Chai Lights

Jewish news for the week of February 9th

To bring even more value to the edJEWcation family, we’re launching a new weekly roundup of Jewish stories we think you’ll enjoy. Each week we’ll pull together interesting, surprising, and meaningful pieces from across the Jewish world that you may have missed.

We’re leaving partisan politics to the people who specialize in that. This is about culture, history, ideas, personalities, and moments that you might appreciate.

Let us know what you think and enjoy…

History & Archaeology

When Your Career Archives Your People: The Archaeologist Who Can’t Stop Digging
A graphic memoir traces five decades from Yom Kippur War volunteer to biblical archaeology controversies
UC San Diego archaeologist Thomas Levy’s new graphic memoir shows how a kid milking cows on a kibbutz during the 1973 war became the first openly Jewish archaeologist to co-direct excavations in Jordan after the peace treaty. His work sparked one of biblical archaeology’s biggest debates about King David and Solomon and now he’s navigating anti-Israel campus protests. The personal intersects with the professional in ways that make you realize archaeology isn’t just about dead things; it’s about living connections to a very contested past. (Times of Israel, December 6, 2025)

Israeli Educators Trek to NYC to Learn What Being Jewish Actually Means
Plot twist: Israelis don’t automatically know how to teach Jewish identity
Here’s the irony no one talks about: Israeli kids grow up surrounded by Hebrew and history but aren’t taught what it means to be part of the Jewish people or appreciate Jewish diversity. Senior Israeli educators spent a week visiting NYC day schools and synagogues, discovering that American Jewish schools create something Israel doesn’t pluralistic Jewish literacy and community. One educator’s goal upon returning: “teach non-religious Jews that Judaism also belongs to them.” Turns out living in a Jewish state doesn’t automatically create Jewish education. (JNS, December 18, 2025)

Education

Israel Makes Jewish Identity Class Mandatory (Finally)
The “Shoreshim” program quadruples budget for teaching Israeli kids why they’re here
Education Minister Yoav Kisch announced reforms making Jewish and Zionist studies core curriculum starting in 2026. The budget for Jewish identity education jumped from 1% to 4% in one year. Over 1,600 educators have been trained, and a new subject called “Paths of Heritage” will integrate Zionist and Jewish themes from grades 2-6. The subtext? Critics say Israeli secular schools have been failing to teach Jewish history and identity to more than half of Jewish students. You can’t inherit Torah each generation has to choose it. (JNS, May 27, 2025)

When First Grade Numbers Tell Israel’s Future Story
Fewer than half of Jewish first graders now in secular schools the demographic shift nobody planned for
Two decades ago, 60% of Jewish first graders were in secular schools. Today: under 50%. Meanwhile, Haredi enrollment came in 40% higher than forecasts made just ten years ago. Demographer Sergio DellaPergola notes that first grade enrollment is “six years after you are born, so the trend anticipates what will happen later.” Translation: Israel’s future society is being written in kindergarten enrollment numbers, and it looks radically different from the past. Also flagged: massive achievement gaps between sectors that PISA scores confirm. (JNS, September 8, 2025)

Culture & Identity

The Most Popular Jewish Recipes of 2025 Reveal What We’re Craving
From Sephardi tomato rice to peak babka: what kept us fed this year
When the world gets chaotic, Jews cook. The Nosher’s top recipes of 2025 ranged from easy Sephardi tomato rice (a weeknight staple) to the ultimate chocolate babka (yields three, because one is never enough). Schnitzel made the list, along with the perfect challah and those honey-drenched tayglach that trigger Rosh Hashanah nostalgia. What’s heartening: people sought comfort in dishes spanning the Jewish geography Ashkenazi kugel meets Israeli chicken meets Sephardi rice. Cooking isn’t just sustenance; it’s memory, continuity, and connection all rolled into one delicious package. (My Jewish Learning, December 26, 2025)

Sports

16 Jewish and Israeli Athletes to Watch in the 2026 Winter Olympics
Israel's "Shul Runnings" moment arrives as bobsled makes Olympic debut
After 12 years of impossible odds, A.J. Edelman (younger brother of comedian Alex Edelman) is bringing Israel's first-ever bobsled team to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. The Boston native who made aliyah in 2016 calls it Israel's "Shul Runnings" moment and he's not wrong. The team includes what Edelman believes is the first Orthodox Jew competing in the Winter Olympics, plus likely the first Druze competitor. Meanwhile, team members were literally shuttling between reserve military service and training in the U.S. during qualification. From skeleton sliders recovering from mini-strokes to bobsledders defying every geographic and financial reality, Israel's nine-athlete winter delegation is pure chutzpah meets athletic excellence. (JTA, January 30, 2026)