Dear Kitah Hey Families,
All learners in our Kitah Hey (5th grade) Religious School class have kicked off a
Projected Based Learning (PBL) unit of curriculum focusing of the values and text of the Book of Maccabees. Project based
learning engages students in curricular content in ways that are exciting,
relevant, and meaningful. Projects present the children with choices in
terms of topics, modalities, and methods of learning and exploring. It is
an approach that is being used in many institutions – secular and religious –
throughout the country. At the
end of October, the children were challenged to re-imagine the ancient
structure known as the Chanukiah; the original intention of the rabbis of
the Talmud was that we would place our Chanukiah
right outside our front doorway for the world to see (although placing it in
the window, even for the rabbis, was an okay substitute). The goal of the
ritual was to show the light of the Chanukiah
with the entire world, for the purpose of pirsumei
nisa: “publicizing the miracle.” Yet at the same time, this is a ritual we
perform at home; even if we light candles at synagogue or in some other public
space, we are still supposed to make sure we have lit them at home, too.
“Publicizing the miracle” is not only about sharing the story of the miracle of
the oil and the Maccabees with the world, but also about finding a way to share
our unique Jewish light – and the light of our home, our family, and our
friends – with the broader world.
Our Kitah Hey students
are working in small group to build a kosher Chanukiah that they feel reflects
the middot (values) of the Chanukah
story and Maccabees text. Our 5h grade Religious School class will
publicize the miracles of our community with a special Menorah lighting and
Chanukah celebration on Sunday, December 13.
Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Kleiman
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