Jewish Values in Action

Jewish values happen in our classrooms all the time. Kids make a card for a sick friend - bikkur cholim. Invite a friend to sit at the snack table with them - hachnasat orchim. Return a friend's lost glove - hashavat avayda. Often, we don't even notice.  And most of the time, we miss the opportunity to acknowledge the Jewish values all around us. We miss the opportunity to encourage and foster great, menschy behaviors within a Jewish context. Noticing Jewish values leads to Jewish behaviors, and to richer, deeper understandings of what it means to be Jewish.  To be Jewish is not just to eat challah on Shabbat, or to wave a lulav. To be Jewish is to care for our friends who, like us, are created b'zelem elokim (in the image of God), and to care for our world, since we are partners with God in the on-going perfection of the world.

Recently, at the JEA conference in Dallas, a group of Jewish EC directors got to observe and document what Jewish values in action in the classroom could look like.  Check these bits of documentation out:Jewish Values At Snack and Jewish values in teacher/child interactions

Are Jewish values happening in your setting?  How do you make them visible?  How can teachers be empowered to notice and nurture Jewish values in their classrooms?  Join this discussion!