10/10 Recommend inviting Kyle Lukoff to Talk With Your Students
10/10 Recommend inviting Kyle Lukoff to Talk With Your Students

Spill the JEWce, my online Jewish YA book club, welcomed teacher, librarian, and author, Kyle Lukoff, to join our circle in September. If you are in a position to welcome and pay an author to come and speak with your community of kids, teens, or adults online or in person, I 10/10 recommend bringing Kyle to talk about his book, A World Worth Saving. Kyle Lukoff joined our circle with warmth, presence, and curiosity. He modeled what it means to listen deeply and respond with heart. Face to face experiences with authors change everything.

Read More
Read Good BooksAmy ArielBook Club, Jewish Book ClubComment
Jemma's Words of Torah as She Celebrated Becoming Bat Mitzvah
Jemma's Words of Torah as She Celebrated Becoming Bat Mitzvah

On Shabbat Ki Tavo, we celebrated with joy as Jemma was called to the Torah and celebrated becoming bat mitzvah. Her words of Torah and her poetry and art are a delight and we are so lucky that she has shared them with us and that she and her parents have given me permission to share them here.

If you have already heard her words and seen her art, you know how delicious they are.
I’m thrilled we can enjoy them again here.

If you are experiencing Jemma’s Torah for the first time, you are in for a treat.

Read More
B'MitzvahAmy ArielJemma, Torah, Ki Tavo, Jewish Holidays, Bat Mitzvah, Poetry, Art Comments
War: A Prayer for Peace
War: A Prayer for Peace

Before Jemma and I wrote the prayer for peace she prayed during this morning’s Shabbat services, I asked her to think about the war in Israel and Gaza and the West Bank specifically. I asked her to think about young Palestinian and Jewish people her age in the Land. I asked her what images came to mind. She spoke. I took notes. She had questions. We talked about them. Over the next few months, she created an art piece, we wordsmithed, we read it out loud and to ourselves. We considered every word. This is the powerful prayer that came into the world this morning, born of our collaboration.

Read More
B'Mitzvah, PrayerAmy ArielPrayer, Prayer for Israel, Prayer for Peace, Prayer for Gaza, Peace Prayer, Peace Comment
Shlach in Merchav Shabbat THIS SHABBAT!
Shlach in Merchav Shabbat THIS SHABBAT!

In Merchav Shabbat, our online Shabbat morning services on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays, we've been learning to chant trope for almost a whole year now. What that looks and sounds like is 9, 10, 11, and 12 year olds chanting Torah for us many weeks.

Now we’ve added a summary of the Torah portion and a d'var Torah that we read together.
NEXT week in July - by the request of our 8-13 year olds, our whole Torah service will expand a bit and we'll add more discussion of the Torah portion during our time together. More Torah, More Tines!
If you are joining Merchav Shabbat on Saturday, you might want to wait to read this - unless you want a preview! If you don’t have the link, please reach out to me!

Read More
TORAHAmy ArielMerchav Shabbat, Merchav, Torah, ShlachComment
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party: Another Prayer for Israel
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party: Another Prayer for Israel

I woke up this morning with another prayer for Israel swimming around in my mind.
As I prepared to lead minyan, I wrote a draft and impulsively shared it after our misheberach (prayers for healing) - in the space we typically offer prayers for Israel and the hostages and Gaza and the West Bank and everyone in the Land.

This is the third draft.
It may continue to evolve, but also, it says what I need to say right now.

Read More
IsraelAmy Arielprayer for Israel, Another Prayer for Israel, Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Poem, Prayer Comments
The Names Everyone Should Know: Mitzi’s Bat Mitzvah Shiur
The Names Everyone Should Know: Mitzi’s Bat Mitzvah Shiur

On July 27th, Mitzi celebrated becoming Bat Mitzvah.
I love celebrating my students for who they are and this student loves to cook. She has a strong Jewish identity emerging from her connections with her family and communities. As we learned together this past year, Mitzi found family recipes she wanted to learn to make and I suggested some to her that had particular histories or came from parts of the Jewish diaspora she hadn’t yet explored. When it came time for her to choose what she would teach about, the choice was pretty easy. I’m honored to share her shiur here with you.
Mazel Tov to you Mitzi, and to your family!

Read More
Jewish Education, B'MitzvahAmy ArielB'Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Daughters of Zelophechad, In Memory's Kitchen, Mitzi Comment