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Resource Guide For Parents And Educators
Here are a few suggestions for using The Animated Calendar Of The Jewish People as a supplement to curriculum to teach the unique concepts and calculations of Jewish Time - the flow of Hebrew months, and their relationship to the holidays and special days of observance.
Prepare a unit on each Jewish month, using the calendar as a visual focal point.
How many days are there in the month?
How many days of Rosh Chodesh are there in the month?
On which Jewish day of the week does the month start and end? e.g. Yom Rishon, Yom Sheni
For younger students, prepare a Rosh Chodesh party with treats.
For older students, use Rosh Chodesh as an opportunity to make "mini resolutions".
Discuss the division of the Jewish year into two cycles - the six months that start with Tishrei and the six months that start with Nissan.
For example, Cheshvan is the second month according to the calendar, but the eighth month according to the Torah.
Find a student's Jewish birthday on the calendar as well as their secular birthday.
If the student doesn't know their Jewish birthday, they can look it up at http://www.hebcal.com/converter. Those students who express more interest can also research the birthdays of their friends and relatives, and note them in the planner.
Discuss the broader issue of why the calendar is structured like it is:
The first mitzvah of the Jewish People as a nation was to proclaim the new month Nissan, while still in Egypt as slaves. Before the Exodus, before receiving the Torah, the Jewish People were commanded to observe Rosh Chodesh.
Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch says that the Jewish Calendar is the "catechism" of the Jewish People. Discuss with your students what this means.
Rashi comments that the Jewish People are compared to the moon. Just as the moon waxes and wanes, so does the history of the Jewish People. Ask you students to suggest historical examples.
Ask your students to explain why the daily blocks are "overlapped".
Explain to them the concept of the Jewish day, which begins at sundown and ends at sundown.
Explain that the secular day begins at midnight, so that the Jewish day is actually part of two secular days. Point out that even though the "overlap" looks the same through the calendar, the time of the beginning and ending of the day will always vary. Use summer and winter months as examples.
Point out that even though the calendar moves from left to right, it could also be oriented right to left, like Hebrew.
Discuss how Israeli calendars might be oriented.
Discuss the Jewish days, weeks and months.
Each day, (Yom Rishon, Yom Sheni etc.) translates as "the first day" etc. (until Shabbat), not "day one". Note that the three stars icon next to the word erev is the designated separation between two days. Long before watches or atomic clocks the Sages of Israel determined that upon seeing three stars of a particular size, the new Jewish day had begun.
Review counting in Hebrew.
The calendar affords a great opportunity to master Hebrew counting up to thirty.
Point out several unique features of the calendar.
The Calendar of the Jewish People begins months according to the Jewish cycle. This makes more sense than starting a Jewish calendar with first day of September, which would be like starting the secular calendar on a date other than January first.
Candlelighting - show how the icon for candlelighting before Shabbat or the first day of a Holiday is strategically placed to indicate when the candles are to be lit before sundown. Notice how on the second day of a Holiday the icon is placed differently, indicating that the candles should be lit after sundown (except on Shabbat). This reflects the traditional view of the two days of Holiday observance. Note the differences in Israeli observance of the festivals.
Identify the icons.
Each one can be discussed in fuller detail as to why it was picked to represent the day.
Launch a discussion about other things in life that are different between Jewish life and secular life.
Do a comparison between The Calendar Of The Jewish People and any other Jewish calendar and highlight the differences.
Discuss the fundamental difference between the Jewish and secular calendars.
The Jewish calendar being based on the lunar cycle and the secular being based on the solar.
Use the calendar to focus on some of the more obscure, less familiar parts of the Jewish year.
Sefirat HaOmer
Shabbat Mevarchim
Kiddush Levana
Selichot
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Prayer for Israel Poster
Colorful graphics by leading Jewish artist, Mordechai Rosenstein is a message of hope and peace.
Suitable for framing or mounting is a bedroom, study or hallway. Special price $9.95 plus shipping.
More Info...
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Lulav & Esrog