Storahtelling Inc

Storahtelling makes it possible for people of all backgrounds, Jewish or not, Yeshiva educated or not, skeptical or not, to examine sacred ancient texts and discover their relevance and beauty in a whole new way. I love our approach to education which is interactive and stimulating for all levels. Services are filled with amazing music, introspection, community building, thought provoking stories, and serious spiritual work. The most unique aspect of services is the Torah service and the dramatic translation that accompanies it. These methods bring you inside the text to experience it in a totally different way.

Storahtelling offers top-notch professional training, performances and inspiration. They've been a pleasure to work with and to watch grow and thrive.

Storahtelling is the only connection to things Jewish for my family. We are interested in exploring the bigger spiritual picture through music, communication, meditation, people, and love, of course. Storahtelling provides this connective experience.

I received Maven training from Storahtelling and also attended programs for young audiences organized by Storatelling. The latter, in particular, were just wonderful! My children absolutely loved every minute of the presentation and could not stop singing the songs that they learned at the session. They also continued to ask questions about the stories that they saw brought to life well after we had left the performance. Very educational and so much fun!

I spent a week with the folks at Storahtelling at a Maven in the Making training and loved every minute. From learning how to dive into the text to bringing it to life! Thanks again Storahtelling.

If I could give StorahTelling more stars, I would! I have had the pleasure of attending StorahTelling programs over the years and I have always been engaged and moved. I also had the pleasure of learning StorahTelling techniques in the StorahLab seminiar two summers ago. These teaching tools have become part of my arsenal and I used two of them just this week. I love the Shema lesson and the tableau technique. I used tableau in my family services at Yom Kippur and just yesterday my students showed the story of Yael and Sisera. I recommend these programs highly.

I first encountered Storahtelling when a colleague suggested I hire them to lead worship services for a teen summer trip I was running. Storahtelling's crew created an amazing show which really caught the teens' attention and engaged them in serious thinking about our holy texts. Since then, I've seen them do shows for a variety of groups, and have never ceased to be amazed by the depth of their teaching and the magnitude of innovation they bring to worship. I have since gone through their training and brought their incredible system to my synagogue, and the performance got unprecedented levels of excitement and enthusiasm from the community. They are revolutionizing our engagement with Torah and the way we think about our worship services.

Few programs that I've participated in as a rabbi have helped as much to shape my understanding of what it means to communicate ancient texts to people. Storahtelling is an organization that transforms people and communities.

The Storahtelling company has been an eye opener in many ways of my teaching techniques. Their innovating, invigorating, participatory and experiantial way to "Be Torah" to "Feel Torah" and to teach and "Do Torah" with understanding and in a contemporary way that attracks many levels and ages of the audiences, has been an empowering Journey.I have been personally involved with the company's new approach and methodologies in all the areas of my teaching, teenagers, adults and even bring it live performances in our Synagogue in many occasions. The results are always: "WOW" this is totally COOL. Can we do it again soon.

Storahtelling is amazing. I first got to know storah when i served as a torah reader for one of their Shabbat morning ritual theater pieces. I had never experienced the words of the TOrah in such a meaningful way. When Storah came to the synagogue where i served as the Rabbi, I saw even better its transformative effects on Jewish literacy and engagement. I am proud to continue to support the organization as a board member and all-around cheerleader.

My first encounter with Storahtelling was on Purim 2 years ago; I got dragged along to the Purimshpiel at 6th Street Synagogue, where, among other things, I immediately recognized the famous San Francisco drag troupe, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, along with a real blender mixing real margaritas right on the bimah as the Megillah was chanted. This, I thought, is something special. Later, I attended Storahtelling's summer training for Jewish educators (StorahLab), where I gained wonderful tools to bring back to my 3rd grade Hebrew School classroom in Brooklyn. This is an organization that brings the joy and inspiration back into Jewish life; it's not something you can sleep through. I wish the whole world knew about Storahtelling!

The first time I encountered Storahtelling was at a CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education) Conference in Ft. Collins, CO in 2003. I was hooked right away -- finally, someone got it about how normally dull the Torah service/reading is, and remade it as a lively, interactive and engaging way to navigate from the ancient Holy text to modern times and situations. I have subsequently taken classes and gone through the 3-phase training to become a Storahtelling Maven, one of the few "mobile mavens", based in Milwaukee, but traveling to perform and lead Storahtelling all over the country. I have enormous respect for Amichai and his team of skilled, passionate Jewish educators. The work they do is cutting-edge and brilliant, and I think they are very consciously planning how to expand the impact of Storahtelling in the future by training more rabbis and educators.

I have been a Storahtelling Company member for the past five years. Having grown up in Orthodox schools, Conservative camps and attending family members' Reform synagogues, I though I had seen and experienced it all Jew-ishly. Then I found Storahtelling, who helped me connect to faith, spirituality and community in a way I had never before - by reinventing ritual, reclaiming that which was inaccesible, and providing a roadmap for connectivity and continuity that will be a part of my and my family's lives for the long haul.

My first experience with Storahtelling was powerful and emotional, educational and fun. It was over the high holidays this past year. I found that Storahtelling brought to life the bible stories I had been hearing forever. These stories that had always seemed so ancient now had a relevance to me that I had never known. The experience was so personal yet universal at the same time. I strongly feel that every Jew should have the opportunity to participate in Storahtelling. It's a way to make these stories from our past feel connected to us today. So meaningful to me!

I was so moved by the music and storytelling of Storahtelling. I didn't know I could connect with the story of Aaron becoming the high priest until I saw it reenacted on Yom Kippur. The group made it known how the story relates to life today; It helped me remember to ask forgiveness of my own family, before I could go out and be a more compassionate person with my community. I also left the performance curious about other biblical stories and their relevance in my life. It was something special.