About Judi and Bernie

Judi and Bernie Newman live in Naperville, Illinois, where they have had many good times visiting the little ones at the Early Learning Center of Congregation Beth Shalom! These cute little Jewish children inspired the idea that it is never too early to start learning Hebrew. (Also, the wonderful Ms. Robin, who is now retired, helped plant the seed for this idea.)

Bernie does Bar and Bat Mitzvah training and is also the administrator of that program at their congregation. Judi also used to do that training for many years. They hope that an earlier start on reading Hebrew will make the Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation much easier for students.

Judi and Bernie have two grown married sons who have always enjoyed learning, and who almost always had a fun educational placemat under their plates when they were little! Judi and Bernie dedicated this company to Frank and Jeremy. And in 2014, along came Abey, their grandson, a new generation to enjoy Hebrew Placemats!

About Judi

Judi, the designer of the placemats, is a math tutor. She also loves to do creative things like knitting scarves and afghans, designing business cards and flyers, and applies her creative, out of the box thinking to all kinds of problem solving.

About Bernie

Bernie teaches the Intro to Judaism course at Benedictine University each fall. Bernie enjoys reading and discussing Jewish texts with the study group at Congregation Beth Shalom. He is the volunteer gabbai (Torah chanting coordinator). He also takes much pleasure in hosting school and church groups who are visiting the congregation to learn more about Judaism.

Testimonials

"It has been a pleasure working with Judi Newman of Ivrit Petite on our Placemat Fundraiser! Her service was excellent and the colorful and artistic placemats are fabulous! The families are thrilled with them! The placemats also are an excellent teaching tool in my preschool classroom. And we made money too! This has been an excellent experience and I highly recommend Judi Newman and her Ivrit Petite fundraising program."
Robin Frisch, Former Director
Gan Yeladim Early Learning Center
Congregation Beth Shalom
Naperville, Il