Online Learning
B’Shevteha B’vayteha - As You Sit in Your House
As we sit in our homes, this site offers
online resources for learning and living Judaism for people of all ages
Categories
Our online learning sites are arranged by category. Click on a category to jump directly to it. Note, all links will open in a new browser window/tab. Here are the categories for this week:
- Weekly Torah Portion
- G'vurah
- Tu B'Shevat
- Resources to Follow Up from Our Intergenerational Tu B'Shevat Program
- Rosh Hodesh
- Purim
This week's parashat hashavuah, the weekly Torah portion, is B'shalach, Exodus 13:17−17:16. Click here for this week's summary and click here for a visual thinking interpretation of the summary.
Podcast commentary: click here.
Animated video commentary: click here
Spotify playlist: click here
Click here for a commentary entitled, "The Past is Hard to Leave Behind."
For a commentary entitled, "Balancing Our Complaints and Maintaining Perspective" click here.
Click here for a commentary entitled, "First Steps on the Path to the Promised Land."
Families with teens, click here to discuss the portion.
Families with tweens, click here to discuss the portion.
Families with young children, click here to discuss the portion.
G'vurah (Power and Strength "For Good"):
Click here for the introductory two minute overview video of this module of the La'briut curriculum as taught in our Romemu program and to begin to learn about this middah, Jewish value. This will be our Lifelong Learning middah for January through February 27.
G'vurah, our middah for the next two months, is closely related to the Hebrew word for hero, gibur, and the second prayer of the Amidah, the G'vurot. To learn about the G'vurot and what that prayer teaches us about using our g'vurah to make the world better, click here.
Click here for an article on "How Kids Learn Courage," a set of tips for parents from Beliefnet.
While this article uses the term ometz lev for what we are using the term g'vurah and we defined ometz lev as inner strength, either way there are interesting ideas presented. Click here for "Cultivating Jewish Courage (Ometz Lev)."
One of the aspects our youth will be exploring in terms of g'vurah, will be communal-efficacy and self-efficacy. February 7, our focus will be on the power that happens when people combine their g’vurah for good and we’ll be sharing a segment of this, from the NYTimes.
Click here for our CEEBJ G'vurah Spotify Playlist.
Tu B'Shevat (The Fifteenth of the Month of Shevat, The Birthday of the Trees):
Click here for Reform Judaism's resource of all things Tu B'Shevat: the origins of the holy day, recipes, customs, family activities, videos, and more.
For those of you with young children or grandchildren, click here for PJLibrary's Tu B'Shevat's resource hub.
One tradition of Tu B'Shevat is to eat fifteen different fruits and nuts (provided you aren't allergic to any of them), to celebrate the fifteenth of the month and the birthday of the trees. Another tradition is to have a seder. If you would like to have one in your home this year, here are some recommended haggadot (plural of haggadah):
Click here for a Tu B'Shevat seder haggadah by Hazon.
The Reform Movement offers a variety of Tu B'Shevat haggadot options here.
Click here to sign up for a free download of a gorgeous Tu B'shevat haggadah by Ellen Bernstein and Shomrei Adamah.
For the Tu B'Shevat haggadah created by the Milwaukee Coalition for Jewish Learning several years ago, please click here.
Click here for our CEEBJ Spotify Tu B'Shevat playlist.
As an extra gift, click here for a Spotify playlist of music with a Tu B'Shevat theme specifically designed for when you need to use your ometz lev (inner strength) to recognize you are having big feelings and pause before choosing which tool in your tool box to use. It is an hour of forest nature recordings/music you can use to calm yourself, while meditating or while falling asleep.
Resources to Follow Up from our Tu B'Shevat Intergenerational Program:
Click here for ways you can take a first step in being an environmental gibor based on the different categories of fruits in a Tu B'Shevat seder.
Click here for an interactive set of first step suggestions in being an environmental gibor by Hazon (one of the Jewish environmental organizations.)
Click here to learn about, register, and attend the Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest January 27-31.
Click here to learn how the American Jewish World Service is addressing Land, Water, and Climate Justice.
For those who were unable to attend Adina's presentation on the art cooperative group, Fallen Fruit, and would like to learn about it and how it ties into Tu B'Shevat and our g'vurah, click here.
Rosh Hodesh (The New Moon and the New Month):
What is Rosh Hodesh? Click here to learn about this monthly Jewish holiday.
The next Rosh Hodesh will take place on Thursday night, February 11, when we will welcome in Rosh Hodesh Adar. To learn about Adar, click here.
Click here for rituals and customs of Rosh Hodesh.
To learn about the Jewish calendar and each month of the year, click here.
Beth Hamon, CEEBJ's artist in residence in 2020, created a song for Rosh Hodesh. Click here to learn about it and to hear it.
Marcia Falk created a beautiful and modern version of the prayer for the new month. Click here to read it.
Click here for both a historical view of how they decided when it was the new month and the announcement of the new moon at the Shabbat morning service the Shabbat prior to Rosh Hodesh.
Reform Judaism's resource for all things Purim This resource provides the history of Purim, customs and rituals of Purim, recipes from around the world, videos, and even provides a way to make your own ecards for the holiday. One video shows three different ways for making mishloach manot (baskets/gifts of food for friends and family that include hamantaschen, one of the four mitzvot of Purim).
Queen of Hamantaschen, Amy Stone's hamantaschen recipe
Supply List for making Amy Stone's hamantaschen recipe
Click here for our Purim Spotify playlist