B'nai Mitzvah Prep Session #1

All our fifth and sixth graders took a break from their track studies yesterday, in order to participate in the first B'nai Mitzvah Prep session of the year with our clergy and teachers. Fifth graders and their parents attended first session; sixth graders and parents second session.

The focus for the fifth graders was on the Torah, and each fifth grader was presented with his/her own copy of Sol Scharfstein's "Five Books of Moses: An Easy-to-Read Torah Translation," which will be used as each child prepares his/her assigned Bar/Bat Mitzvah portion. While parents met with Cantor Korn in the Social Hall to learn about selecting dates for their children's B'nai Mitzvah ceremonies, the teachers and Rabbi Miller led the students in "Torah Olympics."  Parents and students then re-united in the Social Hall for a "Torah Scavenger Hunt," using the new Torah books each child received.

Both sessions began with a "schmoozing and eating bagels" opportunity

Rabbi Miller welcomed the fifth graders and their parents

Fifth graders eagerly moved into the Oneg Room for the first event of the session - Torah Olympics!

First, they all lined up (pretty impressive how quickly they formed a straight line!)

Then Josh helped them to count off into four groups which would compete against each other during the Torah Olympics

First competition - the "Lech Lecha Relay Race" Abraham was told by God to "Go forth...to a land that I will show you." Students on each team had to race to the opposite end of the room and then back again in this relay race. Abraham never moved as quickly as these kids can!

Then came the "Sarah 127 Jumping Jack" competition - Sarah lived to be 127 years old, so each team had to figure out how to do 127 jumping jacks fastest, with at least one person on the team always having to be jumping.

Third, was the "Rebecca Wheelbarrow Race" - Rebecca watered Eliezer's camels when he came looking for a bride for Abraham's son, Isaac. We imagined she had to use a wheelbarrow to carry all the water. Notice Josh and Maimone on the sidelines, cheering on the kids!

After the "Book of Genesis" races, it was time to focus on the "Book of Exodus" - for that, Rabbi Miller led a "Jewpardy" type trivia game, where each of the 4 groups had to write down the correct answers to questions she asked relating to the Exodus story. 

The final event of the Olympics was a retelling of the entire Torah story, from Creation to the arrival of the Israelites to the Jordan River, and the death of Moses. Each group had to act out a part of the story, and from the looks of things, had a lot of fun in the process.

Once the students returned to the Social Hall, they were each presented with their own copy of the Torah book mentioned above

Each family was then challenged by Rabbi Greninger to work with 2 or 3 other families to complete as much of the "World's Shortest Torah Scavenger Hunt" as possible in 10 minutes. Families had to find specific references of particular stories in the Torah, and note down the book, chapter, and verse where they could be found.

   After a brief wrap-up, all the fifth grade families moved into the Sanctuary to join the 3rd, 4th, and 6th grade students for t'fila, while the sixth grade parents met in the Social Hall to schmooze, eat bagels and join in a mixer game of "four corners" to get to know each other better.  Once t'fila was over, the sixth graders joined their parents in the Social Hall. The sixth grade focus for this first B'nai Mitzvah Prep session of the year was on the significance of marking this important stage in a young person's life, as well as to share more detailed information with the parents about planning for the event.

Rabbi Miller began the session with a "Poll Everywhere Survey" in which she asked three questions to which parents and their children (individually or together) were asked to give their opinions via cellphone. The responses were posted and shared onscreen.  The 3 questions:  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?

Immediately following the poll, sixth graders and their parents were asked to interview each other about becoming adults using a worksheet prepared by the clergy.

Students were then asked to conduct the same interview with another student's parents, while their own parent(s) interviewed another student

Following the interviews, Rabbi Miller had everyone share what they found out from their interviews, and then gave a brief overview of why we have the tradition of Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and the meaning of it.

Parents and students then divided into two groups based upon their assigned B'nai Mitzvah dates. Rabbi Shanks led one group, and Rabbi Miller led the second group, sharing details the families would need to know regarding the requirements and process leading up to the actual date of the event.

Sixth grade parents then met with the clergy in the Social Hall to talk about the importance of community building, about the Kiddush Luncheon, and partnering families sponsoring the Kiddush together. They also learned that this year for the first time, families will have the opportunity to play a role in creating the Shabbat morning service on the day of their child's Bar/Bat Mitzvah, if they wish.

While the parents were meeting with the clergy, the students went to the Oneg Room to participate in fun review activities with the sixth grade teachers and TA's. The review was in the form of the game "Huggy Bear" where students had to divide into groups depending upon the numerical answer to specific questions (ex. What day of Creation will you be celebrating your Bar/Bat Mitzvah? The 7th day, so get into groups of 7).

Our time together flew by, and we suddenly found ourselves with only a couple of minutes left for the final activity - writing out the word Shabbat in Hebrew, using the students' bodies. The three Hebrew letters which form the word "Shabbat" are 'Shin' 'Bet' and 'Tav'. See if you can make out one or more of the letters above, and below.

The second of the three B'nai Mitzvah Prep sessions scheduled for this year will take place on Shabbat, February 1st for the 6th grade families, from 9:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; for the 5th grade families, it will take place the following day, Sunday, February 2nd, during first session only (9:00-11:00 a.m.).