October 7th School Commemoration Resources

• What goals do we have for our October 7th commemoration, for students, faculty, and families? What types of activities and learning opportunities will facilitate achievement of these goals? 

• How will we account for the variability of our students and faculty in our plans? For example, differences in identity/affiliation, developmental age, emotional capacity?

• How are we supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our students and faculty? How are we giving special consideration to Israelis, and others who might need additional support?

• Do we want to share a message and/or resources with students, faculty, and parents about balancing October 7th commemoration with Simchat Torah?

• What commemoration events are happening in our community? How do our plans align with these events?

UnitEd

The Global Mifgash: An October 7th Commemoration
This Zoom based gathering planned for the first anniversary of Oct 7th aims to bring together Jewish day school students from all over the world. The event is aimed at students in elementary and middle school and will be built to be developmentally appropriate for the children who attend. The program will include a chance to be part of a collaborative music video, a conversation with soldiers, a shared art project in support of our hostages, and more.

Momentum

A Moment of Unity and Healing: Let’s Honor, Connect, and Find Hope Together
Momentum is organizing a special online event to unite people, uplift spirits, and provide a safe space where everyone is welcome to come as they are. Hosted by Adrienne Gold-Davis, this gathering will provide a space for collective reflection and action.

Lappin Foundation

Commemorating October 7, 2023
Gather to remember the victims of October 7th and commemorate the day with Ido Aharoni Aronoff, Israeli diplomat, writer, lecturer, and consultant, who will share his insights about the impact of October 7th on the State of Israel and the Jewish People.

Classrooms Without Borders

Silent Shadows: A Virtual Commemoration of October 7th with Rabbi Jonty Blackman
This virtual event offers a poignant opportunity to honor the lives lost on October 7th, 2023. Through compelling narratives and insightful reflections, participants will commemorate the victims, explore themes of resilience, and contemplate the enduring lessons of this tragic day.

Mizrachi

The Simchat Torah Project: Dancing Through the Tears
This global project aims to unite the Jewish world and honor the memory of the 1,200 souls lost on October 7th and the many hundreds since. Synagogues around the world will adorn one or more Torah scrolls with a cover designed to mark the day, in order to link communities together in both sorrow and celebration. 

Jewish Federations of North America

October 7th: Marking One Year
This website can be used to find a community-wide commemoration near you. In addition to a listing of commemorations taking place across North America, you can find additional resources and actions to help individuals commemorate the fallen, honor the heroes and demonstrate solidarity with the people of Israel. 

Anu: Museum of the Jewish People

October Seventh Exhibition
Attend a virtual tour of the highly acclaimed exhibition October Seventh that examines how Israeli culture reacts to the war and its aftermath. The live tour will take you through the exhibition's three pillars: art works, soundtrack and short documentary video.

Simchat Torah Challenge

Simchat Torah Challenge
The Simchat Torah Challenge is a Jewish communal project designed to inspire 10,000+ Jews of varying levels of observance to commit to reading the Torah for 15 minutes a week, starting on October 7th, 2024.

Unpacked for Educators

October 7th Anniversary
Amid the ongoing war and heartache, navigating the first anniversary of Oct. 7 with our students is uncharted territory for all of us. Unpacked for Educators has developed a collection of resources that you can use to engage your students in difficult and meaningful conversations during this unprecedented time.

Moving Traditions

Yahrzeit: One Year After October 7
Moving Traditions has developed new special edition curricular materials to help educators and teens commemorate the anniversary of October 7. The materials build upon their previous session, Israel at War, offering updates and a ritual to mark the moment.

Shalom Hartman Institute

Commemorating October 7: Rituals for Tishrei 5785
The Shalom Hartman Institute is developing two rituals for the anniversary of October 7, one that spans most of the month of Tishrei for individuals to use at home, and one for communal gatherings on October 7 or on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. 

Aleph Bet Games

Helping Students Navigate the First Anniversary of the October 7 Tragedy
Parents and educators are faced with the challenging task of commemorating October 7th while ensuring the lesson is both educational and sensitive to the needs of young audiences. Jewish values can provide a framework to guide educators in addressing this challenge. This article outlines some tangible ways to integrate Jewish values into lesson plans.

The Lookstein Center

Commemorating October 7th
This collection of educational resources will help students to meaningfully remember the events of October 7th through the study of ancient and modern Jewish texts, prayer, songs, and profiles, ideas for purposeful action, prompts for deep reflection, and more.

Hebrew at the Center

מפגש קהילה לומדת - משאבים ל-7 באוקטובר
This is a collection of resources to support teachers with planning classroom activities and discussion around October 7th. It is presented in Hebrew and designed specifically for Hebrew teachers. 

Israel Maven

October 7th Commemoration Ceremony Resource Kit
Developed by a team of Israel-based educators, the kit includes customizable readings, photos and videos with detailed instructions for facilitating a meaningful and resonant ceremony to commemorate October 7th.

The iCenter

Marking the Moment
As educators consider how to commemorate October 7th respectfully, with educational integrity, and in age-appropriate ways, The iCenter has curated a collection of thoughts, reflections, poems, songs, and art. They have also included a page of best practices for building a tekes (ceremony) or display that can be designed by and for your learners.

Pedagogy of Partnership

A Text Study in Commemoration of October 7th
This new text study offers an opportunity for havruta, in the traditional sense as well as the literal sense of connection, with one another and a modern text which wrestles with the realities we are experiencing. The wish for its learners is that the text study provides a moment of deep listening and meaningful expression, of learning and nourishment, with which to build ourselves and one another up in the New Year.

National Library of Israel

October 7 Memorial Wall
The Library created a "Memorial Wall for the Murdered and Fallen", which features the images and names of the murdered civilians and fallen IDF soldiers on and since October 7th. The names of the fallen are updated regularly, allowing visitors to share both personal and collective grief. Based on numerous requests, they created a set of high-quality downloadable files of the memorial for print and/or digital display during ceremonies marking the anniversary of October 7th (available in Hebrew as well).

The Institute for Jewish Research and Publications

Shiva: Poems of October 7
This anthology contains 59 Hebrew poems printed alongside their English translations, written by Israelis to express the nation’s feelings and emotions. The book includes a link to brief recorded commentaries about each of the poems. Net proceeds of all sales are donated to the Israel Trauma Coalition for their work with victims of October 7th and its aftermath.

Unpacked for Educators

One Year Later: Preparing for October 7 with our Students
Join the UED Collaborative to become part of an exclusive community of schools at the forefront of Israel and Jewish education, connected together for professional development, networking and expert support. In this first webinar for the 2024-2025 UED Collaborative, the Unpacked team will share useful framings and resources to prepare for the anniversary of October 7th.

The Jewish Education Project, The Pardes Center for Jewish Educators, and M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education

One Year On: A Webinar Series for Jewish Educators
This three-part series explores the themes of grief, resilience, and hope. Each webinar is designed to help Jewish educators create meaningful learning experiences to mark the first anniversary of October 7th. Explore the recordings and resources to revisit these impactful sessions and enhance your educational toolkit.

The Jewish Education Project and Shalom Hartman Institute

Marking the One-Year Anniversary of October 7: Resources for K-12 Educators
How can we ritualize and teach about October 7 while we still live amidst its ripples? How can we create safe yet meaningful spaces for our learners to contemplate a year that has changed so much for so many? Join Rabbi Na'ama Levitz Applbaum and Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath to unpack these and other dilemmas facing educators as we prepare to commemorate October 7th with our learners.

Facing History and Ourselves

Collective Memory: Educational Approaches to Commemorating Trauma
In this workshop for educators in Jewish settings, the Jewish Education Program of Facing History & Ourselves will explore how we can apply what we already know about memory and legacy to the history unfolding in our own time.

Hebrew at the Center

?איך לציין את ה-7 באוקטובר
This Hebrew webinar is part of the Hebrew Educators Learning Circle series, and is designed to help support Hebrew teachers in planning for October 7th commemoration.

London School of Jewish Studies

From October 7 to Simchat Torah: How Can We Face It Again?
How do we meaningfully prepare for the High Holy Days in light of the tragedies suffered over the last year? Simchat Torah will be the first anniversary in the Jewish calendar of the atrocious attacks of last year. How can we possibly find the ‘simcha’ in Simchat Torah?
Joanne Greenaway will be speaking with Dr Yosefa (Fogel) Wruble to reflect on these questions. With the help of the Machzor and the Tanach, they will find new approaches to traditional texts, as well as sharing their own experiences and hopes for the future.

The Blue Dove Foundation

Commemorating October 7: Creating Space During the Chagim (High Holidays)
This webinar explores how Jewish organizations can create space to support community members and Jewish professional staff during the Chagim this year, as we approach the year anniversary of the attacks on October 7. The panelists explore this topic and share resources to support your communities.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the National Library of Israel

The Future of Memory: October 7 and Its Aftermath
Join JTA and NLI for an intimate conversation between three of the leading voices in Israel about the events of October 7 and what's happened since. Authors Amir Tibon, Lee Yaron, and Ilan Troen have written new works about October 7 and the state of Israel's conflict with its neighbors. This conversation will dive into the many personal, communal, and national stories their books all tell, forging a sense of collective memory. It will be moderated by Ben Harris, managing editor of My Jewish Learning.