This collection provides educational resources on the rituals and practices of Jewish life, including birth, B-Mitzvah, the Jewish wedding, divorce, and death and mourning. It also includes resources on exploring Jewish lifecycle events as a deeper exploration of Jewish diversity and the evolution of Jewish practice.
Educators can use these resources with families who are going through these life stages, or use them to teach groups of learners about the lifecycle rituals and traditions.
- Video
- Curriculum
- Guide
- Lifecycle
- After School and Beyond
- Congregational Learning
- Day Schools and Yeshivas
- Family Engagement
- Teen Engagement
Birth and Naming
Animated videos to introduce the rituals of welcoming a baby into the Jewish community.
This is a naming ritual guide that can be used for all children
This curriculum guide is an opportunity for new parents to share their experiences with one another, to create community and to learn from Jewish tradition.
B Mitzvah
An animated video on what to expect at a B'nei Mitzvah Celebration
Resources to Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Bat Mitzvah in many settings.
These guides can support students in writing the D’var Torah with guidelines to express and organize their thoughts.
This lesson supports teens in creating a Jewish ritual for the transitoin beyong high school.
Explore one girl's campaign to have the first Saturday morning Bat Mitzvah in her congregation.
Torah blessings developed to honor parents of other faith backgrounds.
Steps for clergy and educators to imagine what is possible for the B-Mitzvah teen with disabilities.
This guide highlights b’nai mitzvah models developed throughout North America that can spark innovation.
B’nei mitzvah as chevrei kehilah: Engaging with mitzvot through community service is a curriculum guide that frames b'nei mitzvah as a passage into full Jewish agency, including the ability to take on Jewish communal obligations.
This curriculum guide aims to introduce b’nei mitzvah aged students to the values, lessons, and ethics of the prophets as captured in the canon of weekly haftarah readings
Transitions
An animated video on the process of adopting Judaism as a Jew by choice.
A collection of animated videos to support sharing the symbols and rituals of a Jewish wedding and divorce.
Reading guide for the book "Sunrise Sunset" asks "how can we savor each moment?"
A guide for helping kids know what to expect at a Jewish wedding.
Use manuscripts of ketubot from around the world to examine how they reflect the communities and time periods.
This curriculum guide is about the study of lifecycles.
Death and Mourning
Resources on death and dying created as part of the Shomer Collective Educator Fellowship.
An article about how one funeral home's staff engage children in conversation about death.
In this episode, Rabbi Melanie Levav discusses the Jewish views on death and dying.
Animated vidoes that explore the symbols and rituals of Jewish mourning practices.
Rabbi Melanie Levav and David Bryfman discuss talking about death and dying in Jewish education.