| intergenerational programs |
| Living Jewish History: An Intergenerational Conversation February, March 2001 |
| Living Jewish History: An Intergenerational Conversation, a project initiated by Dr. Rakhmiel Peltz, is now part of history itself. During February and March of 2001, seniors from the JCCs Stiffel Senior Center in South Philadelphia, Drexel University students, and pupils in the Perelman Jewish Day School came together to share ideas, knowledge, and memories. The five occasions gave seniors and young people a chance to meet, find commonalities, and create relationships. Learning about Jewish history was a goal achieved along the way. Kindergarteners and seniors discussed favorite Jewish holidays, and how each spent their days as 5-year olds. Fourth graders studying Jewish immigration to America received personal accounts from seniors and told their own ancestor's histories through first-person monologues. Sixth graders both interviewed the seniors on family immigration stories, and created historical timelines on favorite objects selected by the senior citizens. | |
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In addition, the sixth grade class visited a special exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia about the lives and memories of the South Philadelphia seniors called, "Still Home: The Jews of South Philadelphia." Later, the entire sixth grade entertained the Stiffel Center members with an outstanding Purim performance. All groups came together on a fifth occasion to experience an improvisational drama about differences and similarities between generations of Jewish people. Drexel University students enrolled in the course, "Contemporary Jewish Life," observed interactions and relationships during all five occasions, and then compiled ethnographies on what they saw and heard. All groups involved reported having learned much, having had fun and have been set to thinking about what other generations have to offer, especially in terms of a shared Jewish heritage. |
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