclined? Neither are we (unless you count singing in the shower). That’s why we rounded up your favorite Jewish musicians to do the heavy lifting for you in Hebrew in Harmony.

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