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!

Catching Up

After 2 snow days, I'm trying to get everything finished that I had planned for the last weeks of December in half the time.

Today we read about King Solomon and the Holy Temple. We read a poem describing the holiness of the Kodesh Kodashim, the Holy of Holies, which stood in the heart of the Temple. We talked about what it means for a place to be holy in our day and age, and what places are holy to each of us. Students either wrote about or illustrated a place that they consider to be holy.

We're about halfway through the Ashrei, and overall about halfway through the Torah service.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for latkes, and especially to those who helped put the event together at the last minute.

King David, Hanukkah

Last week we read the story of David and Batsheva. We see some of the less noble sides of the King, as he takes a fancy to a woman he spies bathing, gets her pregnant, and sends her husband off to the front lines of a battle in order to marry her himself. Students wrote divrei torah (plural of dvar torah!) in which they retold the highlights of the story, identified a lesson, and related it to their own lives. These essays, and many others, are in your students folders, which I hope to send home today. For those of you able to come to our Hanukkah gathering, you'll get a chance to look at the work with your child while munching on delicious latkes.

On Sunday our Tzedek lesson looked at begging, and whether there is a Jewish approach towards giving to panhandlers. We talked about the complexity of the issue, and students studied traditional texts to craft responses to the following questions: How should I behave towards a beggar? Am I obligated to give something? What if I'm afraid they'll use the money for something like drugs or alcohol?

As a reminder, we are gathering in the social hall at 4:45. Thanks to Jane and Leslie for making this happen!