Circle of Jewish LIfe contains both texts and activities. It enters areas where you need to go, ones that you've never had a resource for before: conversion, adoption, divorce, the meaning of growing old, and more. The book is rich in Jewish texts, stories, and opportunities not only to learn the vocabulary of the Jewish lifecycle but to enter into its concepts as well. Make meaning out of the Jewish Life cycle!
Lifecycle is important because it is a place where our students will encounter Judaism in real life. They will all celebrate weddings, have bar or bat mitzvah, and will face funerals. It is in those moments that the Jewish tradition can be a rich resource and make a difference. In order for that to happen, they need two things: (1) They need to know the dance steps. That includes knowing the names, prayers, rituals, and vocabulary associated with a particular lifecycle event. But also (2) they need to have a sense of its meaning, of the values it actualizes.
