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Student Books &
Materials |
The educational and training materials,
described in detail below, can be used in sequence - or as stand-alone lessons and
worksheets to enrich other programs. Student books are self-contained. They require
no prior background in Sephardic Jewish
education on the part of the teacher.
Award-winning
teaching video called "Ayer: Our Spanish
Heritage"
Lively
and colorful introduction to the story of the Jews whose
ancestors came from the Spanish peninsula; starring Theodore Bikel.
It opens with their arrival on the peninsula in biblical
times and ends with their expulsion in 1492. Can be used alone
or in conjunction with the first lesson in Book I, which wraps
instruction around the video. (12 minutes). A memorable
children's video covering an unusual slice of Jewish history.
"Out
of Spain" CD and/or audiotape format
Haunting melodies and songs to accompany certain lessons and introduce
students to typical Sephardic music created by the Jews from
Spain. Includes the popular
Hanukkah song Ocho Kandelikas.
Five lessons and worksheets for children telling of the lives of the Jews from their earliest
days on the Spanish peninsula until they were expelled in
1492 or were coerced into conversion to Catholicism (anousim).
Lesson 1: Who are the Sephardic Jews? An
introduction including our 12 minute video.* Includes a
quick look at the origins of some Sephardic names.
Lesson 2: The Great Invasion: The impact
of the arrival of the Moors in Spain upon Jewish life,
synagogue architecture and culture.
Lesson 3: Heroes of the Golden Age and Beyond:
Poets, songs, medicine and science. The life and ideas of
Maimonides.
Lesson 4: Music in the Castles: Birth of
the Romanza and favorite instruments.** How Jews were part
of the explosion of courtly music.
Lesson 5: Expulsion or Conversion: The Great
Expulsion of 1492. How and why it happened. Learn about it
by creating a TV newscast. Understand how it felt to be facing
possible conversion under
pressure.
 Student Book II: Off to Other Lands: Sephardic Jews from
1492 to the Present
Nine lessons and worksheets for children covering the scattering and
resettlement of
the Sephardic Jews after expulsion from Spain. Includes their
role in the colonization of the Americas.
Lesson 1: Where are we going?... and the horrors
on the way. Learn about the countries that were willing to offer the Jews a
haven and why.
Lesson 2: "We've Arrived!" - in
the Ottoman Empire. How the incoming Jews learned to live in a Turkish
environment and develop a code of Jewish law that
fit the situation.
Lesson 3: Morocco. How the Jews who decided
to go to North Africa developed a very different lifestyle
that was close to the one lived by their Arab neighbors.
Lesson 4: Italy: the untold story of the role
that the incoming Jews played in the explosion of art and
learning of the Italian Renaissance which was in its heyday at
the time. Why it all ended abruptly
with the establishment of ghettos.
Lesson 5: Dangerous Secrets: What happened
to those who stayed behind:
a peek into the difficult lives of the forced converts known
as
conversos, anousim or crypto Jews.
Lesson 6: A
True Story: The amazing life of Doña Gracia Nasi
a look at one of most famous women in Jewish history
who saved
thousands of Jewish lives through a secret escape network.
Lesson 7: The Caribbean Trading Game: play
a board game that enables
students to accompany the 17th century Sephardic merchants on
their
long distance trading voyages to and from the New World.
Lesson 8: Arrival in the New World: how and
why the first community of Jews
reached New Amsterdam in 1654; and what happened.
Lesson 9: American Sephardim in Modern Times:
celebrate Jewish diversity with a
look at the 'other' Jewish immigrants.
 Student Book III: Celebrating Sephardic Culture
Seven lessons and worksheets that take you through the flavor, sounds and
tastes
that marked the lives of the Jews from Spain and Portugal.
Lesson 1:
The Legend of the
Key**
Why the house keys, left behind when the Spanish
Jews were forced from Spanish soil, became so beloved in myth
and memory. The importance of such tales to identity.
Lesson 2: Similarities and Differences:
understanding the differences
between Ashkenazi and Sephardic customs.
Lesson 3: Language Mixtures and Puzzles:
The making of the Judeo-Spanish
(Ladino) language.
Lesson 4: Food Glorious Food: The history
and practice of Sephardic cooking.
Why and how it differs from Yiddish cooking.
Lesson 5: A Sephardic Seder** complete
model seder for your classroom
or community center (or the home).
Lesson 6: A Crypto-Jewish Seder** become a
member of a hidden crypto
Jewish community and celebrate their way (with all the
possible
dangers and pitfalls).
Lesson 7: A Sephardic Hanukkah** celebrate
with a party that offers food
and entertainment that gives a different flavor to your
celebrations.
*Book I, Lesson 1 is designed to be used with
our Jewish history children's video called "Ayer: Our Spanish Heritage."
**A
music CD (also in audiotape format) is available - and recommended -
to accompany certain
activities in these lessons.
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