Create your own Shana Tova Card!

Community

Game

Telling Time

Create a timeline that tells the story of your community and learn about the people behind these events

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Listening to Jewish Songs and Prayers

Get a chance to hear recordings from Jewish holiday and life cycle events across time and place.

Age group:

Middle and High School

Music

Historical Jewish Press

Explore a collection of Jewish newspapers published in various countries, languages, and time periods.

The National Library of Israel Resources

Lesson Plan

Welcome to Israel - Let's Learn Some Hebrew!

Learn how Israel has absorbed immigrants from around the world and helped them adjust to their new country by teaching them Hebrew.

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

The People Behind the History of Israel

Take a closer look at some of the individuals who were involved in the grand historical events that shaped the State of Israel.

Community

The National Library of Israel Resources

Lesson Plan

What Do I Gain from Learning about My Family History?

Reflect on what you have learned during the project and how this impacts on your Jewish identity

Family Day

Explore the significance of Hebrew for Jewish culture and peoplehood and reflect on its potential for connecting Jews all over the world.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Why Does Your Sukkah Look Like That?

What factors come into play when building a Sukkah, and has the structure changed througout history?

Age group:

Middle and High School

Sukkot

Create a map of your community Jewish institutions that provide services and resources for its members

Community

The Women's Campaign for Soviet Jewry

How a women's protest group made a difference by raising the cause of Soviet Jewish political prisoners during the Cold War

Women's Month

New Year Cards Through History

Discover a selection of Rosh Hashanah postcards from various time periods. Flip each postcard and discover which year it is from.

Rosh Hashanah

Purim Megillah - Esther Scrolls from the NLI

Create your own illustrated scene from the Megillah based on the analysis of historical illuminated manuscripts from the NLI collections.

Age group:

Middle and High School

Purim

Shana Tova Card Analysis - Herzl and Sultan Abdul Hamid

What are the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the leader of the Zionist movement doing on a Rosh Hashanah card in 1901?

Age group:

Middle and High School

Rosh Hashanah

Ever wonder what Rabbis do? Now you have the chance to find out

Age group:

Middle and High School

Traditions

Play a game of bingo to discover the different objects you can find in a synagogue!

Age group:

Elementary and Middle School

Community

Oneg Shabbat - A Shabbat Celebration

The content varies depending on the group organizing the event and can include a lecture, singing, refreshments, or any other type of entertainment.

Age group:

Middle and High School

Shabbat

My Family Origins Through Primary Sources

In this unit you will discuss the difference between primary and secondary sources and the importance of these sources for historical research.

Shabbat

Sigd - Learn More Through Trivia

Play our trivia game to find out about what Sigd celebrates and how it is marked today.

Sigd

Tashlich – Casting Away One’s Sins

This source sheet explores the Tashlich ceremony. Through historical texts, photographs, and oral histories, students will examine the origins, practices, and meanings of Tashlich across different times.

Rosh Hashanah

Jewish Schools. Where in the World?

Test your geography skills and discover historical photographs of Jewish schools from all over the world from the NLI collections.

Education

Reflect on the value of solidarity in Jewish tradition and to explore a few examples from different times and places

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Preparing for the High Holidays

Discover how to use primary sources to enrich your teaching and prepare your learners for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Rosh Hashanah

Match traditional garments with the Jewish community they are from

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Why are there Jewish Newspapers?

What makes Jewish newspapers special and important, and what would you include in yours?

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Create your own Shana Tova Card!

Design your own Shana Tova card inspired by illustrations and texts from historical cards!

Rosh Hashanah

A Year to October 7 | Remembering in Real Time

Explore ways to anchor this difficult time using primary sources that touch upon different aspects of memory and illustrate how Jewish culture has dealt with crises in the past

October 7th

Riddles of the New Year

Can you solve the riddles? Take a look at primary sources that connect to the festivals of Tishrei and guess which riddle they match!

Rosh Hashanah

The Historic Aliyah of Ethiopian Jews

The unbelievable story of how a record number of people flew aboard a single airplane as part of 1991's Operation Solomon.

Community

Unique Torah Scrolls from Across the Globe

Discover unique Torah scrolls that hold the sacred text, and also a fascinating story of community!

Age group:

Middle and High School

Traditions

Shofar Blowing on Rosh Hashanah

Read the Tanach texts about shofar blowing, explore the primary sources, and discuss what you feel when you hear the shofar.

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah Worksheet - Exploring Primary Sources

Explore Rosh Hashanah postcards that tell the story of Israel and discuss the messages they convey.

Age group:

Elementary and Middle School

Rosh Hashanah

The Importance of Community

Why is community so important and how can individuals connect and contribute to it?

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Maccabiah Photo Finish Highlights

Use primary sources to curate a visual linear story to reflect on your identity as a Jewish athlete

Age group:

Middle and High School

Sports

Teaching the Next Generation

What does Judaism have to say about teaching the next generation?

Age group:

Middle and High School

Traditions

Keeping the Community Together

Who is responsible for maintaining harmonious relations within the community?

Community

Chanukah Across the Globe

Light up your Chanukah with 8 different treasures in 8 different languages!

Age group:

Middle and High School

Chanukah

Rosh Hashanah Printable Activity

In this worksheet, students will explore some Shana Tova (Jewish New Year) greeting cards, which portray Rosh Hashanah themes of ‘life cycles’ and ‘family’.

Age group:

Elementary and Middle school

Rosh Hashanah

Travelling to a Community

Research a community to discover its unique history and customs!

Community

Inside and Outside the Sukkah

Learn about Sukkot in the past and connect it to how we celebrate Sukkot today.

Sukkot

Interviewing a Community Leader

Ever wonder what community leaders do? Now you have the chance to find out!

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Jewish Songs and Prayers. Traditions That Ring a Bell

Listen carefully to tunes and prayers and guess what communities they are from and what rituals they are part of

Age group:

Middle and High School

Traditions

NLI Exhibit | A Treasury of Words

Discover rare items from the permanent exhibition at the National Library of Israel

Community

Primary sources - What can you learn from them?

In this video, we will give you useful tips on how you can use them in your teaching. Choose any of the NLI's resources and analyze them with your students!

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Shul Crawl - Discover Synagogues!

Take a trip around the world, solve the clues and discover synagogues throughout Jewish history.

Community

What is special about Shabbat and how do you celebrate it?

Shabbat

Pesach - Crafting Your Story

In this webinar, Shuvi Hoffman will introduce you to several modern Haggadot that expand on the traditional versions with various levels of interpretation

Pesach

Simanim. Symbolic Rosh Hashanah Foods

How does eating symbolic foods enhance our Rosh Hashanah experience? Explore a range of Jewish texts and primary sources.

Rosh Hashanah

Exploring Identity and Community

Explore the themes of identity and community through the lens of Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitations of the past.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Experimental artificial intelligence (AI)-based search in the National Library's image database

The National Library of Israel Resources

Blog

The Passover Seder as Live Action Role Playing

Passover Seder is essentially the world's oldest Jewish role-playing game, predating "Dungeons & Dragons" by millennia! How did the Sages of yore get us to joyfully participate in Jewish rituals, and what does all this have to do with mutual scallion whippings?

Pesach

Prayer During Wartime

Analyze the prayer written in 1809 by Rabbi Moses Sofer as a response to the Austro-Polish War.

Community

A Place to Come Together

Explore different aspects and functions of the synagogue in Jewish communal life, and reflect on what it means to you!

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Tzedakah in the Jewish Community

Explore our responsibility to each other within the community and to then try to put what you learned into practice

Age group:

Middle and High School

Traditions

On Chanukah Jewish kids all over the world play with dreidels. We invite you to discover the origin of the famous Chanukah game.

Chanukah

Chanukah Songs From Around the Globe

Listen to the recordings of Chanukah songs from all over the world and learn more about different Jewish communities!

Chanukah

Building Jewish Community

Design your own model community by choosing which infrastructures, organizations, and people are key to a successful Jewish community

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Ketubot from Across the Globe

Explore ketubot from different times and places and learn how artistic design can reflect one's values and identity

Age group:

Middle and High School

Community

Sending Shana Tova Greetings

Explore the tradition of sending Shana Tova cards for Rosh Hashanah through historical examples from the National Library of Israel’s collection.

Age group:

Middle and High School

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh HaShanah Simanim

Why do we eat such weird foods on Rosh HaShanah? Watch this video to find out! Video courtesy of Kan - the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

Age group:

Middle and High School

Time:

30 min (with discussion)

Rosh Hashanah

The National Day of Mourning… and Fundraising?

In the early 20th century, there was a major Zionist effort to turn this day of grief and sadness into one of hope, renewal and redemption.

Tisha B'Av

Oral History – Learning History to Learn About Ourselves

Record a meaningful oral history of a family member and get a personal glimpse into historical events, as well as our own history and identity.

Age group:

Middle and High school

Family

A Shabbat Moment - Celebrate Shabbat

Compare and contrast a wide variety of artistic depictions of Jews around the world observing Shabbat during the 1800s and early 1900s.

Age group:

Middle and High School

Shabbat

To Have and to Hold: at the start of their studies, children in Morocco went through a symbolic wedding ceremony to bond them forever with the Torah.

Shavuot

Israeli Athlete Ester Roth-Shahamorov

Who inspired hundreds of young athletes and continues to be a role model to those who wish to combine a career with motherhood?

Age group:

Middle and High School

Sports

European Days of Jewish Culture

The National Library of Israel annually participates in the European Days of Jewish Culture. Check out exhibitions and educational materials that were developed espesially for this event.

The National Library of Israel Resources

Group Activity

Discussion Questions

Creative Activity

Primary sources in this lesson

Primary source in this Game

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Create your own Shana Tova Card!

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