Elior Sterling - Jewish Educator

04/16/2026

I've been doing a little experiment with a few of my students to see if I might migrate over to the Skool platform for future classes. At first I was keeping it private to a few people, but it's going pretty well, so I want to invite you to join if you would like, either just on the YouTube channel or over on Skool.

Each day I'm posting a video on YouTube after it gets dark in New Zealand, so the count is basically a day ahead if you are in North America. The Date on the video (or the Classroom page) is the date of the night on which you would count that day of the Omer. I am posting April 15 here, because unless you are somewhere West of the International Date Line and East of the Twilight Zone, that's the day of the Omer for you as I post this.

Each day during the counting of the Omer this year I will be uploading a short video to count the Omer and think about the kabbalistic sefirot (emanations of...

01/14/2026

Do you have to believe in God to be a practicing Jew?

01/09/2026

Non-binary Hebrew? Yes, there is such a thing. In fact, more than one such thing. For siddur Hebrew, many communities have adopted the non-binary Hebrew project's suggestions.

01/07/2026

01/01/2026

I just realized that my last pay was from this same lady. She's got some great advice.

Next week I'll get back into posting some content of my own. I just completed three trimesters of a double load of classes in rabbinic school, and now I'm doing down to a normal(ish) class load. (5 classes). In February well start a year long Intro to Judaism class for south Island Kiwis, and a couple of classes for people who want to learn how to lead prayer services. I hope you'll join me in learning this year!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DS4-YrQDpG3/?igsh=cnJwNm1scW1hazJ6

11/08/2025

There are many reasons that people start exploring Judaism, yet some people think that you shouldn't convert because you feel in love with a Jew. Plot twist! There are some rabbis who turn away conversion students who AREN'T in a romantic relationship with a Jew already! There are good and bad reasons to want to convert, but that's up to that person and their rabbi to discuss and the beit din to judge.

11/07/2025

Torah trope is a sort of ancient audiobook narration direction that has been passed down for generations across the Jewish world. No matter the style or the person chanting, certain information about the story is encoded in that notation. Listen to the first aliyah of parashat vayera chanted in English using Len Fellman's monumental work of adding traditional trope to his English translation of the Torah.

09/04/2025

At 8:30am (7 minutes) I'm doing a Livestream about my first week of my 4th semester of Rabbinic school and an update on life, including NZ stuff. Join me if you are interested!

Checking in after the first week of my 4th term in rabbinic school at AJR. My schedule this term:Tuesday: Shabbat Liturgy, Life after Death (Spirituality), L...

09/04/2025

What's your Elul looking like?

08/27/2025

Yo, b'mitzvah students! This look familiar?

If you know the hand signals, it can get you through when you forget which trip grows with this word. There isn't just one hand signal system, but luckily they're all pretty close to the actual trop on paper. Once you learn once system, it isn't hard to switch up of you have a gabbai who dies it a little different.

Armed with this knowledge, you don't have to shy away from reading Torah in shul after your b'mitzvah. As long as you and the person who has your back at the bima both know the hand signals, you can just watch the hand signals in the corner of your vision or take a quick peek at them if you get such!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMYjtAYue9d/?igsh=d3IwejBhdXg0NGRh