Every educator deserves to walk into the classroom feeling supported, prepared, and confident. In this month's newsletter, you'll find tools to do just that. Below is information about Sheets by other Sefaria users to jump-start your lesson planning, multiple versions and translations of well-known texts, and new resources for clarifying challenging passages of text. With these tools in your metaphorical toolbox, you'll be able to focus on what matters most: guiding students toward meaningful, joyful encounters with Jewish learning.
Educator Spotlight
Rabbi Raif Melhado uses Sefaria to Find a Path
Who? Rabbi Raif Melhado, Judaic Studies Teacher, Atlanta Jewish Academy, Atlanta, GA
How? I really enjoy the options available in the Resource Panel. When I'm curious about a verse of Tanakh or a passage of Talmud, I can explore my questions about it through a great variety of pathways. I can be reading the parashah, and with one click I have related sources, Topic collections, essays, and more at my fingertips! This means there are basically endless ways to explore an idea. This helps me decide how I want to teach the material at hand — and which texts I want my students to know are just a click away. It also makes it easier to show students how to find these materials on their own in the future.
Rabbi Melhado's Top Tip: You can actually check out more than one version of many of the texts hosted by Sefaria. Looking at both the original source and the various translations or editions provided, and toggling between them, can help open pathways of understanding for teachers and students alike.
Did You Know?
Tu Bishvat Seders Simplified
Don't want to start with a blank Sheet? No problem! Try copying a Sheet created by someone else into your own profile, then using it as a jumping-off point. Take our collection of Tu Bishvat Seders, for example. These are created both by the Sefaria Education team and other users, and you can customize them in just a few steps.
Don't want to start with a blank Sheet? No problem! Try copying a Sheet created by someone else into your own profile, then using it as a jumping-off point. Take our collection of Tu Bishvat Seders, for example. These are created both by the Sefaria Education team and other users, and you can customize them in just a few steps.
First, click anywhere on the Sheet to open the Resource Panel. Next, scroll down to find and click on the Copy button. That's it! Access the copy as you would any other sheet, then add or delete sources and other media to create your own take on the tradition. Even if you're not planning a Tu Bishvat seder this year, these can be a great place to get started when you're planning lessons on any number of topics.
Teaching Talmud
Expansive Dictionary Now Available
Recently added to the library, A Dictionary of the Talmud provides concise definitions of Aramaic and rabbinic terms, translating them into modern Hebrew, English, and German. This wide-reaching 20th-century work by Baruch Krupnik and Dr. A.M. Silbermann has helpful features such as:
Recently added to the library, A Dictionary of the Talmud provides concise definitions of Aramaic and rabbinic terms, translating them into modern Hebrew, English, and German. This wide-reaching 20th-century work by Baruch Krupnik and Dr. A.M. Silbermann has helpful features such as:
- Entries alphabetized by word, not root, to help learners find definitions more quickly. Alternate spellings or appearances appear alongside the most common spelling of the word in question.
- Acronyms from talmudic and rabbinic literature, alphabetized and defined with brevity and precision.
- Clarifying examples for dictionary entries, each chosen with care and consideration to ensure lucid explanations of the word's meaning.
SEFARIA TOOLS TO KNOW
Seamlessly add and format any source from the library to a Google doc with a single click. Now including verse numbers!
Mix and match sources from Sefaria's library of Jewish texts, and add your comments, images, and videos.