Mo'adim L'Simcha

The Jewish High Holidays have come and gone, and our first day of Religious School this year began smack in the middle of the joyous holiday of Sukkot.  Traditionally, we greet each other with the expression "Mo'adim l'simcha" (literally, "festivals for joy") during the intermediary days of Sukkot. And, of course, we want to begin our Religious School studies with joy in our hearts and (even though we already celebrated Rosh Ha'Shana before school began) a sweet taste in the mouth. We did just that in our Edot class yesterday morning.

First, as our new and returning Edot students entered Room 201, each was given a "Classroom Treasure Hunt" for each of our two classrooms - Rooms 201 and 202 - to help them get to know where to find what they'll need during the year, and to give them a "taste" of what we'll be learning about this year. Students helped each other out, and soon both classrooms were filled with our "treasure hunters."

In which year did Abba Eban, Israel's first ambassador to the U.S., die? (Getting to know about our stumper/challenge program)

Name two Bible stories depicted on the Ethiopian Jewish (Beta Yisrael) wall hangings in Room 202 (the first Edah we'll be studying this year!)

What is the 11th book in the Hebrew Bible (TaNaCh) section called "Writings"? The answer must be here somewhere! (The answer is the Book of Nehemiah, and we'll be reading the first 8 lines of the book, just as the members of the Beta Yisrael Edah do, during our Sigd Festival on November 3rd!)

Once we all gathered again in Room 201 (39 students, 4 Avodah TA's, Josh and myself - nice and cozy!), I introduced the "purpose of Jewish time" by sharing the 3 sounds the shofar makes when we listen to it - "T'ruah" (9 staccato sounds), which means "Alarm" (something is not right!); "Sh'varim" (3 short sounds), which means "Broken", and "Tekiah" (one longer sound), which means, "Repair."  So when we are listening to the shofar sound, it is like an alarm clock waking us up, alerting us to the fact that all is not the way it should be in the world right now - we have to repair the world - in Hebrew, "Tikkun Olam."   With this "mini-lesson," I introduced the Edot students to the purpose of Jewish time, which we'll go into more detail about during the next couple of weeks. It was this sense of purpose which helped the Edot, the Diaspora Jewish communities scattered throughout the world, to maintain their Jewish identity.

We then followed an Ashkenazi (European Jewish) tradition, of starting the new year together in school with apples and honey. And once we had said the blessings over each, and were enjoying the sweet honey and tart apples, I shared the rules of "The Shekel Game,"a group betting game using the Israeli currency - shekels. It's a fun way to get to know other students in your group, and see how much information you can remember from previous years of study in Religious School. We'll be playing this game every time we complete a unit of study.

The reporter gives the answer once the group has agreed on it 

Your category is "Torah"- how much do you bet?  Question: How many books are in the Torah? You have 20 seconds to come up with the right answer.

Your category is "Hebrew Through Movement" - everyone in the group follow my command: La'koom (Get up)

A point being made during a Rabbinic discussion? Actually, deciding to bet just one shekel on the next question!

We finished the game with just a few minutes left for me to show where our class tz'daka box will be standing all year, on my desk. We discussed what tz'daka meant, and I asked the students to "open their hearts" to the needy whenever possible, and help to create a just world by giving what they could to share with the needy - Tikkun Olam.

We then cleaned up the classroom, and headed up to the Sanctuary for an all-school tefilla.

Making Aliya (ascending) to the Sanctuary

Joining our parents and friends from other classes - we had a full house!

A big thanks goes to Josh Coleman, my satellite teacher again this year for both weekday sessions as well as first session on Sundays (we lose him to 7th grade during second Sunday session). And we have a terrific Avodah TA crew this year - Sam G. and Michael S. first session Sundays, Tanner L. and Isaac F. second session, and Natalie N. and Jacob P. on Wednesdays.  A big thanks goes to Isaac for taking all the classroom photos yesterday.

MO'ADIM L'SIMCHA - WISHING US ALL A JOYOUS FESTIVAL SEASON AND A JOYOUS YEAR OF LEARNING TOGETHER!