NOVEMBER 2019

The ABCs of JBC's JBM

That’s a lot of letters, right? Let’s break it down:
 
The Jewish Book Council (JBC) was founded in 1944, and it has focused on supporting and celebrating Jewish literature. They have a variety of programs and publications, the highlight of which is Jewish Book Month (JBM). During the month preceding Chanukah, the JBC promotes JBM. While we joke about being “the people of the book” and how our weekly Torah reading makes every month Jewish Book Month, we are excited to produce some articles for you about Jewish Book Month. Those articles include:
 

• POP (Up) Goes the Library
• Hebrew/English Children’s Books
• Reading Between the Lines: Finding Jewish Values in Secular Texts
• Through the Looking-Glass: Reading to Understand Others
• A Tale of Two Joshes: An ISJL Take on Jewish Book Month

 
Additionally, with the recent uptick in anti-Semitism, we’ve been asked: is it possible to teach or integrate more Holocaust programming with our curriculum? Dr. Deborah Fripp of Flower Mound, TX, will tell you that not only is it possible, but also it is essential. For students to understand the Holocaust as an integral part of their Judaism without being overwhelmed by it, she says, we need to integrate the Holocaust into their Jewish studies curriculum very early. Dr. Fripp has age-appropriate programs based on stories of Jewish Resilience that you can use to start teaching the Holocaust as early as kindergarten. You can see how she has laid out that plan here.
 
We hope you have some meaningful and enjoyable reads!