Welcome to a new year of Rabbi Rochel's RealLife Blog

Berukhim Haba'im (welcome) to my blog! As a teacher at Congregation Etz Chayim, in Palo Alto, I find it extremely useful and fun--for kids, parents, and me--to keep a blog especially suited for my students. As we start a new year, I'd like to give a little tour of this blog and its features.

Entries I write entries for the blog with varying frequency. You'll find that the entries serve several purposes. They are helpful for:

• Students who are absent should read the blog to see if there is material corresponding to the lesson they missed.
• Parents who want to keep up-to-date with class topics and learn more about our material.
• Students who want to study more in depth what we covered in class.

I also post on topics that aren't related strictly to what we've covered in class, but might be of interest. In particular, I link to news articles on Jewish and Israel world events.

Tags The first non-biographical item in the left column is a way to access entries by class (both years that I have taught each grade at Etz Chayim) or subject. Just click on one of the tags to see those entries. For example, if you want to see what I posted about Zionism, you can click and see all those entries from both this year and last.

Blog Archive This box allows you to view posts by calendar month.

Rabbi Rochel's Writings In addition to my work in education, I also am a freelance author. I have mostly written for MyJewishLearning.com. Some of my older topical overview articles there have been added to and integrated with additional authors over the years. More recently, I've been given more freedom to write on practical topics that have a direct impact on daily Jewish life. My two most recent articles are at the top of the list. Middle-schoolers may find some of the articles quite challenging to read; the target audience is educated adults. Nevertheless, I am very proud of my articles on-line and in print. Check them out!

The Rabbi Suggests (Links) Here, you can find links to resources I find interesting, useful, and fun on the web. Students in particular may enjoy the links to Israeli and Jewish-interest museums. I'm adding new links all the time!