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WRITINGS 1. D'vrei Torah "Why Do the 10 Commandments Begin With an Egyptian Word?" (St. Louis' Jewish Light, 1999; CAJE Jewish Spirituality Newsletter, 2000; New Orleans' Jewish News, 2002; JewishNewHaven, 2005; Times-of-Israel, May 13, 2014) http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-do-the-10-commandments-begin-with-an-egyptian-word/ "Be Grateful for the Earth This Tu B'Shevat" (Boston's The Jewish Advocate, Jan. 22, 2016) http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/news/2016-01-22/Editorials/Be_grateful_for_the_Earth_during_Tu_BShevat.html "The Spirituality of Passover Cleaning" (ShalomNewHaven, 2005; UJC's Orchard, 2007; Boston's Shalom Magazine, Spring 2016; Detroit's Jewish News, 2017; Washington's The Jewish Week, 2017; etc.) https://thejewishnews.com/2017/04/07/cleaning-passover-search-spirituality/ http://washingtonjewishweek.com/37771/cleaning-for-passover-and-the-search-for-spirituality/editorial-opinion/voices/ "Why Repentance, Prayer, and Charity are Not Jewish!" A D'var Torah for the High Holidays (ShalomNewHaven, 2006; Jewish Journal [North Boston], 2008; Boston's Shalom Magazine, Fall 2016) Link forthcoming "What Was the Real Miracle of Chanukah?" (Boston's Shalom Magazine, Winter 2016) Link forthcoming 2. Essays "Who Wrote the Torah?" The Torah (and Talmud) contains several dozen scientific claims, guarantees, and historical predictions which a human author would never make, and only a Divine author could. This short essay discusses three of these. (Boston's The Jewish Advocate, 2017) http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/news/2017-10-13/Editorials/Who_wrote_the_Torah.html "Dear Hebrew School Graduates..." Eight Teachings I Want My Hebrew School Students to Remember (7 pages) This essay briefly addresses evidence for the Torah being Divine; insights into the Jewish practices of Shabbat, keeping Kosher, and prayer; as well as the purpose of being Jewish, and insights about Jewish Identity and Jewish pride. (Times of Israel, June 8, 2016) http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/dear-hebrew-school-graduates/ "Why Do Jewish?" (Aish.com, April 9, 2016) http://www.aish.com/sp/ph/Why-Do-Jewish-for-the-Twitter-Generation.html "Why I Learn Torah Daily" (Aish.com, Feb. 28, 2016) (http://www.aish.com/jw/s/Why-I-Learn-Torah-Daily.html) "Will the Real Judaism Please Stand Up?!" Exploring the Teachings Your Denomination Probably Didn't Teach You (8 pages) (The Jewish Magazine, May 2014) http://www.jewishmag.com/184mag/what_is_real_judaism/what_is_real_judaism.htm "The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Fact-Based & Holistic Perspective" (15 pages) (White Paper: The David Project, draft edition, 2008; updated 2010, 2012, 2014; available from Joel Hoffman as a PDF) "Borat: A Jewish Movie Review" (The Jewish Post of New York, 2006) http://www.jewishpost.com/culture/movie_review_borat.html 3. Opinion-Editorials "Let's Rethink the Bar/Bat Mitzvah" For most kids Bar/Bat Mitzvah lessons are a meaningless experience and a wasted opportunity. Joel Hoffman proposes four-point solution to better educate and inspire our youth. This article has been published in several Jewish newspapers nationwide. (New Orleans' Crescent City Jewish News, May 6, 2016, St. Louis' Jewish Light, May 26, 2016; Boston's Jewish Advocate {date?}, 2016) http://www.crescentcityjewishnews.com/op-ed-lets-reconsider-the-barbat-mitzvah "Retooling Hebrew School" Joel Hoffman shares his ideas for retooling Hebrew school education. (Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, March 21, 2016) http://jewishjournal.com/opinion/183583/ ://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/retooling_hebrew_school ( "Hebrew School is Not the Answer" The organized Jewish community is hyper-focused on improving Hebrew school education and is spending millions of dollars to experiment with different models. Joel Hoffman shares his views on why this is ill-placed and posits another strategy to curve the assimilation crisis. (Front page featured Op-Ed -- Times of Israel, Feb. 17, 2016) http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/hebrew-school-is-not-the-answer/ h "How to Save the Conservative Movement" Over the past 30 years the Conservative Movement's market share of American Jews has shrunk from 43% to just 18%. The movement is considering allowing patrilineal descent and the performing of inter-marriages to retain its members. Joel Hoffman offers two other strategies to save the movement. (Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, Jan. 21, 2016) http://jewishjournal.com/opinion/181470/ "Why You Should Consider a Jewish Day School for Your Children" (The Jewish Magazine, 2007; Connecticut Jewish Ledger, 2007) http://www.jewishmag.com/119mag/jewish-education/jewish-education.htm 4. Journal Articles "How to Engage Generation X in Jewish Learning" Jewish Education News, Vol. 26. No. 2 (Spring 2005), pp. 7-8 (Not available online) "Towards Better Certification and Training for Aspiring Jewish Day School Principals" Jewish Education News, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Spring 2003), pp. 44-46 (Not available online) "Recruiting and Retaining Teachers: A Case Study" Jewish Education News, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Summer 2002), pp. 42-43 (Not available online) "Teaching Spirituality in Jewish Schools" Jewish Education News, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Spring 2002), pp. 57-60 (Not available online) "The Mitzvah To Be B’Simcha (Joyous): The Hasidic Perspective" Pumbedissa Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Fall 2001), pp. 4-6 (Not available online) "Education in Biblical Times: Joshua to 933 BCE" The Jewish Bible Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Spring 1997), pp. 114-117 (Not available online) **Published curriculum pieces are not listed. |
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