The Passover Seder as Live Action Role Playing

The Importance of Taking Care of Our Trees

October 7th

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.

My Family Origins Through Primary Sources

Tu Bishvat

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

Shabbat

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!

Ketubot from Across the Globe

Community

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

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

Community

Remembering in Real Time

October 7th

Building Jewish Community

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

Listening to Jewish Songs and Prayers

Community

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

Women Power in Times of War

Music

Explore the role of women during the Yom Kippur War.

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

Yom Kippur

Pesach: The Four Sons

Jewish Cuisine - A Taste of Community

Pesach

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

First Woman to Sign Israel’s Declaration of Independence

Community

Rachel Cohen-Kagan was one of the most prominent activists for the advancement of women's rights in the young State of Israel. Her efforts led to her being among the signatories of the Declaration of Independence

Yom Ha'atzmaut

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

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.

Traditions

Ilan Ramon Time Capsule

Henrietta Szold Time Capsule

Israel

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

Women's Month

Teachers Talk - A Letter

Teachers Talk about NLI Primary Sources - Letter from Sarah Aaronsohn

Women's Month

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

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Tu Bishvat Photos and Posters

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.

Teaching the Next Generation

Tu Bishvat

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

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

Traditions

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

Which Jewish Festival Are You?

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

Values

Sigd - Learn More Through Trivia

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

Sigd

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

A Look at the Jewish Year: Pesach

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

Create your own Shana Tova Card!

Time:

30 min (with discussion)

Pesach

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

Rosh Hashanah

Shul Crawl - Discover Synagogues!

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

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.

Interviewing a Community Leader

Shabbat

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

Why are there Jewish Newspapers?

Community

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

Women Who Sparked Change: Then and Now

Community

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

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

The National Library of Israel Resources

Lesson Plan

Why Does Your Sukkah Look Like That?

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

Jewish Schools. Where in the World?

Sukkot

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

Education

The National Library of Israel Resources

Digital Activity

Reading from the Torah and putting on tallit and tefillin

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

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

A unique Haggadah crafted by American-Israeli artist David Moss four decades ago joins the National Library of Israel’s collection

Traditions

Pesach

Alfred Dreyfus New Year postcard, 1901

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

Values

Renee Molho: A Bookstore in Six Chapters (Centropa)

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.

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

Yom Hashoah

Golda Meir Time Capsule

What Does Your Simchat Torah Flag Say About You?

Women's Month

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

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.

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

Shabbat

Community

Pesach Photographs with Discussion Questions

Explore the unique photos from the National Library of Israel's collections and discuss questions with your students.

Planting a Tree in Israel

Pesach

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

The Historic Aliyah of Ethiopian Jews

Tu Bishvat

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

Community

Match the riddle to the image to discover different haggadot from around the world

Keeping the Community Together

Pesach

Who is responsible for maintaining harmonious relations within the community?

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

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

Ancient Maps of the Exodus

This geography and Tanach teacher from Jerusalem talks about how she uses historic illustrated maps of the Exodus in her classroom.

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

Time:

30 min (with discussion)

Pesach

Historical Jewish Press

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

A Year to October 7 | Remembering in Real Time

Middle and High school

Women's Month

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

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

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

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?

Commemorating Yom Hazikaron

Sports

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

Yom Hazikaron

NLI Exhibit | A Treasury of Words

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

Community

Chana Senesh - Learn More About this Heroine

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

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.

Yom Hashoah

Shavuot

Unique Torah Scrolls from Across the Globe

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

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

Traditions

Chanukah

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

Inside and Outside the Sukkah

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

Sukkot

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

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

Lesson Plan

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.

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

Tu Bishvat

Chanukah Songs From Around the Globe

Community

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

Chanukah

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

Naomi Shemer Time Capsule

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

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

Middle and High school

Women's Month

Shabbat

Chanukah Across the Globe

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

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.

Chanukah

October 7 Memorial Wall

October 7th

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?

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

Tu Bishvat

Sending Shana Tova Greetings

Community

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

Chana Senesh Time Capsule

Rosh Hashanah

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

Jewish Songs and Prayers. Traditions That Ring a Bell

Women's Month

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

Maccabiah Photo Finish Highlights

Traditions

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

Women's Liberation Movement Ad

Sports

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

Women's Month

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

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 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

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.

Oral History – Learning History to Learn About Ourselves

Women's Month

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.

The First Israeli Woman to Travel the Globe

Middle and High school

Family

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

Bearing Witness | Documenting October 7

Help us documenting October 7, 2023 and its aftermath

October 7th

Crafting Our Story: Pesach as a Case Study

Learn about several modern Haggadot that expand on the traditional versions with various levels of interpretation and innovation, including references to current events

Pesach

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

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

The Cantor Who Lost His Voice

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

Yom Kippur

Celebrating in Times of Crisis

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

Chanukah

The Importance of Community

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

Primary sources - What can you learn from them?

Community

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!

Pesach Activity Printable Page

Community

Learn how different historical circumstances come to life in the unique design of each Haggadah.

Women’s Prayer Book - Over 500 years old

Pesach

“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?!