Season 1, Episode 1
This first episode, presented in collaboration with Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), features selections from a children's play found in I-Tell-You, a 1926 religious school journal from Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia. The episode also includes essays from the publication written by both students and clergy.
Dr. Miriam Heller Stern, National Director, School of Education and Associate Professor of HUC-JIR, helps us unpack the journal’s meaning and what it has to say about education, assimilation, cultural expression of identity, and the complications of community.
Read the transcription for "I-Tell-You"
THE TEAM
Hosted by Aaron Henne
Scholarship provided by Miriam Heller Stern, PhD
Edited by Mark McClain Wilson
Story editing by Aaron Henne with Julie A. Lockhart
Featuring the voices of Perry Daniel, Joe Jordan, Julie A. Lockhart, Clay Steakley, Diana Tanaka, Jonathan C.K. Williams, and Mark McClain Wilson
Theme music composed by Michael Skloff and produced by Sam K.S.
Transcription by Dylan Southard
"I-Tell-You" Learning Resources
Learn more about:
• History of Congregation Rodeph Shalom
• 1920s politics: Immigration Act of 1924, 1926 speech by President Calvin Coolidge
• Find Jonathan Sarna’s American Judaism: A History, referenced in the episode
Selections from the 1926 journal, I-Tell-You:
Exercises For Educators:
"I-Tell-You" for Learners in Grades K-2 (PDF)
"I-Tell-You" for Learners in Grades 3-8 (PDF)
"I-Tell-You" for Teen and Young Adult Learners (PDF)
"I-Tell-You" for Adult and Teen Learners (PDF)
Watch with captions on YouTube:
Also From Our Artists
Living Lights
Once you’ve listened to The Little Hasmoneans in “I-Tell-You,” we invite you to enjoy another theatrical interpretation of the Hanukkah story from theatre dybbuk artist Leslie K. Gray. Leslie’s Living Lights – which she created, designed, and directed for her company Triumvirate Pi Theatre – is an all ages shadow puppet production set to music without dialogue. You can see clips of its 2011 presentation at the Skirball Cultural Center in the video below.
ABOUT OUR EPISODE PARTNER
Hebrew Union College is North America’s premier institution of Jewish higher education and the center for professional leadership development of Reform Judaism.
HUC-JIR’s School of Education is at the vanguard of progressive Jewish educator preparation, guided by rigorous research and field-shaping thought leadership.