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.