Thursday, December 11, 2014

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

No comments:

Post a Comment

Search This Blog