Rosh Hashanah Worksheet - Exploring Primary Sources

Analyzing Memorial Day Poster 2008

Yom Ha'atzmaut

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

Yom Hazikaron

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

Tu Bishvat Printable Activity

Have fun while you expand your knowledge, notice new things and celebrate the beauty of the natural environment that surrounds us. Happy hunting!

Tu Bishvat

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

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

Rosh Hashanah Worksheet - Exploring Primary Sources

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

Preparing for an Interview

Rosh Hashanah

In this activity, learners practice writing and asking thoughtful questions and learn how to conduct themselves during an interview.

Rosh Hashanah Simanim. Symbolic New Year Foods

Story Telling

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

Rosh Hashanah

Exploring and Creating Shanna Tova Cards

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

Eliezer Ben Yehuda Time Capsule

Rosh Hashanah

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.

When Israel Comes Together

Leaders

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

Chanukah Candle Lighting in the IDF

When might lighting Chanukah candles be challenging? Learn about how IDF soldiers deal with that question.

Chanukah

What does it mean for Jews to live under the laws of the societies in which they reside? This source sheet explores the Talmudic principle of dina d'malchuta dina—"the law of the land is the law"—through a collection of Jewish texts.

Finding Your Voice in Hatikva

Values

Music is a powerful language that shapes emotion and meaning. In Hatikva, it expresses hope, identity, and resilience.

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

Yom Ha'atzmaut

Historical Jewish Press

The National Library of Israel Resources

October 7 Memorial Wall

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.

October 7th

Women's Role in the 40s

Match the clue to the image on this 1949 WIZO election poster and reflect on how the early Zionist vision of equal work compares to today.

Women's Month

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

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.

Submitting to the Collective

Rosh Hashanah

Share the story of your family object with the National Library of Israel to ensure your story lives on for future generations.

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.

Family

Rosh HaShanah Simanim

Planting a Tree in Israel

Time:

30 min (with discussion)

Rosh Hashanah

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

Tu Bishvat Protected Trees Puzzle

Tu Bishvat

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

Rosh Hashanah Printable Activity

Tu Bishvat

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

Elementary and Middle school

Rosh Hashanah

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

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

Women Power in Times of War

Explore the role of women during the Yom Kippur War.

Using Persuasive Materials

Yom Kippur

Election posters use advertising methods to convey messages. How can we recognize tools used by designers that influence the viewers?

Culture

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

The National Library of Israel Resources

Lesson Plan

PaRDeS - Teaching with Primary Sources Methodology

PaRDeS is a traditional four-level framework for Jewish learning. In this activity, the PaRDeS approach has been adapted to help learners engage more deeply with primary sources and explore questions of Jewish identity and peoplehood.

Education

Land of Milk and Honey

Explore Israel’s agriculture and advertising campaigns that encouraged Israelis to buy certain foods in different time periods.

The Importance of Taking Care of Our Trees

Yom Ha'atzmaut

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.

The Historic Aliyah of Ethiopian Jews

Tu Bishvat

The National Library of Israel Resources

Blog

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

Community

Jerusalem as a Microcosm of Israeli Society

This webinar discusses how learning personal stories can help contextualize and forge connections to grand historical events.

Jerusalem Day

Naomi Shemer Time Capsule

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

El Al Poster of Israel Puzzle

Middle and High school

Women's Month

This puzzle features an El-Al poster with a map of Israel. Do you recognize any of the places on the map?

Yom Ha'atzmaut

Chanukah Advertising in Israel

Since when does Simon the Macabbee promote citrus fruits?! Explore some funny and interesting advertisements connected to Chanukah.

Life of Yitzhak Rabin - Analyzing a Poster

Chanukah

Yitzhak Rabin served as IDF chief of staff and two terms as prime minister of Israel. On November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, an extreme right-wing activist who opposed Rabin’s political ideology.

Yom Rabin

Hatikva: Learn More about Israel’s National Anthem

Discover the secrets of the history and evolution of Hatikva. Turn on the closed captioning for English translation.

Exploring Israeli Culture

Yom Ha'atzmaut

Practice the skill of zooming in and out and take a closer look at Israel’s cultural life.

Shana Tova Card Analysis - Herzl and Sultan Abdul Hamid

Yom Ha'atzmaut

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

How a Little Red Flower Became the Symbol of Israel’s Memorial Day

Rosh Hashanah

Why do Israelis wear the famous Dam HaMaccabim (Blood of the Maccabees) sticker on Yom HaZikaron (Israel's Memorial Day)?

Yom Hazikaron

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

Food Advertising in Israel

Analyze Israeli advertisements from the 1970s for food and cooking products and gain insight into the social situation at that time.

Match Hebrew words with their correct English translations, paying attention to tricky aspects of the language — such as homophones and homographs.

Culture

Learning from Primary Sources

Culture

In this lesson, learners are introduced to primary sources and the insights they can provide.

Bearing Witness | Documenting October 7

Story Telling

Help us documenting October 7, 2023 and its aftermath

October 7th

Israel National Emblem: How was It Chosen?

It was a close competition between artists to see who would receive the honor of designing the National Emblem

Yom Ha'atzmaut

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. This video is in English.

Rosh Hashanah

Create your own Shana Tova Card!

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

Rosh Hashanah

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.

Welcome to Israel - Let's Learn Some Hebrew!

Tu Bishvat

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

Tashlich – Casting Away One’s Sins

Community

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

Shofar Blowing on Rosh Hashana

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

Rosh Hashanah

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

Game

Tu Bishvat Stamp Poster Puzzle

This puzzle features stamps made for Tu Bishvat. Can you identify all the ways to celebrate Tu Bishvat featured on the stamps?

In this activity, learners discover how family trees can reveal personal histories and help preserve the stories of past and present generations, and create their own family tree

Tu Bishvat