Shlomit (Shula) Cooper

Shlomit (Shula) Cooper was born and raised in Israel. She started her path in education at a young age as a counselor and troop leader in the Israeli Boy & Girl Scouts. After finishing her military service as a lieutenant in the Israeli Defense Force she focused on Jewish and Israeli cultural education related organizations, such as the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency for Israel. After working in several Jewish summer camps in the United States as part of a delegation, she moved to the DC area and started working as a religious school teacher and program director in the metro area while finishing her degree in Education at the American University in DC. Shula teaches the Think Prophets curriculum (outlined below).

Think Prophets

Think Prophets is a series of lessons that provide a patchwork opportunity to study the third of the Bible known as the Prophets.

Some of these lessons provide an overview of specific books, such as Amos or Judges. Some deal with certain prophetic figure—such as Nathan or Miriam—who are found in Torah (rather than the books of the Prophets) but whose life stories are closely aligned with the curriculum.

Some lessons will allow for the study of specific stories such as Hannah’s dialogue with Eli. Others will deal with the nature of prophecy.

These lessons combine historical overviews with segments of the biblical text shaped for classroom study.

Think Prophets includes lessons on the following:

What's in the Prophets, Amos, Deborah, Elijah, Ezekiel, Hannah, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Miriam, Nathan, Rahav (Joshua), and Solomon.

Josh Klemons

Josh Klemons grew up in Charlotte, NC. After attending the University of Georgia, he moved out to San Diego. While there he spent three years working for Hillel doing engagement and outreach work. He then spent a year living in Israel. During that time, he traveled to Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, lived in a small desert town in the Negev and volunteered on a kibbutz. After returning to NC and finishing up the grad school application process, he moved to Nashville to work at Vanderbilt Hillel. He is now pursuing a Masters in International Peace and Conflict

Resolution with a concentration in the Middle East. He also is a dedicated musician, writer and educator and is very excited to be teaching Jewish history this year at Temple Micah. Josh is Teaching the History of the Jewish People, Vol. I, as outlined below.

HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE VOL. I

The History of the Jewish People was developed and written by two esteemed scholars of Jewish history. The text features a rich presentation of Jewish history from our earliest ancestors in the Land of Israel to our dispersion in the Diaspora through the Jewish experience in America in the 1880’s. Each chapter helps students consider how their lives compare with the lives of our ancestors, how each generation adapts Judaism to its time and place, and how the decisions of previous generations influence our own lives and decisions. History comes alive for Micah seventh-graders through a dynamic array of famous personalities, diverse source material, engaging activities, and thought-provoking questions.

Topics:

• The Early Israelites
• The Age of Hellenism
• Roman Domination of Judea
• Rabbinic Judaism
• Judaism and Christianity
• Babylonia
• Sepharad and Ashkenaz
• Medieval Europe
• The Sephardic Diaspora
• The Polish Kehillah and German Enlightenment
• Revolution and Emancipation
• Judaism and the Modern World
• The Rise of Antisemitism
• U.S. Jewry, 1820-1890