Lisa Exler describes the theory and application of tefillah at Beit Rabban Three scenes from a first grade class at Beit Rabban Day School, a non-denominational, early childhood-through-fifth grade, community day school in New York City: Shortly after making the...
Literacy or Inspiration
Daniel Rose poses fundamental questions about tefillah education, exploring as well differences between different age levels. In the process he also focuses on how the choice of siddur can impact on the student experience. On one visit to a North American Yeshiva day...
The Birthing of a New Field
The authors explain the background of a program they designed for people teaching or conducting tefillah, which they hope will spawn a cadre of professional tefillah educators. Background Fifteen years ago, very few people were talking about tefillah in day schools....
Incorporating Hand Motions (ASL) into Prayer Teaching
Susan Marx explores how incorporating sign language into tefillah adds a dimension of expressiveness. When my now 23-year old daughter was in elementary school, I watched her sing and sign with American Sign Language (ASL) in the school’s aptly named “Fabulous Flying...
Finding God in the Seventh Grade
Seth Korelitz describes how he engages students in an exploration of God. When I speak with my students about tefillah, there is nearly universal agreement that tefillah is difficult. When I ask them why, one of their most common answers is that they don’t understand...
The Art of Prayer
Peter Stein shares how he integrates art into an alternate tefillah experience. What do you get when you mix dried leaves, acrylic paint and a smattering of Rav Soloveitchik? In Frankel Jewish Academy's Art & Tefillah Minyan, you get beautiful works of art about...
Together or Separate: Halakhic response to breakaway minyanim
Jewish prayer is a paradoxical pursuit: it is an individual spiritual enterprise undertaken in a communal setting. The paradox is not of our making or desire; it is inherent. To be sure, we covet communal spaces that facilitate our personal journeys, and when we are...
Let’s Not Fall into the Trap
Let me begin with the following generalization: If it “aint Broke,” fix it before it breaks. I’ll explain. I have been actively observing and leading tefillot for children and teens for over sixty years. Among the young (ages 3-10), on the surface everything looks...
From The Editor Fall 2017
Ever since the institution of formalized prayer there has been anxiety about the impact of that decision. “When one makes his prayer fixed it is no longer a supplication” (Mishnah Berakhot 4:4). The implications are educational as well as theological. Educating to the...
About the course
In Their Footsteps: Women’s Leadership in the Bible and Today is an online leadership course for 10th and 11th graders . This course encourages young Jewish women to develop their confidence, voice, and vision, and provides them with the practical skills to take...