Simchat Limmud Photos

Morah Schlussel Hebrew Update

Dear Parents,

This past Sunday, we had our Simchat Limmud program. Our students had the opportunity to shine and show their families what and how much they have learned this year. We were very pleased to have so many of you attend.

We started the day with tefillot led by Rabbi Starr and then went to our classrooms for regular class.

My 4th, 5th and 6th grade students concentrated on the blessings we recite when we light the Chanukiah. 

You can click here to hear the Chanukah blessings. 

Ask your children what we light first tonight, the Chanukiah or the Shabbat candles and why?

On Tuesday, we reversed our regular schedule and had class first. A 5:40 p.m. we all met in the small chapel and began celebrating Chanukah with the lighting of the 1st candle. Together with Cantor Gutman, we recited all three blessings and lit the Chanukiah. We also  sang the appropriate songs that we sing right after lighting the candles.

We are on a holiday break now and will return to school on Sunday, January 4,2015.

I wish all of you and your families a very happy Chanukah , good vacation and a happy New Year. 

Shabbat Shalom,

 Toby Schlussel

Kitah Zayin Update

Dear 7^th grade families,

Thanks to so many of you who joined our class last Sunday for Simchat Limmud – we had a great parent turnout! It was wonderful introducing you to our learning and showing you how we can incorporate Jewish values into our everyday lives. We began with an activity where parents and students heard a statement, and chose a position on the statement by standing somewhere on an agree-or-disagree-spectrum. Statements ranged from, “I believe that every person should have the opportunity to practice the religion of their choice,” to “I should take care of Jews before I take care of other people.” I loved hearing parents and children explain to one another why they chose their place on the spectrum!

During Simchat Limmud, we applied the values we’ve learned about all semester to the custom of eating chocolate gelt on Hanukkah. We learned that on the Ivory Coast, where more than half of the world’s cocoa is grown, many young children are trafficked and forced into working on cocoa farms with no pay and unsafe conditions. Since we eat gelt on Hanukkah as a reminder of the freedom our people won many years ago, it only makes sense for us to support chocolate companies that align with our beliefs about human rights. For this reason, we learned about Fair-trade chocolate. What’s Jewish about Fair-trade you ask? As Jews, we are obligated to work for economic justice, to insure that workers are treated fairly, and to be responsible consumers.  There are an endless number of traditional Jewish texts that support these values. For sources and more information, I encourage you to check out Fair-trade Judaica (fairtradejudaica.org).

We read together an intention before eating our Fair-trade gelt from Divine Chocolate:

I hold more than chocolate in my hand. This product I have purchased is a mixture of bitter and sweet flavors; the sweetness represents the dignity and respect of cocoa farmers who own their own company. As Hanukkah is an eight-day reminder that light can penetrate darkness, may this experience of tasting sweet freedom, the bounty of free people’s work, inspire me to add more light to the world.

- Rabbi Menachem Creditor

It’s been a great semester. Thanks for sharing your children each week with David and me. I look forward to hearing about the exciting learning that happens with David and Erin next semester!

Happy Hanukkah and Shabbat Shalom,

Rachel

Morah Levinson Hebrew Update

Dear 4th - 6th grade families,

It was wonderful having so many of you join us in Tefillah on Sunday morning! You should all be very proud of your children and the wonderful progress they are making this year. Everyone participates so nicely every week during the service with Cantor Gutman, and I am very happy you had the opportunity to witness their beautiful reading and prayer skills. :)

After Tefillah, all 3 grades enjoyed playing reading games with flashcards. We also spent a lot of time on the holiday of Chanukah - reviewing the blessings, discussing the meanings behind some of the traditions and also practicing the proper way and order in which we light the candles on the Chanukiah. Your kids should be able to show you this, as well as what to do (in terms of lighting the candles) when Chanukah falls on a Friday night. Ask them to explain this to you, and also the reasons why we light the Chanukiah and the Shabbat candles in a particular order.

During our discussions, the students came up with wonderful questions and comments -- we are blessed to have such a bright group of kids!

Wishing you all an enjoyable and safe holiday break. Have a Happy Chanukah, a Happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing you all in 2015!

B'shalom, 

Dona Levinson

Morah Katz Hebrew Update

 Dear Fourth-Sixth Grade Families-

 It's hard to believe that the first semester of the year is over and that 2015 is just about here.  The kids have already matured so much since the beginning of the school year, both in their reading fluency and proficiency. They are making connections and asking a lot of questions.

 We began isolating root words, made up of three letters, as well as, identifying some common prefixes and suffixes. For example, when we see the letter ״ו״ at the beginning of a word it usually means "and."  Alternately, the suffix ״ים״ at the end of a word is generally associated with making it plural. In other words, the word ״וילדים״ (and the boys) is constructed of the root word ילד (boy), the prefix ו (and) and the suffix ים (plural).

We will continue learning about root words and how we can quickly gain meaning of a prayer by identifying some familiar key root words.

 I wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year.. See you in ba-shana ha-ba-ah (next year) in 2015!

B'shalom,

Donna Katz

Morah Kleiman Update

Dear Parents,

We had an amazing day this past Sunday!  Thank you to all the parents who joined our Challah baking class. I appreciated your participation! The Challot turned out beautiful!  I hope they taste good, if you resisted & are saving it for this Shabbat, Enjoy!

On the back of the recipe card, had the prayer for "taking challah". This is said after taking a small piece of dough before the Challot are formed. After taking a piece off its a good time to have someone in mind, who needs special consideration from God and then say the Blessing and bake that separate piece until it's inedible.

If you haven't seen our finished product yet, please look at CSZ page on Facebook. The Challot look beautiful.What I personally enjoyed most ,was preparing one to take home and one to include in our "Shabbat-Chanukah Bags" I know the kids felt it added a special meaning to our Challah making.

Our class will pack up our "Shabbat -Chanukah Bags" and they will be all set for delivery. If you can help with this Mitzvah it would be most meaningful.

Have a very Happy Chanukah.

Thank you for letting me partner with you in educating your child!

Cillia Kleiman

Kitah Bet Update

Dear Parents,

It was great to see so many of you on Sunday, we had a wonderful time learning with you. 

On Tuesday, I know some of you were at Hanukah in the D. I hope you all had a good time  and felt spirited by the  holiday and our city.   It was a small class Tuesday, but we had a great opportunity to finish some Hanukah learning and review our "ivrit" reading and writing.

Wishing you all a Happy Hanukah and safe travels if you will be traveling during winter break. I will see everyone January 4.

Please put January 11 on your calendar for Torah learning in our class.

Davida

Morah Dresner Update

Dear Parents,

Happy Hanukkah! We reviewed letters Chet and Tet. The students enjoyed sharing their workbooks with their parents on Sunday and enjoyed writing letters on the board while the students and even one of the mom's guessed what the letter was. Its a fun way for the students to experience standing up in front of a class and showing what they learned. It builds confidence and a great way for classmates to learn from one another.

I hope you enjoyed the Hanukkah cards your children made for you. They were very excited and wanted to spell everything correctly. We talked about why we celebrate eight days of Hanukkah and reviewed the miracle of the oil burning more than one day.

Tuesday, we worked in our Chai booklets. We are still learning about Acts of Kindness and your children have a brief homework assignment. I asked them to write down at least ONE act of kindness that they did during break. I said if any of you are going away on vacation they don't have to worry about it until they come back. I just wanted them to understand the importance of doing kind things. We reviewed what a Jewish Hero is and giving tzedakah. I explained to the students that Jewish heroes are people whose actions are guided by Jewish values, whether it be doing something kind, giving to charities, and just making the world a better place. We will continue exploring the different acts of kindness (G'milut Chasadim) and what other ways we can be Jewish Heroes.

We worked on a Hanukkah worksheet and talked about Derech eretz (being respectful). The worksheet was several examples of different things. For example, Saying please and thank you or something as simple as smiling or waving to your neighbor. The students had to decide which words were examples of "respect" and which words were not. They really enjoyed this assignment and understood what it meant to be respectful. We talked about the letters on the dreidle and how to play the dreidle game.

Everyone met in the small chapel to light the first candle together and recited the blessings which was really beautiful. When we return from break, we will move on to the next letter and begin expanding our reading skills. We will review letters, vowels, and words that we have learned so far to refresh their memories after being off for awhile.

Wishing you and your families a Happy and Healthy New Year and enjoy the rest of your Hanukkah.

See you next year!
Lisa Dresner Wais

Morah Hollenberg Update

Dear 6th Grade Parents,

This week we wrapped up our month long learning about Chanukah just as night fall was ushering in the holiday. We also displayed and used the Chanukiot we made for the first time when we lit them with the community during minyan. Thank you to those who were able to join in this important mitzvah! I hope you continue to increase the light throughout the week of Chanukah by lighting your Chanukiah and making the blessings after nightfall.

We began this academic year with Elul and we have diligently worked our way through the Jewish calendar thus far. It has been a real treat learning with your children and appreciating the beauty and depth of traditions that the Jewish Holidays offer us. I look forward to continuing to learn with your children throughout the rest of this year.

I hope you all have a wonderful break and look forward to seeing you again in 2015.

Happy Chanukah, 

Morah Hollenberg

Parent v. Child

Thank you to all who were able to come and learn with us on Sunday! For those of you who could not make it, you are always welcome to come and sit in on class and learn along with us.  We are just starting the Torah portion of Sodom and Gemmorah. No worries: we are reading SELECT parts.  I am focusing primarily on the relationship between Abraham and God, which outlines how the Jewish people will relate to God throughout the Torah.  Abraham stands up to God (albeit in a very respectful way), and negotiates with the Almighty, to save some souls in these fated cities.  Unlike Noah, who just faithfully obeyed God, Abraham tries to get God to change his mind.  And guess what, while the outcome remains the same: God listens.  God does not merely accept Abraham's request, but there is a bit of banter and so begins our model of WRESTLING WITH GOD.  We see Abraham flatter God, then shame/guilt God a bit, and we see God play "dumb" and play along with Abraham to see where the argument will end.  It is a lot like the communications that go on between parents and children.  Sometimes as parents we KNOW HOW IT IS GOING TO END, but the process of arguing/discussing/wrestling also yields very good results, and is worth the while.  

Have a wonderful holiday and break.

Warm regards,

Morah Gawel

Happy Hanukkah and a Happy New Year

Our Kitah Dalet students have been talking about the miracle of Hanukkah and how the story of Hanukkah has relevance to us even today.  We talked about being proud of who we are, standing up for what we believe in, and most importantly, doing what we think is the right thing to do, even if everyone else is doing something different.  Our students had a lively discussion about hijacking a classroom discussion and how misbehaving is a form of bullying our classmates.  We talked about taking responsibility for actions and caring about others when working in a group.  Our students made beautiful Hanukkiot in class and we hope you enjoy lighting them with your family.  The lights of the Hanukkiah are meant to bring light to your world and we encourage you to spend the thirty minutes together singing and talking as the candles burn low.

Thanks to all of the families who participated in our Simchat Limud on Sunday morning.  I hope we  shared a taste of how we learn together, and the importance we place on making your children think about being Jewish everyday in every way.  Enjoy the winter break, and thank you for your kind and generous Hanukkah gifts, they are truly appreciated.  L'Shanah Tova, and Happy New Year!

LIGHT, FREEDOM, AND FORGIVENESS

The Kitah Dalet students completed their study of Bereshit with a discussion about the very first Shabbat. We talked about GOD commanding Adam and Eve to rest on the seventh day, but not giving them specific instructions for this task.   We discussed the Midrash about the angels begging GOD to teach Adam and Eve how to make fire and observe Shabbat in the Garden before being sent away.  From this we headed into a discussion about forgiveness and GOD's acceptance of our imperfections.  Students shared their ideas about the perfect Shabbat and our unit will continue as the year progresses.

Our Tuesday afternoon block has moved upstairs into our new classroom and we welcomed each other into our new space with a lively discussion about Hanukkah, light, freedom, and standing up for the things we believe in. We look forward to sharing these ideas with you at our Sunday Simchat Limud, and encourage you to join your children in our Holiday Happening.  

Dear Parents,

This past Sunday instead of beginning with Tefillah, we started our day with Hebrew reading, using supplementary materials to strengthen our reading fluency.We are continuing to make progress in my 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.

The entire Hebrew school had the opportunity to attend a special event, Congregation Shaarey Zedek hosted the Macabeats. They put on a great concert that was opened to the public for a fee and our Religious school students had front row seats for free.

Tuesday started with Tefillah led by Cantor Gutman. Because Chanukah begins Tuesday night, we focused our learning on the brachot (blessings) we say when  we light the chanukiah. We concentrated on reading and chanting the three blessings. Ask your children why we say three blessings on the first night and only two the rest of the nights of Chanukah. Each student took home a sheet with all of the blessings . Please review this with your children.

This Sunday we invite all of the parents to  a "Simchhat Limud" (Celebration of Learning). Join the students in our classrooms. Learn together with your sons and daughters.

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday. Have a good weekend and Shabbat Shalom.         

Toby Schlussel

Morah Levinson Update

Dear 4th - 6th grade families,

Sunday was great and very eventful! All 3 grades started out with our usual reading groups, and then for the last 15 minutes we did something new -- all the kids sat around the tables and we had a timed - reading challenge. Going around the room, each student needed to correctly read a word from their book, and they were timed to see how long it would take for the entire class to finish. We upped the amount of words every few rounds to make it more interesting, and they really enjoyed the challenge! The kids are very determined to improve their reading skills, and they also work very well as a team.

After class we all gathered in Adler Hall for the Maccabeats performance. They were incredible and everyone had a blast! Lots of Hebrew music to reinforce our Hebrew learning! 

Unfortunately I wasn't in class on Tuesday, but everyone was in good hands with Edna and Aliza, working hard on their Hebrew. :)

See you all on Sunday!

B'shalom, 

Dona

7th Grade Update

Hello 7^th Grade Families,

As our semester comes to a close, Rachel and I would like to express our joy and gratitude for the wonderful learning community we have been a part of these past few months. We have been on field trips together, and we have had speakers from various organizations in our classroom, all while delving into many aspects of Jewish values and mitzvot. It has truly been a wonderful experience.

This past week we have been examining the specific mitzvah of tzedakah. We looked at the dual definition of tzedakah being both charity and justice. We explored how the situation we are born into comes from G-d and we should understand that others are born into less comfortable environments through no fault of their own. This is a preset injustice in the world and it is our job to act to balance the scales in any way we can. Tzedakah is a way we can increase justice in world, and it is therefore much larger than just feeling bad for a homeless man and giving him a dollar.

Next Sunday is Simchat Limmud where you are all invited to sit in on a class facilitated by Rachel. We look forward to seeing you there.

Have a great week and a peaceful Shabbat.

6th Grade Holidays Update

Dear 6th Grade Parents,

This week we continued learning about the upcoming holiday of Chanukah. We crafted and decorated our very own Chanukiot that we intend to use throughout Chanukah this year starting with the first night on Tuesday, December 16th, when we will lead the Congregation Shaarey Zedek community in the brachot from the bimah. We are looking forward to celebrating the first night of Chanukah with you at Hebrew School on December 16th!

Best,
Morah Hollenberg

Morah Kleiman Update

Dear Parents,

A small, unprepared Army led by a Jewish scholar fights a large, fully armed, experienced Syrian Army, and wins! Wow what a Miraculous Event! That is what we reviewed briefly in our class this week. The Kids remembered what the two Miracles of Chanukah were ,and how we celebrate today ( lighting Chanukah candles for eight nights).

The kids loved the Maccabeats concert and we will continue to celebrate Tues. Dec. 16 by lighting the first candle here in a Religious school. Please join us at 5:40 pm for refreshments and lighting the Chanukiah together. 

Please join us this Sunday, as you know our class will be making Challah from scratch! The kids are very excited and you will be able to take one home with you. I hope to be able to share the wonderful guide for Shabbat Friday night Table Service our class worked on. I am so proud of them!

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday Dec. 14!

Shabbat Shalom,

Cillia Kleiman

Morah Dresner Update

Dear Parents,

This week the students learned the letter Chet. Each week a new letter will be learned and they will practice writing the letter several times and begin to form sentences. We do many coloring worksheets because its a fun way for the students to learn and relaxes them before we get into the workbook which involves a little more concentration. Its amazing how far they have come in just a few months.

We are still learning about G'milut Chasadim (Acts of Loving Kindness). We will continue working on this unit which includes Repentance (Is saying sorry enough)?, Taking care of the earth, Being a Hero and many more acts of kindness. Each chapter will follow a worksheet which helps the students understand what we are learning.

We have settled into our new classroom and look forward to having a productive remaining school year. We have so much more to learn and will be focusing on forming sentences and the students will begin reading short sentences.

Have a great week and we will see everyone on Sunday.

Thank you,
Lisa Dresner Wais 

Morah Gawel Update

Hi All! We had a fantastic Sunday with a little learning and a lot of Macabeating.  It was a blast.  We did not have tefillah, so the kids went straight to Hebrew and then we had a little bit of a condensed class for Judaics.  However, we were able to get a lot into a small period of time.  After we did our usual prayers and Torah Strong mantras, we jumped into a little learning. Instead of Mifgash, I taught the kids a little lesson that I learned from a rabbi last week, when I visited my daughter at the Frankel Jewish Academy.  Ask your child 1) What LETTER the Torah begins with (Bet) and 2) WHY does the Torah begin with a Bet and not an Alef.  Give me a holler if anyone was listening!  I thought it was pretty cool.  We then discussed ways that we negotiate with/argue with/manipulate our parents to get what we want.  I won't give you any top secret info, but let's just say, when your child said you looked thin in that dress, go and change…. :)

Why did we do this?  Last week we learned about lying and this week about manipulating our parents. What is this crazy woman teaching our kids?!  Well, we began the narrative of Sodom and Gemorah. (The abridged one… no worries.)  And this is the first time where we see Abraham negotiate with God to get what he wants.  Noah, when told to build and ark because God was going to destroy the world said "ok."  And hence, the rabbis say he was a righteous man IN HIS TIME.  But Abraham, now he was a real mentsch.  When God tells him he is going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gemorah, Abraham STANDS WITH HIM ( ask your child why this is significant) and asks God if the righteous people will be destroyed with the wicked.  This is the first time we see Abraham wrestle with God and act as a true PARTNER with God.  He does not blindly do what God asks, but he plays an active role in the conversation.  Unfortunately, just like parents and kids, God knows he is going to win this one, since the people in S and G are not harboring too many righteous souls, BUT, God still engages in some word play with Abraham. What happens?? We will find out next week.

Don't worry, I did not share your secrets that when our kids are negotiating with us and "winning," it is usually because we have carefully crafted a situation that gives them the ILLUSION / DELUSION of control.  My lips are sealed.

I look forward to learning with you next Sunday in our class.  More info should be coming soon from Allison on our special day that we have planned for kids and parents to learn together. In the meantime, perhaps find a new hairdresser: the haircut is NOT as good as your kid said and go and return that outfit: you DO NOT look 10 years younger.  Your kid just wants an allowance raise. :)

Be well,

Morah Leah

Morah Katz Hebrew Update

Dear 4-6th Grade Families-

With Chanukah fast approaching, we are brushing up on the blessings over the candles and some of the traditional holiday songs. We have been discussing some of the similarities and differences in how Chanukah is celebrated in Israel and in the United States, including the various Hebrew vocabulary words associated too. 

The dreidel or sevivon is perhaps the most famous custom associated with Hanukkah. Indeed, various rabbis have tried to find an integral connection between the dreidel and the Hanukkah story; the standard explanation is that the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin, which appear on the dreidel in the Diaspora, stand for nes gadol haya sham--"a great miracle happened there,"while in Israel the dreidel says nun, gimmel, hey, pey,which means "a great miracle happened here."

Did you know that I have asked the kids to search for an Israeli dreidle and bring it in to class?

I wish you and your family a restful and peaceful Shabbat!

B'Shalom,

Donna Katz

Kitah Bet Update

Dear Parents,

The big news today was that we could begin to teach and learn in our new rooms! This is very exciting and it was great to be in a very comfortable, bright room today.  

There are a few rules we will try to follow in our new rooms:

1. Snacks should be  eaten in the lobby before class. 
2. Water bottles can be brought into class.
3. There are exceptions to food  in the class, but administration would like eating  to be kept to a minimum in the new Berman Center. 

Today we spent our morning doing Torah study and then we were treated to the Maccabeats concert. It was well attended by the community and a good time. Ask your kids what was their favorite song.

We only have three more classes before our winter break. Next Sunday is our "simchat limud". I hope we can all learn together on that date.

Davida

Morah Katz Hebrew Update

Shalom Fourth to Sixth Grade Families-

Hopefully everyone enjoyed s relaxing and delicious Thanksgiving holiday and break.  We were glad to see the students back on Tuesday and are so proud at how add they are working and seem to enjoy learning Hebrew. The kids are so eager to learn and hear about Israel and we discuss the some of the positive impact Israel has had on the world in general.  Learning Hebrew only serves to strengthen the bond among all Jews and the kids are realizing it and putting forth a great effort.

Shabbat Shalom!

Donna Katz

Morah Levinson Hebrew Update

Dear 4th - 6th grade families, 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed the holiday break! 

As you know, this week we only had the opportunity to meet on Tuesday. We divided the kids into small reading groups and continued working in our Hasefer books. We went back a few lessons and did some review of previous letter/vowel combinations just to be sure that we were all on track. Everyone is continuing to work hard and make great progress. You should all be proud of your religious school children!

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a nice Shabbat. I look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday morning. :)

B'shalom, 

Dona Levinson

Kitah Bet Update

Dear Parents,

On Tuesday we completed a lesson in our Hebrew reading books. You should have received a parent homework sheet to read with your child. 

Thank you to those who are reading at home with your kids, the practice does help. With the short amount of time we are together, the home component is important. Please check your mailboxes for the riddles, your children are telling me you are not reading these to them. (?)

This Sunday we are lucky enough to be going to the Maccabeats concert at the synagogue. We will be in our class until 11:00AM and then go the concert. Pick-up time is the same as usual. Next Sunday, December 14 is our in "Simchat Limmud". I hope you will join us for this.

We missed Zachary on Tuesday. 

Shabbat Shalom, 

Davida

Kitah Hey Update

Dear Parents,

It's hard to believe it's December and we are almost finished with our first semester of Religious school! We are all excitedly awaiting our move into our beautiful new wing at The Berman Center. Until then, we continue to study our Shabbat, Friday night table service in our classroom downstairs.  Our Unit will culminate with Challah Bake on Dec.14. We hope you will be able to join us. You will receive information shortly.

We are excited to see the Maccabeats this Sunday. The kids love their songs!

Shabbat Shalom,

Cillia Kleiman

Morah Hollenberg Update

Dear 6th Grade Parents,

This week we continued studying Chanukah. We focused on the practices of this holiday; what qualifies as a Chanukiah (eight lights of the same height + a Shamash) and how we light it (we place the candles in from right to left adding an additional candle each night of Chanukah but light them left to right). Then we reviewed the three blessings we say over the lighting of the chanukiah on the first night of Chanukah as well as the two blessings we make when we light the chanukiah on the rest of the eight nights of Chanukah. We are looking forward to celebrating the first night of Chanukah with you at Hebrew School on December 16th! Please arrive at 5:40 pm for a community candle lighting and Chanukah songs. We will use the beautiful Chanukiot the children are creating.


Best,
Morah Hollenberg

Kitah Zayin Update

Dear 7^th Grade Families,

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This week we began exploring the Jewish value of Tzedakah. While the Hebrew root of the word Tzedakah means justice, we often hear it translated as “charity.” So what does it mean – justice or charity? How are these concepts similar to and different from one another? We learned that justice comes from an obligation to makes things right, while charity is a desire to act in a way that helps others. Some Jewish opinions understand justice and charity as inherently different, while other Jewish opinions see them as two sides of the same coin.

One important Jewish thinker, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, explains that in English, things can only be either justice or charity. If I give you 100 dollars, it’s either because I owe it to you (justice), or I don’t owe it to you (charity). In Judaism, however, Tzedakah is both justice and charity. As Jews, what we possess we don’t ultimately own since everything we have is really God’s, given to us in trust. One of the conditions of this trust is that we share it people that have less than we do. Therefore, in Judaism, charity is justice and justice takes the form of charity. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks teaches that Tzedakah, in this way, is one word that has “the power to change the world.”

We look forward to continuing this important exploration with your children over our next few classes together. Have a wonderful weekend and Shabbat Shalom!

Rachel Rudman and David Lerner

Morah Schlussel Hebrew Update

Dear Parents,

This past week we were in session only on Tuesday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends.

As usual, we started our day with teffilah with Cantor Gutman. He and Allison reminded the students about the new Shaarey Zedek youth choir.  Please find the flyer with all pertinent information below. It will not involve any extra school time to be part of the choir and it will be a wonderful way to learn and participate in the synagogue service.

We continued with our reading on Tuesday and we are making good progress.

This Sunday, Shaarey Zedek Hebrew school will have the opportunity to attend the Maccabeats Acapella group concert during school in our own building. It begins at 11:00 a.m and will be over by 12:15 p.m. in time for dismissal.

It is free for the students and it is a great pre-Chanukah concert. I hope to see everyone there.

The Macabeats will also be performing at Shaarey Zedek on Saturday night . There is a fee and it should be a great evening.

Have a wonderful week and I hope to see everyone on Sunday. 

Kitah Alef Update

Dear Parents,

Welcome back! Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and a relaxing few days off.  Last week we learned the letter Zayin. We learned how to read the word Zebra in Hebrew and practiced writing the new letter. Your children colored in a zebra that had different Hebrew letters on it. Each letter had to be colored a specific color and when they finished they could see the zebra very clearly. They really enjoyed this and it was a great activity for them because they didn't realize they were actually learning.

We worked on our word building and each student read various lines of different letters and vowels. The also learned the vowel "Eh" they understand that three dots make the eh sound along with five dots. Some students wrote letters and vowels on the board and other students had to figure out what they were writing. The students also had to listen to several words in Hebrew and match them to the proper picture. For example, Degel is Hebrew for flag...the word Degel was spelled out in he brew and the picture of the flag was mixed in with ten other pictures of different things. Some students figured it out right away and some had to think about it for a bit. Both were successful at matching the correct words to the correct pictures. Once they knew it was okay to make a mistake, they were more relaxed and enjoyed this exercise rather than being frustrated.

Lastly, we played an End Game which was listening to the sound they hear at the end of each word. I read the word and they had to focus on what the sound was at the end of the word and find the Hebrew letter in the sentence and circle the correct answer.  We talked a bit about Hanukkah and will continue learning about the holiday and the miracle of the oil. We will continue learning the next letter and reviewing the ones we have learned so far.

Have a great rest of your week and we will see each other on Sunday.

Thank you,
Morah Dresner  Wais

AM I MY BROTHER"S KEEPER

Our Kitah Dalet students have been talking about responsibility to self, others, and the community at large. Our Torah gives us plenty of opportunities to think about our commitment to family, and the the importance of taking care of others.  Specifically, we examined the text in the Torah about Cain and Abel, the children of Adam and Eve, and shared our ideas about birth order and family loyalty. Students participated in a lively debate about how much responsibility one has to take for the errors of others, and what they have to do to protect family.  Finally, we shared our ideas about learning right from wrong, and how we have to be taught what is right before we can do something wrong.  

Our Torah Talk discussions have expanded into our values lessons and we continue to talk about taking things that don't belong to us, and what is rightfully ours.  Our discussion have moved from taking things to finding things, and what we have to do to insure we find the rightful owner of lost items.  Please ask you student to share their thoughts with you.

Morah Levinson Hebrew Update

Dear 4th - 6th grade families, 

Sunday was a fantastic day! The kids were all "on" and did an excellent job of staying focused. We played "Hebrew Baseball" in both classes using flashcards. 

The 4th graders were stumped several times on words that included some of the "look-alike" letters that we have been working on, but like I said before, this can be tricky. We will work on recognizing their differences over and over until it becomes second nature.

Some of the 5th and 6th graders also had a chance to video tape each other reading lines in their books which they enjoy doing. This allows them to monitor their progress as the school year progresses.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holiday break with your amazing children!

B'Shalom, 

Dona Levinson

Kitah Gan Katan Update

Dear Parents,

Last Sunday Kitah Gan and Gan Katan had so much fun at Shalom Street! The JCC's exhibit's theme was on the Jewish home and Jewish inventions. Two special guests taught the kids (and their parents in the audience) about how to write a book and illustrate one! The author and illustrator read the book to us! Here is the book information: 

The Animals' Great Football Game by Dr. Jeff London  illustrated by Howard Fridson 

We are looking forward to seeing your kids in class next week as we continue the lesson on the Sabbath and introduce another Hebrew letter!

Morah Emma and Morah Ariana

Morah Levinson Hebrew Class

Dear 4th - 6th grade families,

We had a great week of learning and reading in our classes!

On Sunday the 4th graders worked on recognizing and differentiating between the many "look alike" Hebrew letters. It can be quite confusing at times, and they are quickly catching on. We use several different nicknames and silly, catchy ways to remember their differences. Once the students master this, the reading process will become much easier.

The 5th and 6th graders played "Hebrew Baseball", and we used the prayer Aleinu for the game. Most of the kids were sure that they knew the prayer perfectly already since we sing it with Cantor Gutman every Sunday and Tuesday, but they quickly learned that this was not the case! I used this as a perfect example of how when we don't follow along in the Siddur during Tefillah and simply sing along with the tune and the words "we think we hear", we often times end up mispronouncing words and ultimately learning the prayers incorrectly. The students were  surprised to see just how many words they thought they knew but didn't! Everyone enjoyed playing the game - it is one that we will be playing many more times during the year with various reading lessons in our books as well as different prayers. It's a great way to make reading fun!

On Tuesday in both classes, we divided the kids up into 3 separate groups and together with Edna and Aliza we worked on several reading lessons in our Hasefer books. The kids always seem to enjoy working in small groups together.

Wishing you a peaceful and restful Shabbat with your families. Stay warm!

B'shalom,
Dona Levinson

Morah Kleiman Update

Dear Parents,

"May God make you like Ephraim & Menashe, like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel & Leah. May the Lord bless and protect you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and grant you peace."

There is a beautiful family custom to bless one's child and family on Friday night after the  Shabbat candles are lit. This past week our class studied the blessing. The kids learned that the blessing brings a special closeness, gratitude and adds spirituality to the family. Ephraim and Menashe ( sons of Joseph) grew up in Egypt, despite living in an area where there were no Jews, they held fast to their religious beliefs and commandments. They also were the first brothers mentioned in the Torah who lived in peace and harmony with each other.  Our Matriarchs also were exceptional role models. They did not come from the best of families, but lived a life of committed Jewish values.

 Ask your kids if they enjoyed tasting the different breads and Challah this week. We had fun learning all about the Mitzvah of eating Challah on Shabbat. Before they were allowed to taste they did the ritual washing and Blessing.

If you are interested in incorporating any of these rituals into your homes. Feel free to contact me, I would be happy to help you.

Shabbat Shalom

Cillia Kleiman

Kitah Aleph Update

Dear Parents,

We had such a great time on Sunday at Shalom Street at the JCC. The students really enjoyed themselves. They loved listening to the story that was read and answering questions. Most of them did a project that they took home and several of the kids walked around the book fair and were ready to purchase several books.

Tuesday we began learning G'milut Chassadim. We talked about what it to be a Jewish Hero. The students know that a Jewish hero is someone who lives by Jewish values. Someone who reaches out to others and treats people with respect and love.The students learned that doing the right thing is the best way to live their lives. They gave examples of what it means to them to be a Jewish hero.

One of the examples I used was our Fall Fix Up day last week and how that is an Act of Loving-kindness. I asked the students what are some Acts of Kindness they do at home.

Ariana- Pick up branches outside and rake the leaves
Justin-Listen to mom and dad, help feed the dog and cat
Evan-Help the cleaning lady pick up my clothes from the floor

The students were introduced to the concept of tzedakah. They learned how important it is to give charity and how much it helps other people. We try to do acts of g'milut chasadim (acts of kindness) in our everday lives. We care for people who are ill, help others in the community; show patience, and compassion to others. I will be talking about this for awhile and we will do some worksheets to explain how doing kind things for others makes us feel good.

Attached our pictures I took at Shalom Street so you can see how much fun your children were having.

Hope everyone has a great week and I look forward to seeing your students on Sunday.

Thank you,
Morah Dresner Wais

Kitah Zayin Class Upate

Hello 7^th Grade Families,

This past week our class has been examining the Jewish value of Tzar Ba’alei Chayim (ethical treatment of animals). We took the class to the zoo this past Sunday, and the learners were challenged to examine all forms of life. In fulfilling the Jewish value in question, it is important that we connect to the life forms we are charged with protecting. We looked at butterflies and the miraculous transformation they go through during their life spans. How can metamorphosis from a plain-looking caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly apply to our lives and the values we put into practice? We visited the chimpanzees and observed their behavior which is so similar to ours on a primal level.

This past Tuesday we started watching the documentary entitled Blackfish, in which the inhumane practices of institutions such as SeaWorld are revealed. What is our obligation in regard to institutions such as these? How can this apply to the idea of not standing idly by?

Next Sunday we will conclude the documentary which will close out our Tzar Ba’alei Chayim unit. After we finish, we will start talking about our next project within the framework of the ADL’s “No Place for Hate” program. On Tuesday, we will introduce our next unit which is the Jewish value of Tzedakah. A text study will reveal that although charity is a major component of the idea of Tzedakah, the actual translation of the word is justice. How do these two ideas relate to each other? How can we take an active role in bringing justice into the world?

Rachel and I look forward to continuing our very important curriculum, and we hope to see your children in class next week.

We wish you all a peaceful Shabbat! 

David Lerner 

Morah Katz Hebrew Update

Dear Fourth - Sixth Grade Families,

Your students continue to make great progress in their Hebrew reading and prayer. They are truly little sponges for information and seem to exhibit great insight and opinion  on the meaning of the blessings and prayers that we cover. 

We are working on improving reading speed and accuracy without memorizing, but actually reading.  

I wish you and your family a Shabbat Shalom  full of peace and happiness.

Donna Katz

Kitah Vav Holiday Update

Dear 6th Grade Parents,

This week we continued studying Chanukah. We started by reviewing the details of the story of Chanukah. Then we attempted to piece together pieces of pottery which we believe were used as either an oil or wine jug in ancient Israel. As we tried to figure out what we had before us we disused what it may have been like for the Jews to try to piece together the בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ (Beit Hamikdash or Holy Temple) in Jerusalem after the Assyrian-Greeks  had desecrated and abandoned it.

Best,
Morah Hollenberg

Morah Schlussel Hebrew Update

Dear Parents,

I was not in school this last Sunday,but the substitute continued with our book Kol Yisrael and our review using the "Hasefer" pamphlets.

On Tuesday, we bagan our day with Teffilot with Cantor Gutman. He is preparing, the students that are interested, to be part of the choir that will help lead services in the upcoming weeks on Shabbat in the main sancturary.

He is introducing many new melodies to the traditional prayers. He distributed CDs a few weeks ago. Encourage your child to listen to the CD and familiarize him/her self with the melodies.

We are continuing to make good progress with our reading in all the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.

On Wednesday evening we had our grand opening of the new Berman Religious School wing of Congregation Shaarey Zedek. It is a beautiful state of the art facility with the most up to date educational equipment and furniture. Our own Rabbi Starr along with the Arnie Eisen, Chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary, and Mr. Mandel Berman , who generously funded the new renovations, spoke eloquently. Our assistant director, Allison Gutman worked tirelessly on the planning of the renovations and she did a magnificent job. Take some time and come in when you drop your children and have a look!

Have a good Shabbat and I hope to see you all on Sunday.  

Toby Schlussel

Kitah Vav Update

Hi All!

We had a FANTABULICIOUS Sunday.  The kids were on task, excited, and learning.  Always fun. 

Our fearless madrichim, Sam Squared, led us in a fun mifgash, and the kids played 3 lies and 1 truth.  They also had some cool quotes on lying.

Then I led the kids in a little mental logic puzzle.  Annie was the first person to get the right answer. See if you can:

A logic problem: What question should the princess ask? A princess visits an island inhabited by two tribes. Members of one tribe always tell the truth, and members of the other tribe always lie.The princess comes to a fork in the road. She needs to know which road leads to the castle so as to avoid the fire-breathing dragon and rescue the prince from the wizard holding him captive in the castle. (Although the princess doesn't know it, the south road leads to the castle and the north road leads to the dragon.)Standing at this fork in the road is a member of each tribe, but the princess can't tell which tribe each belongs to. What question should she ask to find the road to the castle? Simply asking which road leads to the castle won't help. The answer won't tell us which native is lying and which native is telling the truth. However, we really only need to talk to one of the natives. The trick is to ask a question where the response will be the same from both natives: a question that incorporates how a member of the tribe not answering would respond to the same question. For example, what if we say to one of the natives, "If I asked a member of the tribe you don't belong to which road I should take to get to the castle, what would he say?" If we ask a truthteller, the response will be: "He would say to take the north road." The road to the castle is the south road so the liar will tell us to take the north road, and the truthteller will faithfully report this to us.  If we ask a liar, the response will be: "He would say to take the north road." The road to the castle is the south road and the truthteller will tell us to take the south road, but the liar will not report this faithfully to us - he will say the opposite. In both cases we'll get the same response. We should do the opposite of what we have been told because, regardless of whether we are speaking to a liar or a truthteller, our question will always produce the wrong answer to which road we should take. It brings back really scary GRE memories of logic problems.  But, it also helped frame our day, which was about JEWISH LIES.

• Lying to preserve the cause of peace, not to hurt another person’s feelings, or to provide comfort.

• Lying in a situation where honesty might cause oneself or another person harm.

• Lying for the sake of modesty or in order not to appear arrogant.

• Lying for the sake of decency

• Lying to protect one’s property from scoundrels.

 We practiced our MAD TORAH SKILLZ and the kids had to find a line and chapter number in the Chumash.  It took a few minutes, but each group was successful! We will practice this skill each week.  The line they were looking up was the one in our narrative, where Sarah lies to God: " Sarah lied, saying'I did not laugh,' for she was frightened.  But HE replied, 'You did laugh.'"  We talked about why Sarah laughed: she was scared, and why God was not angry?!  We then went on to discuss lying and lying in Judaism.  According to a Cornell research group, people lie on average 2x a day, and people lie most often on the phone, least often via email.

So wait… this the part where I say that my children are perfect, my house is tidy, and I only eat nutritious food?!  Because via email, I can't lie? :)

We learned the times in Judaism where it is "ok" (of course, as always in Judaism, there are TONS of strings attached) to lie.

The kids loved the decency one. This is where your child is upstairs pooping and a friend calls on the phone and we say that they are outside/doing homework/busy with chores and will call back.  The kids were on board with parents not using any kind of radical honesty in this situation. See: it is a JEWISH thing for us not to say the kids are in the potty :)  

We also did a little Talmud study. So, if your best buddy is getting married to a woman and she is not so beautiful, do we say that she is beautiful?!

"The Rabbis taught: How does one dance before the bride [i.e., what does one say in praise of her]? The School of Shammai says: We praise the bride as she is. The School of Hillel says: We say that she is a beautiful and graceful bride. The School of Shammai said to the School of Hillel: If she was(ugly), does one say about her that she is a beautiful and graceful bride? But the Torah said (Exodus 23: 7): "Distance yourself from a false matter." The School of Hillel said to the School of Shammai: According to your opinion, if someone made an inferior purchase in the marketplace, should one praise it or deprecate it in his eyes. Surely, one should praise it. From here [the latter statement of the Hillel School] the Sages said: A person’s disposition should always be pleasant with people.

This brought us back to 2 weeks ago and our mitzvah of being CHEERFUL.  In Morah Gawel's class, we go with the school of Hillel: The bride is beautiful.  That is why I am going to ask the kids every week if I look gorgeous :)

Finally, we watched a small video clip from the show Lie To Me.  I talked to the kids about the micro expressions that show if we are telling the truth or not. Don't worry, I will share them with you too, so that if your kid says he brushed his teeth, did his homework etc…, you will know if he is lying!

I can't wait until next week to finish the lesson. The kids were excited and interested.  Hmm.. 6th graders want to know about lying more. Who knew?!?  I'll blame it on that undeveloped frontal lobe :)

Looking forward to another week with some good psychological forensic scientists with a Jewish twist. We will have a Lying Lab :)!

Be well and see you Sunday.

Morah Leah

Kitah Bet Class Update

Dear Parents,

As many of you know, our "soft opening" did not happen today. We will continue to be in our old room until we get "official " word we are ready to move.

During t'feelot today we practiced the havdallah brachot. We are looking forward to leading the Havdallah service next Saturday night at the bowling event. Please RSVP to the school office to let them know if you will be there.

In our torah study today , we learned about parsha "Chaya Sarah". A part of the parsha is  about Isaac finding a wife. I asked your children what qualities they would look for in a husband or wife. I  was so very impressed by heir answers. Overwhelmingly they told me they want to marry someone who is kind, respectful and nice. Hopefully they will keep these qualities in the forefront 20years from now! We did another page in our Torah we are creating.

We began our unit of G'milut chassadim today. I shared the book, "Have you Filled a Bucket Today". Many of your children were familiar with this book from their public school class room. Ask your children what they know about this story. We are going to try and take note of times when we are bucket fillers during our time together. Being a bucket filler is being a partner with God to make our world a better place for each other.

We did some Hebrew writing and will finish our lesson on Tuesday. We missed Bella on Sunday.

Davida

TAKING RISKS AND FEAR OF FAILURE

When studying Torah we always take one step backward to review the prior lessons, and one step forward to tackle the next lesson.  These discussions often bring new questions to light, and our students are often left to work through some internal struggles as our week comes to an end.  Such was the case with this week’s discussion.  Our discussion started out with the basic question of failure.  Why did GOD put the tree of Knowledge within reach of Adam and Eve, tempting them to break the rules? Our students offered some wonderful insights into breaking rules, and doing the right thing.  We talked about wanting something, working towards something, and ultimately failing to achieve success, or hitting obstacles along the way.  To push our students to collaborate and to critically think about the effect their actions have on others, we talked about ways to problem solve.   Is it OK to fail, or is it better to achieve success at all costs?  Do our parents push us to be the best we can be at all costs?  Are we responsible for our failures, and is it OK to fail if we learn from our mistakes. Our students seem to know the right thing to do in many instances, but are often confronted with temptation, I guess we all can relate.  

Morah Katz Hebrew Update

Dear 4-6th Grade Families-

It was so nice to see so many of you last Friday night at our service, dinner and program. The kids did a phenomenal job on their blessings and prayers and made all of us very very proud.  Additionally, thank you to all of you who came out in support of Fall Fix-Up.  The homeowners we helped were so grateful to us and loved seeing all the kids.

In Hebrew, we continue to sharpen our reading fluency and speed.  The Fourth graders are learning all about the different blessings we say when we learn Torah and  light different candles.  The Fifth and Sixth graders are learning the blessings of the Torah Service and the Haftarah.

I wish everyone a happy and peaceful Shabbat. 

B'shalom,

Donna Katz

Kitah Hey Update

Dear Parents,

Our class enjoyed a grape juice tasting in honor of Shabbat Kiddush! The kids tasted and rated 4 kinds of juice. We talked discussed what elements make grape juice a holy drink to enjoy on Shabbat v. water, milk, orange juice, etc.  First place was Kedem Traditional Grape Juice! We had a lot of fun. The kids learned that the Kiddush is the "Kickoff" to Friday Night Shabbat Dinner. The nighttime kiddush consists of three parts: 1) Three verses from Genesis that recount how God rested on the seventh day and sanctified it. 2) The blessing for wine. 3) A blessing thanking G‑d for giving us the Shabbat.

This Sunday we will continue our Shabbat Unit with our focus being Challah.

Shabbat Shalom!

Cillia Kleiman

Fall Fix Up Flashback