Taking the lead

As you know, our class has spent the year learning the Torah service. Some students have completed the entire service, and everyone has mastered more than half.

In recognition of our class' hard work and accomplishments, the Rabbi has offered members of the vav class the opportunity to lead parts of the Torah service on April 19 and 26. I've mentioned it the class, but hope that if you're going to be in town, you can encourage your child as well. Please let me know as soon as possible if your child will participate.

A few students have asked for a link to the song "Into the Sea" - a parody of Under the Sea that tells the story of the Exodus. Here are the lyrics. You can also scroll up on the page to listen to the song on realplayer or windows media.

New Material

We've started a new topic that will take us until the end of the year - Pirkei Avot. Here's a brief description - click here for a link to the full article.

Pirkei Avot (literally, "Chapters of the Fathers," but generally translated as "Ethics of Our Fathers") is one of the best known and most cited of Jewish texts. Even those who claim to know little about Jewish literature are familiar with maxims such as "If I am only for myself, who am I? (1:14)" and "Say little and do much (1:15)." Popular Hebrew songs take as their lyrics lines such as "The world stands on three things: Torah, service, and acts of loving kindness (1:2)" and "You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it (2:21)."

We'll be studying various selections and interpreting them individually, in pairs, and in small groups. We're also memorizing passages - ask your child if s/he can recite today's mishna about a "good name." Please look at our bulletin board, and your kids' commentary about this mishnah. They wrote about a person they consider to have a good name and why. Some of the commentaries are very touching.

Purim is over, Pesach is coming

We had a great pre-Purim celebration in class. We began with a Purim tefillah, in which each student led a prayer to a new, and usually silly, tune. While Jane and Joan baked delicious hamentashen with groups of students, the rest of the students decorated and packed mishloach manot baskets to deliver on Purim Day. Thanks to the parents of Josh, Jenny, and Isaiah F-S, and of course Rosie T for contributing to this project.

We've finished our prophets book, and will be spending the last months of school on Pirkei Avot, a book of the mishna which is also known as Ethics of the Fathers. We'll also spend the next few weeks learning to chant and trying to interpret some sections of the haggadah.

PURIM SIGN UP!

Please post a comment with your name and what you are sending in for the mishloach manot baskets. Thanks!

Lyrics to our songs

Rosie, Sarah Rose, Rosie and Jennie

At first I was afraid
I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never without those scrolls of mine
But then I spend so many nights
Just thinkin' how King J did wrong
And I grew strong and I learned how to get along
So now I'm back to write some stuff
Then my scribe said "I'd love to help, cuz I am so very tough"
I should have hid those scrolls so fast,
I should have not let them be burned
If I had knows for just one second
I'd have to rewrite them in turn

So go now go!
Burn all my scrolls!
But watch your back now!
Cuz you are gonna pay the tolls!
Yeah God supports me, and so does Sarah Rose
And you're gonna, yeah you are gonna pay the tolls
Oh Oh Oh Oh

I will survive, I will survive
As long as I know how to write, I know that I will stay alive
Cuz I got all my stuff to write
And I got all God's thoughts to give
I will rewrite
My words will never ever die
I will survive!

Mikaela and Isaiah

At first he delivered the words of God
But the people didn't believe him
Said his head was full of sod
He was rejected from the temple
They said he could do no wrong
But he grew strong
And he learned how to get along

Behind their backs
He hired a scribe
He told him "Son I've got some words of God for you to write"
Nebuchadnezzar is a very very terrible name
What were his parents thinking when they played the naming game?
The scribe read the words of God
But they still didn't believe him
Still said his head was full of sod
And he spent so many nights
Without a single nod
But her never ever doubted
The important word of God
hey hey

We will survive - the Vav remix

Here's a link to a video of some songs written and performed by the class. Their assignment was to tell the story of Jeremiah, who overcame great adversity to bring God's message to the Israelites, by setting it to music. I'll get the lyrics to these songs up soon.

I will survive - Gloria Gaynor

Ask your son or daughter why we watched this in class today!

Also- I was interviewed for a great Jewish book podcast, The Book of Life. You can listen here if you like.

Paradigms and Prophets

Today we read about the typical structure of the prophetic stories. They usually feature someone with a calling from God, who then tries to avoid doing God's will. God gives the prophet a message to transmit, and ultimately the life of the prophet is difficult.

After reading 2 stories of prophecy (Moses and Jeremiah), I asked students to write their own stories, set either during Biblical times or the present, featuring all of these elements. The stories were wonderful! I asked all of the kids to take them home and share them with their parents immediately. If yours was in school and didn't give it to you, please ask!

Apology

Today we read a story in which the Israelites were conquered by the Assyrians. The text attributes their defeat to their idol-worshiping ways. I asked the students what other reasons there might have been for the Assyrian victory, that were not divine in nature. We followed this up with a d'var torah writing exercise, in which I asked students to think of an event that could have two explanations, one supernatural and one not, and write which explanation they agreed with.

Some students were having a hard time thinking of an example, and I gave a gloriously poor one. I shared the story of Pat Robserton's absurd and hateful statement that Hurricane Katrina was God's reaction to letting Ellen Degeneres host the Emmy's. Not only do I think this was probably an inappropriate story to share with the class, but it also turns out to be false.

I did have a chance before the end of the day to correct my error, but I wanted to let you know as well. Please forgive my lapse of judgment.

Art and Music

We've been trying to beautify the classroom while also deepening our understanding of some of the prayers we have worked on this year. There are two interesting new art projects on the walls. One is called "Kol Adonai", the voice of God. We've been studying the Psalm 29 , which is recited at the end of the service and describes many manifestations of God's voice in the natural world. I asked students to reflect on a place in the natural world where they experience God's voice, and to illustrate the scene. You'll find these watercolors hanging above the blackboard in our classroom.

In our study of the prophet Isaiah, we read about his apocalyptic vision of seraphim singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" to the Almighty. (This story is the source of "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh" in the Shabbat Kedusha.) I asked students to carefully read Isaiah's description of the seraphim and illustrate what they imagined.

It look like tomorrow may be a snow day. Don't forget Yom Shira on Sunday!

Isaiah (but which one?)

On Tuesday, we read several excerpts from the book of Isaiah (alternatively referred to as "the book of me" and "the book of him" depending who was reading aloud.) We read about the history of this prophet (usually considered by scholars to be several different prophets) and examined his message. After identifying the major themes of criticism and hope, students wrote speeches in the style of Isaiah but set in modern-day America (CBI, to be specific).

Tu B'shevat

Last Tuesday was Tu B'shevat, the new year of the trees. The religious school held a school-wide celebration on Thursday, but our class observed the holiday on its official date with some text study and art. Our class read a variety of quotes from Jewish tradition about trees and the environment. Students each chose a passage that they liked, wrote a short d'var Torah, and made a picture to accompany their writing. The art is made out of tissue paper collage and really looks lovely. Check it out on the bulletin board in the back of the room.

Today we finished reading about two early prophets who preached against idol worship and insincere religious expression. Students created advertising posters to pass on the same messages as Amos and Hosea, but with contemporary slogans and images. These are also on display, but only when the doors between our class and the library are shut.

What we're watching

Last week, I detected some confusion (to put in mildly) in some students' sense of the chronology of the Bible and Jewish history. To get the period in time that we've been studying into perspective, I've borrowed this dvd. We're watching on the section that takes us from Abraham up to the period of the later prophets, whom we are just beginning to study.

Some great questions about God and Divine revelation arose from watching this. I've asked the Rabbi to come in and facilitate a discussion about some of the tougher ones.....

At our staff meeting, we spoke about different Jewish concepts of God. While I think those conversations are certainly appropriate and welcome in the classroom, I hope that all of us, as parents, remember to take time to talk to our children in our homes about what we believe.

Great Performances

As a culminating activity of our tzedek curriculum, students worked in small groups to create a performance based on one of the quotes from Jewish tradition that we studied. Each of three groups composed a song (one to the tune of "Cecilia", called "Adonai"), and one group accompanied themselves on guitar, and one group included a skit a dance. These were a lot of fun to watch. Next time I'll try to remember my video camera-

Amy

Lots of stuff

If your son or daughter was in Hebrew school today, s/he should have come home with an armful of stuff - most of the written work from the first half of the year. I want to strongly encourage you to look through the folder with your child. Read it together. Ask him/her what it's about. Enjoy. After that, if you have any questions about anything we've done, please let me know.

We're finishing up our tzedek curriculum by planning a fund raiser for the school's tzedaka project. The class brainstormed and tentatively decided on a talent show/bake sale event. We hope to raise at least $100 towards the purchase of a share from the Food Bank Farm.

I'm please to announce that my book, A Mezuzah on the Door, was selected as a 2008 Notable Book for Young Readers by the American Jewish Libraries!