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.