Teaching Rosh Hashanah Through the Lens of Jewish Values
- Talia Shir
- Jul 6, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 8
Download the free discussion guide at the end of the article.
As Jewish educators, our mission is to inspire students to become compassionate, responsible, and engaged members of their communities. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, offers a unique opportunity to teach Jewish values, or Middot. Through meaningful discussions, we can lay a solid moral foundation, nurturing qualities such as empathy, kindness, and community building.
Integrating Jewish values into lesson plans helps students understand the profound impact they can have on their own lives and the world around them. By encouraging students to share their thoughts, experiences, and examples related to each value, they can create deeper connections to these principles.
Remind them that their actions, no matter how small, have the power to make a difference. To make this more tangible, set small, realistic goals that they can achieve.
Discussion Questions
Introduce key Jewish values (middot) that you will be discussing. Here are a couple of examples:
Chesed (Kindness)
Why is kindness important in our daily lives?
Can you think of a time when someone showed you kindness? How did it make you feel?
How can small acts of kindness make a big difference in our communities?
Can you share an example of an act of kindness that impacted someone?
Activity: Ask students to share a story about a moment when they performed an act of kindness and describe how it made them feel afterward.
Selichah (Saying Sorry)
Why do we often find it challenging to apologize when we make mistakes?
How does apologizing help to strengthen our relationships with others?
Compare how you felt before to how it made you feel after you apologized.
How can we make sure our apologies are genuine and sincere?
Activity: Role-play scenarios where students practice giving and receiving apologies.
Hakarat Tova (Gratitude)
What does it mean to have gratitude?
Why is it important to appreciate the blessings in our lives?
Can you think of three things you are grateful for today?
Why are they meaningful to you?
How can we show gratitude to others?
Activity: Create a gratitude tree with your students by writing things they are grateful for on paper leaves and attaching them to a poster of a tree.
Kehillah (Community)
What is a community? Why is it important to have a strong community?
How does being part of a community bring joy and support into our lives?
Can you think of a way you have contributed to your community? How did it make you feel?
How can we support and connect with others in our community?
Activity: Create Rosh Hashanah greeting cards for a local Jewish assisted living facility.
Tzedek (Righteousness)
What does it mean to be righteous?
Why is it important to make choices that align with our values?
Can you share an example of a time when you had to make a difficult decision? How did you choose what was right?
How can we demonstrate integrity and honesty in our everyday actions?
Activity: Discuss real-life scenarios where students had to make ethical choices and what they learned from those experiences.
Tikkun Olam (Repair the World)
What does it mean to repair the world?
Why is it important to take care of our planet and help those in need?
Can you think of a way you can make a positive impact in your community or the environment?
How can small actions contribute to making the world a better place?
Activity: Plan a small class initiative, such as a recycling drive or a brief awareness campaign on a social issue.
Download a Jewish Values-Based Craft
The Jewish Values-Based Activity combines learning with creativity and reflection.
This Jewish Values-Based Rosh Hashanah activity guides students to reflect on and connect their actions to six core Jewish values.
Download
Download a Free Discussion Guide
Wishing you a Shana Tova and a year filled with prosperous learning, and peace.
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High Holidays Bundle
This collection of Jewish Holiday worksheets, crafts, and games is perfect for classroom use or High Holiday programming. The delightful collection of activities will help students deepen their understanding and appreciation of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot!
Contents
The Jewish Calendar Wheel is a coloring activity designed to help students visualize the connection between the Jewish and Gregorian calendars, allowing them to understand why
The Jewish Calendar Wheel is a coloring activity designed to help students visualize the connection between the Jewish and Gregorian calendars. By engaging in this activity, students can better understand why the dates of Jewish holidays, like Hanukkah, vary each year compared to the Gregorian calendar. This activity also serves as an excellent way for students to learn the names of the Hebrew months and the annual cycle of Jewish holidays.
Rosh Hashanah Worksheets: Two for the price of one!
The Black & White and Color are both included at no extra cost.
This delightful collection of Rosh Hashanah-themed worksheets is designed to simplify your teaching experience. Whether you're in a classroom or running a high holiday program, students will have fun completing an assortment of captivating activities while deepening their understanding and appreciation of the Jewish New Year.
Bring your classroom together with Rosh Hashanah Picture BINGO! This game is simple and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. No markers or chips are required, just one board and one pencil per player. The set comes with 32 cards featuring colorful Rosh Hashanah-themed images, including round challah, Jonah and the Whale, apples, honey, and more!
Symbols of Rosh Hashanah Booklet
The Rosh Hashanah coloring booklet introduces young learners to the symbols of the Jewish New Year. Children will develop their knowledge and recognition of the holiday symbols by coloring a Jewish calendar, round challah, shofar, Torah, a Tashlich scene, teshuvah, a synagogue, apples, and honey.
This Rosh Hashanah activity is thoughtfully designed to combine learning, creativity, and reflection. This activity is best suited for high holiday programming, supplemental religious schools, and Jewish Day Schools. Students will reflect and connect their actions to the meaning of the holiday by answering prompts for these six core Jewish values.
This interactive Yom Kippur Flipbook guides students in learning about, connecting with, and reflecting about Yom Kippur through a series of prompts, making it ideal for teachers in busy classrooms or high holiday programming.
Sukkot Worksheets: Two for the price of one!
The Black & White and Color editions are included at no extra cost.
This collection of fun and educational Sukkot-themed worksheets offers a variety of activities perfect for the classroom, inside a sukkah, or at community events.
Sukkot BINGO
Have fun in the sukkah with Sukkot BINGO! This low-prep game encourages interaction and friendly competition among people of all ages, while learning about the symbols of this important Jewish holiday. The set comes with 32 cards featuring adorable Sukkot-themed images, including children decorating a sukkah, lulavs, etrogs, Torahs, and more!
Before You Buy
Always be prepared to teach Jewish holidays with the Jewish Holiday Survival Kit.
$64
High Holidays Clipart Collection
Add some holiday charm to your Jewish classroom with this collection of colorful illustrations featuring the traditions, symbols, and foods of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Each colorful illustration captures the joy, traditions, and symbols of the holiday, making it easy to design creative and meaningful materials for your classroom, website, Etsy shop, TPT store, KDP projects, and beyond.
Contents:
Colorful Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Clipart
Holiday Traditions: Shofar blowing, apology, dipping apples in honey, fasting, path to Teshuvah
Symbols: Shofar, scales of justice, Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur book
Foods: Apples, honey, pomegranates, round challah
Special Additions: Bee with honey pot, children with siddur, and more
Canva Access
A Canva link is provided so you can easily copy and paste the images into your designs. If you don’t have a Canva account, you’ll be prompted to create a free one when you open the link.
Commercial Licensing
All images are provided in high resolution and may be used for personal or commercial classroom projects.
*Image sizes are reduced for thumbnails only.
$7
Rosh Hashanah & Jewish Values Craft
This Rosh Hashanah activity highlights new beginnings and self-improvement by introducing six core Jewish values. Students will demonstrate their understanding of these values by answering guided prompts that encourage them to think about real-life examples of how they can live out each one in the coming year.
Chesed (Kindness): I am kind when...
Hakarat Tova (Gratitude): I am grateful for...
Slecha (Sorry): I apologize for...
Tzadik (Righteous): I can be a better person by...
Kehillah (Community): I can help my community by...
Tikkun Olam (Repair the World): I can repair the world by...
Once complete, display them on your bulletin board or send them home as a keepsake.
Before You Buy
Save when you upgrade to the High Holiday Bundle.
$6
Rosh Hashanah BINGO
Rosh Hashanah BINGO is designed to help children of all ages learn to identify the meaningful symbols of this special holiday. The set features adorable Rosh Hashanah-themed holiday symbols, including round a challah, the Torah, shofars, apples, honey, and more! No need for markers or chips—just grab a board and a pencil for each player. Use chips instead for Yom Tov.
Contents
32 assorted BINGO cards
Call Sheet
To play, select a call card at random and show it to the players while reading the caption aloud. Players then search for the matching image on their boards and mark it with an "X" using a pencil. The first player to mark five images in a row, in any direction, calls out "BINGO!" to win. For the next round, the winner can take the role of calling the cards for the next game.
For added convenience, opt for pencils instead of chips to mark the spaces. Cleanup is a breeze! Simply laminate them for durability or reprint as needed.
Turn the Call Cards into a Memory Card Game! Just print two copies, cut, and shuffle!
Before You Buy
Upgrade to the Jewish Holiday Picture BINGO Bundle!
Never Worry about Lesson-Planning for a Jewish Holiday Again!
$6
Rosh Hashanah Worksheets
This colorful collection of Rosh Hashanah worksheets is designed to help students learn essential holiday vocabulary and gain a clear understanding of the customs, history, and traditions of the Jewish New Year.
A student-friendly handout provides an easy-to-understand overview to help you teach with confidence, followed by crack-the-code challenges, vocabulary-building word searches and crossword puzzles, coloring pages, and more.
Charming clipart adds a festive touch and supports visual learners. These no-prep pages are perfect for classroom use, take-home packets, or community programs.
Contents
Rosh Hashanah Overview Handout
Rosh Hashanah Word Search
Rosh Hashanah Crossword Puzzle
Rosh Hashanah Crack-the-Code Sudoku
Create a Wacky Rosh Hashanah Story (similar to Mad Libs)
Rosh Hashanah Coloring Pages
Plus More!
Answer keys are provided for your convenience
You’ll also receive two decorative handouts of the Rosh Hashanah blessings—one with transliteration and one without—plus a Shalom BINGO icebreaker.
Before you Buy
Get the black-and-white and color worksheets for the price of one when you upgrade to the High Holidays Bundle.
$8
Symbols of Rosh Hashanah
The Rosh Hashanah coloring booklet introduces young learners to the symbols of the Jewish New Year. Each page showcases delightful illustrations accompanied by informational text that explains their role in the Rosh Hashanah celebration.
Featured Symbols
New Year Jewish Calendar
Round Challah Shofar
Tashlich
Teshuvah
Apples and Honey Pomegranates
Prayer
Synagogue
Assembly is simple—just print and fold, and you're ready to start! No cutting is necessary.
Before You Buy
Save when you upgrade to the Jewish Holidays Booklet Bundle.
$4
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