Families of both grades were greeted with bagels and cream cheese, coffee and cold drinks, and given time to re-connect with other families, and meet those just joining our community. Rabbi Miller officially began both workshops, with an introduction explaining the purpose of the session.
The focus of the workshop for the fifth grade was on the Torah. Each fifth grader received a special gift from the Women of Isaiah - his/her very own copy of Sol Scharfstein's easy translation of the Five Books of Moses (a/k/a The Torah). These books will be used to help the Bar/Bat Mitzvah student understand the Torah portion they'll been assigned, and to write the "Drash" (the interpretation of the Torah portion) for the ceremony.
While Cantor Korn spoke to the parents about the date selection process, the students moved to the Oneg Room with Rabbi Miller, teachers and TA's to review Torah stories and personalities they had learned about during the first few years of Religious School in a fun way. What could be more fun than TORAH OLYMPICS! Students divided up into three groups, each group creating a name for itself related to the Torah. Within two minutes the groups had chosen the names "SupercalifragilisticexpealiTorah" (at least that's what it sounded like when they yelled it out with all the ruach -spirit- they could muster!),"The Mama's and the Pappa's," (it was easier to say than the Matriarchs and Patriarchs!), and "The Plagues." The three teams then competed in four races relating to the Matriarchs and Patriarchs in the Book of Genesis, as follows:
ABRAHAM - Since Abraham was told by God to "Lech Lecha" - "Go to the land that I will show you.." we held a relay running race (our workshop time was limited, so running was in order!); the teams raced back and forth in the room.
SARAH - Since Sarah was 127 years old when she died, each team had to see which was fastest at completing 127 jumping jacks.
REBECCA - Rebecca brought water for Abraham's servant's camels when he came to her home to look for a wife for Isaac, so the teams competed in a wheelbarrow race (OK - so Rebecca didn't use a wheelbarrow to carry the water, but it was a lot of fun anyway!).
JACOB - When Jacob rested after running away when he cheated Esau out of his birthright, he dreamed of a ladder connecting Heaven to Earth, with angels going up and down. Our teams "recreated the ladder" in a way, by competing to see which one could pass a ball over and under the fastest.
RACHEL AND LEAH - Since Jacob was ultimately forced by Lavan, his father-in-law, to marry both sisters, a complicated relationship resulted between the two. Teams competed in a 3-legged race, which was definitely enjoyed by all.
Here are a few photos I was able to "catch" of the Olympic events:
To help everyone become familiar with using the "Book, Chapter, Verse" method of finding a particular story, families were presented with a "Torah Scavenger Hunt," where they had to find specific verses and stories in the Torah.
While the fifth grade families and sixth grade students were in T'fila, sixth grade parents met in the Social Hall with Rabbi Miller, who arranged for the parents to get to know each other better by playing "Four Corners" with them (why should students be the only ones allowed to play games?!). During the game, parents were able to find out about where many of them grew up, their favorite books, what sports they play, how they exercise, what music they enjoy, as well as what they watch on TV when they have a chance.
Once the sixth graders joined their parents in the Social Hall, Rabbi Miller asked everyone to take out their cell phones (what a switch - we're usually asking everyone to put them away!). Using the texting application on their phones, both parents and students were polled on the following questions: What characteristics do you look for in teenagers you respect? What characteristics do you look for in adults you respect? How is being a teenager different than being an adult? and Why is it important to mark Bar?Bat Mitzvah at age 13? Responses were shown as they came in on a large screen, and were read out loud by Rabbi Miller as they appeared on the screen.
Parents and sixth graders in each family were then asked, using worksheets handed out, to interview each other, then to interview parents and students from other families, about becoming adults. Cantor Korn summed up this activity by asking for volunteers to report on what they found out from their interviews. He then shared with the participants why we have the tradition of Bar/Bat Mitzvah and the meaning of it.
Families were then separated into 3 groups, based upon their assigned B'nai Mitzvah dates. Each group was led by a clergy member and discussed the schedule of Temple Isaiah's requirements for becoming B'nei Mitzvah. Students then gathered in the Oneg Room with the teachers and TA's for some fun activities to get to know each other better and review some important aspects of Jewish rituals, while the parents joined Rabbi Miller and Amy S. in the Social Hall to discuss the importance of community building, as well as practical details relating to the B'nei Mitzvah service and post-service celebrations.
Teachers and students played "Huggy Bear", which involved dividing up several times into groups of specific numbers relating to the B'nei Mitzvah ceremony. For example, everyone will celebrate the Bar/Bat Mitzvah on Shabbat. We divided up into groups of 7, and students in each group were asked to write out the word "Shabbat" (using Hebrew letters, of course), using their bodies. It was impressive to see how quickly they worked with each other to make the Hebrew letters spelling Shabbat -
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| SHIN |
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| VET |
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| AND TAV |
The second sixth grade B'nai Mitzvah Prep, as mentioned above, will take place on Saturday morning, February 2nd, at which time families will meet in the Sanctuary to participate in the full Saturday morning service.
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