Youth Offerings

Years in the Jewish education world have shown me that young people are often oriented towards the mystical- the weird, the fascinating, the unexplainable. I believe that teaching Jewish content as a magical and sacred body of wisdom sparks a life-long curiosity and wonder for Judaism.

I have number of offerings for young people that can be done virtually or in-person. Bring me into your Hebrew school, day school, Jewish summer camp, and more. Offerings can be tailor-made to meet the needs of your community.

Jewish Magic Camp:

In this five-day immersive experience, students will get all the joys of the Jewish Magic series packed into one week. Covering topics such as dreamwork, prophecy, Jewish magical creatures, sacred space, sacred time, and powerful blessings, and Jewish magical creatures, campers will engage in Judaism first and foremost as a body of deep and sacred wisdom. Camp will include soulful davenning (embodied Jewish prayer) grounded in joy and gratitude. Bring Jewish Magic Camp to your community! Note: access to outdoor space is a plus.

Online Jewish Magic Torah School:

While working as the Jewish Spirituality & Musical Specialist at Eden Village Camp, I developed and ran a Jewish magic program series, with elements of Jewish dreaming, sacred space and time, prophecy, and Jewish magical creatures. It was so successful they ended up leading it for every age group. Campers asked if there could be a way to keep learning with me throughout the year, and thus the idea for an online Torah school was born. Click here to fill out this interest form and to be kept up to date on registration!

Jewish Magic Enrichment Series

In this Jewish enrichment series, students will engage deeply with the multitude of ways in our tradition for touching the sacred. Some example units include: Dream Magic, Jewish Magical Creatures, and Prophetic Magic. In “Dream Magic,” students will study dream stories in the Bible and the Talmud, learning Jewish dream practices they can apply to their everyday lives. In the unit “Jewish Magical Creatures,” students will learn about dybbuks, demons, witches, angels, the Golem, and more, utilizing methods such as text study, arts and crafts, story telling, and more. In “Prophetic Magic,” students will learn about the role of prophets and oracles in the Jewish canon, and have the opportunity to create their own Jewish oracle deck. Class can be done in an 8-12 session series but is flexible. Units can be mixed and matched.

Eco-Judaism

In this Jewish enrichment class, students will engage in Jewish learning from an embodied, earth-based lens, with a focus on what Judaism has to teach us about coming back into right relationship with land and the earth. Students will become versed in Jewish environmental laws, mitzvot, and blessings as tools for sustaining us in an ever-changing climate landscape. Students will learn the land-based connections of Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot and more and will engage in creative and fun projects to bring the magic of the holidays alive and to connect them to our present-moment local lands and seasonal moments. Appropriate for all ages. Class can be done in an 8-12 session series but is flexible.

Blessings As Sacred Spells

Jews in Hebrew is Yehudim, which literally means “the gratitude people.” Judaism contains countless ways for expressing gratitudes from everything from the extremely mundane to once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Did you know there is a blessing for realizing your own strength? For seeing an exceptionally strange insect? Upon seeing a shooting-star? Centering in blessings as gratitude portals, students will learn about the transformational power of words, often referred to in Judaism as Avrakdavra (sound familiar?). Over the course of six weeks, students will engage with a myriad of Jewish blessings as well as create some of their own.

Jewish Dreaming

Rabbi Jill Hammer speaks of the dreamworld as the “Undertorah,” a deep well of revelations that connect us to each other and the web of life. In this six-part series, students will dive deeply into what the wisdom of the Jewish canon has to provide around dreaming, studying biblical texts, Talmudic technologies such as the “dream court” for transforming bad dreams, Kabbalistic approaches, as well as those of modern Jewish voices. Students will become skilled in the art of dream interpretation. The content of students’ dreams will be a key source of material. You do not have to be a strong rememberer of your dreams to participate!

Jewish Magical Beings

Did you know that “biblically correct” angels are far more interesting than the pale-faced human with wings often depicted in Hollywood, and include features such as golden interlocking wheels covered in eyes, and three sets of wings? In this 8-part series, students will learn about Jewish magical creatures as such as: the Golem, the dybbuk, demons, witches, angels, and more. Students will engage in hands-on activities such as craft-making, story-telling, text-study, engaging with historical texts from the Middle Ages, and more. Lessons will include Jewish protection magic including incantation bowls and amulets.

Curriculum/Program Support

I can support you in increasing the fun and magic of your Jewish educational content, livening up your Tefillot, and shaking up your pedagogical practices. I can also run workshops for staff at schools, camps, and synagogues.

A mizbeiyach, or altar, created by an Eden Village camper during the Jewish Magic elective