Yiddish Book Center: Great Jewish Books

Created by teachers for teachers, the Yiddish Book Center’s teachgreatjewishbooks.org is an ever-growing collection of textual, audio, and visual materials designed to support the teaching of modern Jewish literature and culture at the secondary school level and above. The materials on the site are organized into resource kits, each one exploring a thought-provoking text or theme. Each kit includes primary and secondary sources—including poems, photographs, audio recordings, film excerpts, and songs—as well as a guide to using them in the classroom. This is an ideal tool for humanities and Jewish studies teachers who want to enrich and expand their curricula.

The Yiddish Book Center's Great Jewish Books programs introduce participants to the depth and breadth of modern Jewish literature. Led and curated by top scholars, contemporary writers, and cultural commentators, these programs inspire deep engagement with a range of surprising, compelling, and sometimes challenging literary works. The Center offers two residential programs, a web resource for teachers, and a robust book club:

·        At the Teacher Summer Seminar, secondary school educators immerse themselves in the study of modern Jewish literature and discover new pedagogical approaches.

·        At the Great Jewish Books Summer Program for high school students, rising juniors and seniors read selections from important works of poetry and prose, and consider how they speak to the opportunities and challenges we face today.

·        At teachgreatjewishbooks.org, teachers will find an ever-growing collection of textual, audio, and visual materials that make it easy to bring modern Jewish literature and culture into the classroom.

·        Through our online book club, an engaged community of readers discusses the best of modern Jewish literature.