Have you ever noticed that we have a Torah behind glass in our sanctuary? It is one of 1,564 Torah scrolls saved from the Holocaust and placed on permanent loan to Jewish communities around the world. Benny and Jonah researched the community where our scroll came from so we can keep their memory alive. You can read their work here. The scroll symbolizes our continued existence as a people and our continued strength as a united Jewish community.
Practicing Tefillot
Morah Lisa has posted links to files on Google Drive for each class to practice our tefillot. The text is up there too. Now when your kids have to practice, you don’t need to go searching around in your email. Copy the files to your drive or download the recordings to whatever device your kids use. (I originally made a typo that said whatever “vice” your kids use! Too much screen time may be a vice, but a little goes a long way when it comes to practicing!)
Click here for 3rd-4th grade and here for 5th-6th grade. Shabbat Halaila is up there too. Thanks Morah Lisa for all your hard work!
Class With Morah Jodi
Shalom! We have been very busy this year, as we have tracked not only the torah portions each week, but also the Jewish holidays. The students have enjoyed our classroom discussions, activities, games, and everyone’s annual favorite – making and decorating sufganiyot. My plan is to keep everyone up-to-date through this blog, but if anyone needs to reach me directly, please feel free to email me at jodisatin@gmail.com. Kol tuv!
The Torah Service
While updating our bar/bat mitzvah handbook, I found some great videos explaining the Torah service. Here they are for your clicking convenience!
First off, the basics from myjewishlearning.com: (the article about the Torah Service is more theoretical than practical, so if you’re just interested in how-to’s, go straight to the videos.
The service for removing the Torah from the ark, parading it around the congregation, reading it, and then returning it became an opportunity to symbolically reenact the history of Israel, from the giving of the Torah at Sinai to the worship in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Read more there and check out an embedded video that explains the basics of reading the Torah at services.
Want to learn how to perform the Torah Service honors? Rabbi David Paskin created a series that you can watch on YouTube here: Jewish Journeys: Participating in the Torah Service Part 1, which shows how to have an aliyah, and Part 2, which shows how to lift, wrap, and carry the Torah.
Do you have relatives and friends who have never set foot in a synagogue? Share this video with them: What to Expect at a Synagogue, by InterfaithFamily (they have their own channel with many other how-to’s).
Mazel tov and may the bar/bat mitzvah be a source of happiness for the whole family!
Flexible, individualized learning
These days everything is on-demand. Who watches the one-size-fits-all broadcast news anymore? (Apparently a lot of people, but allow the hyperbole to stand for the sake of proving a point.)
Jewish education is on-demand as well: you can binge-watch BimBam videos if such is the desire of your heart. You can play aleph-bet games with your four-year-old on your ipad. (If you’re going to use screens, use them judiciously.) You can learn many, many things at your own pace, on your own time.
As with anything else, you can’t learn it all on your own, and shouldn’t. The teacher is not simply a fountain of information, but also a coach, mentor, and guide. A major goal of Jewish education is developing a positive Jewish identity, and that means friends and community.
Part of the reason I started this blog is we have a great cadre of teachers and students, and not enough ways to share information! For starters, you can learn more about our curriculum here. What I most would like to share is that we have a lot of resources, but we’re still small enough to give your child the personalized attention he or she needs.
Time Machine of Jewish History
Edit 1/16/19: Because of weather (and a field trip), our open classroom has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 5pm.
Happy New Year! Our Wednesday Project-Based Learning class is making Time Machines of Jewish History. This week we’re finishing up our episodes and starting to make the machine out of cardboard boxes. If I get a chance I’ll post some progress pictures here. Episodes we are planning:
- Ezra the Scribe reads the Torah in the marketplace
- The Great Revolt / last stand at Masada
- The Talmud in ancient Babylon
- Crusaders in Europe
- The Jews of Spain
Our next open classroom is next Wednesday, January 16, at 5pm.