What does it mean to be Jewish?
How is the synagogue build?
Why does the synagogue have a light which is always lit?
Why are there 613 knots on a prayer shawl?
How do Jews in Trondheim live nowadays?

At the end of the 19^th Century began a small, but steady Jewish immigration to Norway. Most of the Jewish population settled in the areas of Oslo and Trondheim, and at the most the Jewish population were close to 2500 people in Norway. Today there are about 1500 with Jewish background, and many of theses are related to the first Jewish immigrants. When the Jewish people and families fled from Eastern Europe, and ended up in Norway, they brought with them their faith, culture, and traditions. This made the foundation of how Norwegian-Jewish life is today.

“Norwegian-Jewish traditions, rites and culture” is an educational session which focus on topics regarding Jewish life and practice in Trondheim and Norway. It encourages active learning through group activities where the students get to work with ritual objects and they get to reflect about Judaism in Norway compared to other places around the world. During the visit the students also get to experience the northernmost synagogue in Europe and study the similarities and differences between a synagogue and other places of worship.

During this session, the students will learn about what it means to be Jewish, learn about Jewish symbols, holidays, and traditions today. Both length and topics can be adjusted if there is something the school what to learn about during the visit. For example, the student can learn about kosher foods, or educational films about Jewish holidays and ceremonies in Norway can be shown.

Prep Work: The teachers are encouraged to task students with questions that can be asked during the visit.