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EDUC 553JEWISH LITERATURE:

• Cultural Authenticity• Perspectives and Teaching• Pedagogy & Sustained Silent Reading

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INTRODUCTION Jewish literature reflects their values and beliefs

It includes messages that show the importance of values such as faith, learning, hospitality, knowledge, cooperation, and charity

Jewish literature provides a history of the Jewish people and the years of emigration and immigration Much of the Jewish literature with which we are familiar

is Holocaust literature that is historical fiction, biography, and autobiography

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JEWISH LITERATUREBasic overview

ClassroomSession 7 HISTORICAL -

CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATIVE

1. Biblical Period (Narrative, History and Literature)2. Hellenistic and Talmudic Period (History and Literature)3. Medieval Period I (History; Jewish Communities in the

Middle Ages)4. Medieval Period II (Jewish vs. Arab-Muslim Civilization,

Jewish vs. Christian-European Civilization; Religion, Literature, Philosophy, Exegesis, Arts and Sciences)

5. On the Verge of Modernity (History: 17-19th centuries; Emancipation, Haskalah, Hasidism; Responses to Modernity in Jewish Thought, Culture and Society)

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CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATIVE

6. Jewish Nationalism and Jewish Culture in 19-20th centuries (Zionism, Aliya, Jewish National Movements in Diaspora; Hebrew Renaissance; Yiddish and Yiddishism)

7. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust8. The State of Israel (History, Society; Israel-Diaspora

relations; Contemporary Challenges)9. Israeli Culture10.Jews in Russian Empire, the USSR and post-Soviet Russia

(including regional history)

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ClassroomSession 7 YEAR & LIFE

CYCLES Basic Jewish literacy includes knowledge and active awareness of the

Jewish Life and Holiday Cycles

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1. Jewish Time and Jewish Calendar2. Shabbat3. High Holidays & Succoth4. Hanukkah & Purim5. Pesach & Shavuoth6. Israeli Holidays, Memorial Days, “Minor” Holidays and Fasts7. Jewish Life Cycle. Brit-Mila & Bar/Bat-Mitzva8. Wedding9. Death and Mourning10.Jewish Space: Home (Mezuza, Kashrut) & Synagogue

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YEAR & LIFE CYCLES

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JEWISH TEXT Classical Jewish texts are the key to Jewish culture They manifest the particular Jewish perspective

on fundamental human issues and dilemmas “Talmud Torah” – studying Jewish texts is a basic

Jewish practice, a central element of Jewish identity through the ages

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ClassroomSession 7 VALUE

CLARIFICATION & JEWISH BOOKSHELF

1. Tanakh

2. Midrash & Talmud

3. Medieval Jewish Thought

4. Medieval Jewish Liturgy and Poetry

5. Hasidic Texts

6. Hebrew Literature of 19-20th centuries

7. Yiddish Literature

8. First Generations of Israeli Writers

9. Contemporary Israeli Literature

10. Modern Jewish Literature in the Diaspora

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ClassroomSession 7 HISTORICAL

BACKGROUNDJewish text provides a historical

background that stresses the importance of literature to a people who were denied a homeland for twenty-five centuries

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GOLDREICH Emphasizes the importance of the prose and poetry of

the people It sustained them and ensured their survival as a people The written word was the portable homeland of the Jews

They carried their precious books from country to country

Each generation added to this literature and taught it with gentleness and love

Reading and writing, the study of books, the weaving of words, are a form of worship for the Jewish people

“To read the story of one’s people means to become united with that people”

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ClassroomSession 7 WHAT DOES IT

MEAN TO BE JEWISH?

Approximately 13 million Jewish peopleThree definitions (Kertzer, 1993):

Religious Spiritual Cultural

Rabbi Kertzer, original author of What Does It Mean To Be Jewish? states that Judaism is not a ‘race’12

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ClassroomSession 7 YEARS OF

EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

Emigration in the early 1900s Jewish families sought to escape the political, economic,

and religious restrictions placed on them They searched for sanctuary, freedom, and a better life Jewish people needed inner strength to take these great

risks to escape persecution and to create new lives 2.5 million Jewish immigrants arrived in the

United States between 1880 and 1924 Most came from Eastern Europe, particularly Russia

(Due to the pogroms – A pogrom is a form of riot directed against a particular group, whether ethnic, religious, or other, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes, businesses, and religious centers.

Web Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogroms)

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ClassroomSession 7 THE HOLOCAUST IN

CHILDREN’S AND YA LITERATURE

Informational books, biographies and autobiographies and historical fiction set in WWII often focus on the history of the Holocaust and the experiences of Jewish people in hiding and in concentration camps

Stories tend to be emotional with vivid conflicts dealing with the consequences of war and prejudice

Themes include: Consequences of hatred and prejudice The search for religious and personal freedom The role of conscience Obligations toward others

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Slides 25 – 34 present a few examples of Jewish

Children's literature

Editorial Review: "This is an excellent book for sensitizing young people of any denomination to recognize injustice." -- Church & Synagogue Libraries Product

In this unique introduction to the Holocaust, Eve Bunting encourages young children to stand up for what they think is right without waiting for others to join them.

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This work was set in Berlin, 1942. When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance. But, Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than what meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

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What was it like in the railway cattle cars bound for Auschwitz? This novel, first published in Germany in 1992, tells it from the viewpoint of an 11-year-old Jewish girl. Alice Dubsky has spent two years in hiding in a basement, protected from the knowledge of the Nazi persecution of the Jews. Now suddenly, crammed with nearly 50 people in the hot, stinking darkness of the train car, she faces the fact that they are prisoners being taken to a camp.

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I Never Saw Another Butterfly

The Butterfly

The last, the very last,

So richly, brightly, dazzling yellow,

Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing

against a white stone . . .

Such, such a yellow

Is carried lightly ‘way up high.

It went away I’m sure because it wished to

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1942 Pavel Friedmann (p. 39)

For seven weeks I’ve lived in here.

Penned up inside this ghetto.

But I have found what I love here.

The dandelions call to me

And the white chestnut branches in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly

That butterfly was the last one.

Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.

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I Never Saw Another Butterfly Cont.

A young woman's promise to her dying grandmother leads her on a quest to discover the truth of her own family's mysterious beginnings in this grim retelling of the classic fairy tale "Briar Rose," or "The Sleeping Beauty." In Yolen's modern-day version, the wall of thorns becomes a barbed-wire prison, while the sleeping princess is both victim and heroine. The latest in the "Fairy Tale" series showcases Yolen's skill at transforming the real world into a realm of fantasy. A good selection for adult and YA fantasy collections.

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The Book Thief

by Marcus Zusak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7B8ioiZz7M

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SOME REFERENCES TO EXPLORE

United states Holocaust Memorial Museum for Teachers www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators

Anti-Semitic Propaganda www.adl.org/holocaust/

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