Reading from the Torah and putting on tallit and tefillin

Explore the importance of family in our lives and learn about your roots.

All

Yom Ha'atzmaut

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

The Majesty and the Mystery of Kol Nidre

Learn how a traditional Jewish prayer melody inspired everyone - from classical composers to filmmakers to psychedelic rock bands.

Yom Kippur

Ilan Ramon Time Capsule

Discover the story of the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon and reflect his deep sense of responsibility to his family, Judaism, the Jewish people, and the State of Israel.

Tu Bishvat Photos and Posters

Israel

Decorate your classroom with the Tu Bishvat posters and photos from the NLI collections! Every item has a QR code so that you can scan and read more about it.

A Look at the Jewish Year: Pesach

Tu Bishvat

Explore three rare Haggadot from the NLI's collection with the help of three unusual Seder meal guests!

Tzedakah in the Jewish Community

Time:

30 min (with discussion)

Pesach

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

Put Them Together and Shake

Traditions

Analyze photographs and study classical Jewish texts in order to gain a deeper understanding of the Arba Minim and Sukkot.

The Women's Campaign for Soviet Jewry

Sukkot

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

Caring for Plants to Care for the Future

Take a close look at a photograph and a text from the Talmud to see what we can learn about trees, the environment, and the future.

Shavuot Customs in Words and Pictures

Tu Bishvat

Learn about Shavuot customs through traditional texts, primary sources and first-person accounts recorded by Centropa.

Shavuot

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

Community

Focus on an advertisement as a means to discuss the development of Israeli society and the status of women in Israel since the twentieth century

Women's Month

Remembering in Real Time

Explore primary sources and Jewish texts dedicated to the idea of preserving collective memories by integrating them into everyday life

October 7th

What is a Menorah (Chanukiyah)?

What makes a chanukiya a chanukiya? What does the choice of material and design teach us about the time and place it was made?

Keeping the Community Together

Chanukah

Who is responsible for maintaining harmonious relations within the community?

Community

Letters Written by Israeli Kids to Soldiers During the Yom Kippur War

Letters written by Israeli children during the 1973 war reveal how they experienced one of the nation's most challenging periods.

Yom Kippur

Chana Senesh Time Capsule

Take a journey through the works and life of Chana Senesh, Jewish soldier and poet

When Israel Comes Together

Women's Month

In this new photographic article you will discover the acts of kindness, solidarity and goodness in the face of evil between Israeli people throughout history

October 7th

Chana Senesh - Learn More About this Heroine

Chana Senesh was a poet and heroine and there is a lot you may not have known.

Which Jewish Festival Are You?

Yom Hashoah

This quizz will help you to figure out what Jewish holiday you are!

Values

Explore what Hevruta learning is and how it is different from other types of learning

The Cantor Who Lost His Voice

Shavuot

Years after chazan (cantor) Zalman Pollack was a star of the Jewish world, his life's work was rediscovered...

Yom Kippur

Explore different Jewish texts and reflect on your connection to prayer and spirituality.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

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

Learn about Mimouna, celebrated by Moroccan Jews on the day after Pesach, which includes inviting friends and family to share traditional Moroccan-Jewish food.

Community

Mimouna

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

Ketubot from Across the Globe

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

A Year to October 7 | Remembering in Real Time

Community

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

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

The National Library of Israel Resources

Teaching Kit

Rut Dayan Time Capsule

Learn about Ruth Dayan, Israeli social activist, as an example of how creativity and passion can bring different people together

Eliezer Ben Yehuda Time Capsule

Middle and High school

Women's Month

Step into Ben Yehuda’s mission to bring Hebrew back to life as you invent new words, enjoy interactive word games, and grow your Hebrew vocabulary.

See how the passage about the Four Sons has been a source of inspiration for illustrators of Haggadot over the centuries.

Leaders

Pesach: The Four Sons

The piyut (Jewish liturgical poem) “Atem Yotze’i Ma’arav” is beautifully documented by Rabbi David Buzaglo, who describes the tangible feeling of human connectedness on this special holiday.

Pesach

Mimouna

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.

Get a glimpse into Golda Meir’s life and her role as the prime minister of Israel in turbulent times

Shabbat

Golda Meir Time Capsule

The Passover Seder as Live Action Role Playing

Women's Month

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

Explore your connection to Israel and think about other adventurous activities that could be part of the celebrations.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

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

Sally Priesand: The First American Female Rabbi

In 1972, one woman - Sally Priesand - made American and Jewish history. Find out who she was and what she did to change history!

Women's Month

Listening to Jewish Songs and Prayers

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

Leonard Cohen is Singing for the Soldiers During the Yom Kippur War

Music

The story of how the Jewish-Canadian singer-songwriter ended up singing for soldiers and crossing the Suez Canal with the IDF during one of Israel's most desperate hours.

Music

Bearing Witness | Documenting October 7

Help us documenting October 7, 2023 and its aftermath

October 7th

Commemorating Yom Hazikaron

Discover how Yom Hazikaron is commemorated by analyzing a poster created by Tzipi Berak Biyonsky.

Yom Hazikaron

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

Chanukah Across the Globe

Traditions

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

Unique Torah Scrolls from Across the Globe

Chanukah

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

Celebrating in Times of Crisis

Traditions

Explore texts and primary sources that address the issue of celebrating in times of crisis (using Chanukah as a case study).

Chanukah

The story of Purim has earned recognition for its perceived feminist message. Get a glimpse into the lives of other Jewish women in the past.

The First Israeli Woman to Travel the Globe

Women's Month

Schlomit Flaum left behind no family, no one to preserve her memory. Yet she did leave something extraordinary—a groundbreaking book, the first Hebrew-language travelogue written by a woman from the Land of Israel

Women's Month

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

A Shabbat Moment - Celebrate Shabbat

Traditions

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

Exploring Identity and Community

Shabbat

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

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Planting a Tree in Israel

Design our own tree certificate while learning about the custom of planting trees in Israel.

Primary sources - What can you learn from them?

Tu Bishvat

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!

Bedikat Chametz – Searching for Chametz

Community

In preparation for Pesach people clean their homes to remove all of the chametz. Learn more about why and how they do so!

Pesach

Naomi Shemer Time Capsule

Learn about Naomi Shemer’s life, get to know some of her iconic songs and reflect on the texts

Jewish Cuisine - A Taste of Community

Middle and High school

Women's Month

Through food ads, “get a taste” of the foods that are customary in different Jewish communities

Take a look at a family sitting in their sukkah and celebrating sukkot and try to find as many things from the list as you can

Community

Renee Molho: A Bookstore in Six Chapters (Centropa)

Sukkot

This is the story of two Jews - from Salonika, or Thessaloniki, in today's Greece - who managed to survive, thanks to a Spanish diplomat and some very brave Greek families.

Reading from the Torah and putting on tallit and tefillin

Yom Hashoah

Explore traditional rituals that are associated with the Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremony, including reading from the Torah and putting on tallit and tefillin.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Teaching the Next Generation

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

The Historic Aliyah of Ethiopian Jews

Traditions

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

Community

What Does Your Simchat Torah Flag Say About You?

Join us on a fascinating journey through the history of Simchat Torah flags: From the Middle Ages, through the early Zionist movement and to this very day

Simchat Torah

Henrietta Szold Time Capsule

Learn about Henrietta Szold, a founder of Hadassah, as a model for sparking change in the world

Women's Month

Prayer During Wartime

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

Community

Analyzing Memorial Day Poster 2008

Analyze this Yom Hazikaron Poster for Fallen Soldiers. The main image in this poster is a painting by Michael Elkayam.

Yom Hazikaron

Tu Bishvat Protected Trees Puzzle

This puzzle features a poster of protected trees and shrubs in Israel. Can you identify any of the plants shown on the poster?

Women Who Sparked Change: Then and Now

Tu Bishvat

How might we draw inspiration from great Jewish women's actions to spark change in our communities today and do our part to bring the hostages home?

Leaders

NLI Exhibit | A Treasury of Words

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

Community

What’s Your Exodus Story?

Take a look at three groups of people who saw the Exodus story as inspiration and hope during their own quest for freedom, and share how it resonates with you.

Pesach

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

Alfred Dreyfus New Year postcard, 1901

Find out what social and ideological messages were conveyed in Rosh Hashanah cards!

Values

Exploring the Jewish Calendar

Explore the theme of sacred time in the Jewish calendar and holidays.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

What's a Purim plate and what would you put in it?

Purim

Learn Hebrew - Exploring Posters from the Library's Collections

Explore the posters about learning Hebrew from the Library's collection and share their comparisons and the effectiveness.

Exploring Scripture and Torah Study

Culture

Explore inspiring sayings, teachings, and blessings drawn from Jewish tradition and history. Through discussion and creative interpretation, reflect on how timeless words of wisdom can guide their own Bar or Bat Mitzvah journey and shape their personal values today.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

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

Shavuot Prayers - Roman Jewish Community 1450

Step back in time to the the Roman Jewish community in the 1400s to consider the effect illustrations can have on the prayer experience.

Shavuot

Match traditional garments with the Jewish community they are from

October 7 memorial wall, created by the NLI, displays the faces and names of the murdered civilians and fallen IDF soldiers on and since October 7. Both digital and printable version of this wall are now available to download and use at your schools and community centers.

Community

October 7 Memorial Wall

October 7th

Shul Crawl - Discover Synagogues!

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

Community

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

Women Power in Times of War

Explore the role of women during the Yom Kippur War.

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

Yom Kippur

A Place to Come Together

Teachers Talk about NLI Primary Sources - Letter from Sarah Aaronsohn

Community

Teachers Talk - A Letter

Women's Month

Shir LaShalom - Song of Peace

Shir LaShalom (Song of Peace) was written in 1969. It is very popular in Israel and serves as the unofficial anthem of the Israeli peace movement, particularly since becoming associated with the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Yom Rabin

Women's Liberation Movement Ad

Explore an advertisement of the Women's Liberation Movement in Jerusalem campaigning against the 1972 Israeli Beauty Pageant

Women's Month

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

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.

The Importance of Taking Care of Our Trees

Time:

30 min (with discussion)

Rosh Hashanah

In this unit we will discuss the importance of trees, the need to take care of the environment and learn about the festival of Tu B’Shvat.

Women’s Prayer Book - Over 500 years old

Tu Bishvat

“Blessed are You…who has made me a woman, not a man.” Who knew that this text is actually found in a siddur from 500 years ago?!