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Ask the Rabbi: September 2006

Ask the Rabbi:

Ask the Rabbi: How can I educate non-Jews about Israel? By Rabbi Lisa Levenberg

Q: My child has been asked to be in charge of the Israel station at our school’s Around The World Day, or the Jewish booth in our multicultural fair. I want to say yes, but I don’t know what to include. No one at school—including the teacher—seems to know much about Judaism. I’m pretty active in our community, but I don’t think I’m such an expert either.

A: First, I want to congratulate and thank you for stepping up to the challenge. You have an opportunity to build bridges between the Jewish community and the larger community, which, as you have noticed, often has very little exposure to Jewish life. Creating positive experiences and memories among young people is an important first step!

1. Pick a theme or focus. You can’t teach everything about Judaism or Israel! Depending on the age group and type of festival, you might choose one aspect to emphasize, such as “Trip to Israel,” “Jews Around the World,” “Jewish Life Cycle Events,” “Things in a Jewish Home,” “Jewish Art and Music,” “Famous Jews,” “Jews in Science,” etc.

2. Choose activities. Make it fun and interactive. One congregant shared the idea of writing people’s names in Hebrew letters on their nametags. Dozens of people lined up to get one, and by the end of the day, there were hundreds of people of different religions and nationalities walking around with their names in Hebrew! Other options include teaching a simple Israeli dance or doing an art project. For “trips to Israel” include archeological digs, kibbutz visits, using Dead Sea mud, or writing a note in the Western Wall. For “the Jewish life” bring a wedding album or Bar Mitzvah video.

2. Food brings everyone together. For an Israel-oriented booth, serve falafel and hummus in pita. For a Jewish cultural booth, the options are limitless! Maybe serve one food of Ashkenazi origin, such as matzah balls, and one Sephardic or Mizrachi recipe, such as biscochas de huevo (festival cookies) or saffron rice.

3. Avoid politics and confrontation. Especially in settings with teens or adults, you may encounter anti-Israel sentiment or people who want to talk about the current upheaval. Do not engage in a debate or even a friendly discussion, as these can quickly become rancorous. Politely defuse negative statements or goading questions by a neutral statement such as, “We’re all here today to celebrate world cultures. This really isn’t the setting for a political discussion.” Continue to resist all attempts at political conversation: “Let’s talk about something else. Have you tried the hummus?”

4. Handouts help extend the learning. Offer some kind of take-home item whether it is a list of trivia questions, suggestions for further reading, a one-page story, or a recipe.

5. Use Internet research selectively. There are an abundance of online resources for Jewish beginners. As with everything, some are wonderful, some are worthless, and many are misleading. The Jewish Agency for Israel (jewishagency.org), in their education section, has a wealth of background information and suggested activities about Israel, Jewish holidays, life cycle, and much more.
Interfaithfamily.com also offers great
introductory material about many aspects of Jewish life.

6. Write it up! After your successful program, make some notes about what you did and what resources you utilized. Share it with your friends or synagogue so that it can be helpful to other Jewish parents in the future.

Rabbi Lisa Levenberg (formerly Rabbi Lisa Rosenberg) is the educator at Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos.

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