Talmud Vocalization, Israeli authors & More
Save
Copy
Add to Collection
Export to Google Docs
ShareApril 2026 educator newsletter. Highlights include Talmud with vowels, Modern Israeli authors and Lag BaOmer resources.
Passover is officially behind us, and the month of Iyyar is about to begin! If you’re looking for some fresh materials to bring to classes about Lag BaOmer, Yom HaAtzmaut, and the many traditions and texts associated with this time of year, we’ve got you covered.
Below, you’ll find links to works by modern Israeli authors available in the Sefaria Library, resources for teaching about Lag BaOmer customs and laws, and some pretty exciting news about studying Talmud with Sefaria. The aforementioned works by contemporary Israeli authors are only available in the Sefaria Library in Hebrew. If you’d like to explore them in translation, online translation tools or AI assistants such as Gemini or Claude can provide basic translations.
We hope these resources open up new conversations in your classrooms.
Did You Know?
The Talmud: Now with Vowels
Our team recently added vowels and punctuation to tractate Chullin, thus completing a years-long process of adding these to the entire Babylonian Talmud. This is a huge accomplishment, one that will make the classic text more accessible to learners everywhere who rely on vocalization to understand the passages they’re reading. The process involved manual editing of each passage to ensure accuracy.
Our team recently added vowels and punctuation to tractate Chullin, thus completing a years-long process of adding these to the entire Babylonian Talmud. This is a huge accomplishment, one that will make the classic text more accessible to learners everywhere who rely on vocalization to understand the passages they’re reading. The process involved manual editing of each passage to ensure accuracy.
Now when you utilize the Talmud on Sefaria, you can add or hide vowels or punctuation. Simply click on the A/א menu at the top of the reader interface; use the bottom two buttons to choose your settings.
Teaching Tanakh
With Modern Israeli Writers
This month we’re spotlighting some of the contemporary Israeli thinkers whose works are available in the Sefaria Library. These works, along with writings by other authors such as Rabbi Shimon Gershon Rosenberg (known as Rav Shagar) and Avigdor Shinan, engage with texts across Tanakh, Midrash, Mishnah, and more, offering perspectives rooted in contemporary Israeli and Jewish life.
This month we’re spotlighting some of the contemporary Israeli thinkers whose works are available in the Sefaria Library. These works, along with writings by other authors such as Rabbi Shimon Gershon Rosenberg (known as Rav Shagar) and Avigdor Shinan, engage with texts across Tanakh, Midrash, Mishnah, and more, offering perspectives rooted in contemporary Israeli and Jewish life.
- Dirshuni [Volume I & Volume II] : This collection of midrashim (interpretive commentaries) is the first anthology written entirely by contemporary Israeli women. It covers an array of topics, from biblical stories to contemporary feminist issues and beyond.
- Karati Bekhol Lev, by Michal Tikochinsky: In this 21st-century collection of Hebrew essays on the weekly Torah portion, the author draws from a wide range of Jewish and secular sources.
- Chibbah Yeteirah on Torah, by Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin: In this late 20th-century Torah commentary, the author, who was a leading figure in the Religious Zionist movement, finds new meaning in the peshat (literal, or straightforward) meaning of the biblical text.
On the Jewish Calendar
Lag BaOmer
- Laws for the 33rd Day: No weddings, no live music, and no haircuts — all of these and more are mourning customs some observe during this time of year. In his foundational 16th-century work of halakhah, Rabbi Joseph Karo explains these customs, along with why they’re not observed on the 33rd day of the Omer (known as Lag BaOmer). Start reading…
- Pulling an all-nighter? In this kabbalistic work from the 18th century, Rabbi Hayyim Yosef David Azulai (known as the Chida) describes a spiritual custom: gathering with 10 people on the night of Lag BaOmer to study the praises of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai scattered throughout the kabbalistic texts, the Zohar, and the Idra Zuta. Start reading...
Sefaria Tools to Know
Sefaria for Google Docs
Seamlessly add and format any source from the library to a Google doc with a single click. Now including verse numbers!
--
Source Sheet Editor
Mix and match sources from Sefaria's library of Jewish texts, and add your comments, images, and videos.
Seamlessly add and format any source from the library to a Google doc with a single click. Now including verse numbers!
--
Source Sheet Editor
Mix and match sources from Sefaria's library of Jewish texts, and add your comments, images, and videos.
Useful Links
>>> Looking for more information? You can always reach out at [email protected]. We're here for your questions.
