Matza Apple Tea Cakes

On Tuesday and Wednesday this past week, our 5th and 6th graders made Matza Apple Tea Cakes during our monthly Hebrew Cooking program to help build Hebrew vocabulary. It's a Passover recipe, since the holiday is just a little over a week away (Friday evening, April 3rd is erev Pesach).

It's a very simple recipe which provided us with a good review of vocabulary we've already used as well as new vocabulary.

We reviewed verbs we've used in the past - la'afot (bake), l'arbev (stir), l'hoseef (add), la'seem (put), and introduced two new verbs - l'haktzeef (whisk) and l'fazer (sprinkle)

Reisheet kol, leesh'bor arba'a beitzeem l'toch ha'k'ara ha'g'dola (First of all, break 4 eggs into the big bowl)

Az, l'hoseef shemen l'toch ha'k'ara ha'g'dola (Then, add oil into the big bowl)

Achshav, l'haktzeef et ha'beitzeem v'shemen b'yachad (Now, whisk the eggs and oil together)

La'seem kemach matza v'melach me'al ha'beitzeem v'shemen (Put matza meal and salt onto the eggs and oil)

V'az l'hoseef ameelan tapoochei adama v'sookar l'toch ha'k'ara (And then add potato starch and sugar into the bowl)

Achshav, l'arbev et ha'kol b'yachad eem kaf... (Now, stir everything together with a spoon...)(The gluten-free matza meal mixture turned out to be much thinner than the regular matza meal, so in spite of Jacob looking like it was hard to stir, it was actually quite easy!)

...oh yada'eem (...or hands). Hands were the perfect stirring tool for the thick mixture, as Ari is demonstrating here - dough on his hands and a big smile on his face!

Of course getting the dough off the hands presented a new problem - one solved with the spatula and the help of a friend.

Achshav zeh z'man l'hoseef et ha'tapoo'ach (Now it's time to add the apple) (I cored, peeled and diced a Granny Smith apple for each group at home to save time.)

L'arbev et ha'kol b'yachad pa'am achrona (Stir everything together one last time)

V'az l'maleh et ha'neeyarot ba'tavneet eem ha'eerboov (And then fill the papers in the muffin tin with the mixture)

U'va'sof, l'fazer eerboov shel sookar v'keenamon me'al kol oogeeya... (And finally, sprinkle a mixture of sugar and cinnamon on top of each little cake...)

Achshav zeh moochan la'seem ba'tanoor l'esreem dakot (Now it's ready to put in the oven for 20 minutes)

The ingredients have been mixed and put in the muffin pans, the vocabulary has been reviewed and introduced, the tables have been cleaned, and the students have all gone to tefillah in the Beit Knesset (for grades 3-5) or the Sanctuary (for grades 6 and 7). And yet, we're not quite finished with the process...a behind-the-scenes look at what our wonderful TA's can look forward to cleaning after each cooking session!  TODA RABA L'ISABELLA V'MAX!!! (THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ISABELLA (on Tuesdays) AND MAX (on Wednesdays)!!!

Malida/Wedding Ceremony of the Bene Israel

For a while yesterday morning, it was touch and go as to whether we'd be able to re-enact a Bene Israel Wedding ceremony, including the Malida ritual. Thank goodness, Nathan checked the weather reports and all seemed to indicate that by the time we'd be going through our re-enactment, the skies would clear and the drizzle we'd experienced all morning would stop. I put my faith in the Doppler readings and was rewarded!
Not only was the sun shining brightly by the time we began the ceremony - the grass and ground were dry enough to sit on!

Immediately following our t'fila service in the Sanctuary (during which time Jacob and Isaac my TA's worked hard to prepare the Malida dishes, pour the grape juice and set out the props), the Edot students and those parents who joined us to observe the ceremony followed me back down to Room 201. There, I handed out the scripts so the students could review the roles to which they'd been assigned.

I wish my students could have enough time to rehearse the re-enactments we conduct in Edot class. Alas, 15 minutes was all the time they had to look over their scripts and ask questions. I'm so impressed with how seriously they take their roles and do their very best to get into character.

While the students reviewed the scripts, several parents, Kimberly my co-teacher, and Katie our special needs teacher helped students find and put on their costumes in Room 202.

Once the costuming process was completed, we had the Groom's wedding party line up behind Kimberly and the Bride's party line up behind me, then each group began two separate processions, which symbolically re-enacted the processions of the two wedding parties in India - one leading from the Bride's home to the synagogue; the second leading from the Groom's home to the synagogue. 

The Bridal party climbed the steep stairs across from the Temple House Building up to the lawn outside the Sanctuary. There, the Bride's mother (Jenna) threw gold coins in front of her daughter, and  and wished her prosperity in her new life. (We couldn't locate the bag of "gold" coins so Jenna symbolically threw out the coins! Of course, we found the coins soon after the end of the re-enactment!)

Meanwhile, the Groom's party led by Kimberly had climbed the stairs across from the Talmud Torah Building. Once the Bride's mother wished her daughter prosperity, two friends of the Bride (Abi and Jessie) and two friends of the Groom (Sammy and Andrew) began beating a slow rhythm on the drums they carried, and the procession continued along the cement pathway in front of the Sanctuary. Notice the children sitting on the yellow and white chairs - these are 7 Elders. As the Groom passed by each, he "kissed" the Elder's knee by putting his hand on the knee then putting his hand to his mouth as a sign of respect. There were also 7 Elders sitting on the Bride's end of the procession, and the Bride also "kissed" each Elder's knee as she passed them by.

Once the two wedding parties met, each began to march on the lawn, going down the middle, then each mirroring the other as they marched in two different directions along the edge of the lawn, following the beat of the drums. You can see the parent observers in the upper right corner of the photo.

Finally, the wedding parties met near two chairs representing the "thrones" for the Bride (Lillian) and Groom (Stephen). Each faced in the opposite direction from the other to symbolize the separate lives they had led to that point. The fathers of the Bride and Groom (Aaron and Zack) addressed each, echoing God's blessing to Abraham to make of his seed a great nation and to protect the Nation of Israel.

At this point, before the Bride and Groom can be wed, the Malida Ceremony takes place, venerating the Prophet Elijah whom the Bene Israel believe rescued their ancestors from a shipwreck off the Kerala Coast of southwest India. I conducted a very abbreviated Malida ceremony as follows:

We completed the ceremony by reciting the blessings over the fruit of the trees and over the rice, as well as over the wine (juice), then ate and drank.

The Malida dish is composed of the "Poha Porridge" (see my previous post) surrounded by pieces of apple, pear, orange, dates and bananas. These foods symbolize the sacrifices conducted in the ancient Temple by the Kohanim - the priests.

Now we continued the wedding ceremony.

Servant 3 (a/k/a Isaac, my TA) held up the Torah Scroll in front of the Bride. It was scrolled open to the 10 commandments.

The Bride covered her eyes with her left hand as she touched and kissed the Torah Scroll with her right hand 7 times. Everyone at the wedding then wished her a long life, with sons and daughters who would engage in works of the Law.

Servant 3 then gave gold necklaces to one of the Bride's friends, and gold bracelets to the second friend, who then put the jewelry on the Bride .

Servant 1 (a/k/a Kimberly) then covered the Bride's head with a white veil.

Now it was time for the Groom to be honored. Servant 3 gave one of the Groom's friends a garland of flowers and a gold crown...

...which he then put on the Groom.

Everyone at the wedding then recited a line from the Book of Esther describing how Mordechai was honored by King Ahashverosh by being dressed in royal apparel of blue and white and with a great crown of gold.

The Groom's second friend then gave the Groom a silver kiddush cup filled with wine (grape juice) to hold in his right hand, and a silver ring to hold in his left.  The Groom blessed and sipped the wine/juice, then gave the cup to Servant 3. He then placed the silver ring on the Bride's right index finger, declaring that she is now betrothed and sanctified to him.

Servant 3 then held up the marriage contract - the ketubah - in front of the Groom, at which point the Groom took an oath to provide his Bride with support, clothing and happiness. The Groom and his two friends - the "witnesses" - then signed the ketubah, which was handed to Servant 1 who rolled it up and tied it with a "gold" string.

The Groom then handed the signed ketubah to the Bride.

The Bride's friend removed the white veil from the Bride's head, as everyone at the wedding declared her beauty - "Oh beautiful as the Moon!" - and her virtues - "A woman of valor, for her price is far above rubies." (from the Book of Proverbs)

The Groom and his two friends then faced the Bride and her friends, clapped loudly 7 times, and, with the friends beating a slow rhythm on their drums, walked backward toward the cement path (symbolically leaving the synagogue). The Bride and her friends then followed, her friends also beating the same rhythm on their drums. Everyone else in the wedding followed them, and another procession began, similar to the one which started the re-enactment. The wedding parties are symbolically now heading from the synagogue to the home where the Bride and Groom will spend their lives.

"Reaching their home," there are two thrones waiting for them, this time facing in the same direction since their lives will now follow the same path. The mothers of the Bride and Groom (Jenna and Kyra) greeted them, asking God to make the Bride like Rachel and Leah who built the House of Israel, and to give the Groom a life where Priests and Levites will bless and serve him and kings will rejoice at his table.

This is where the ceremony ended and, with the ceremony, our unit of study about the Jews of India. A very big thanks goes to Servant 2 (a/k/a Jacob, my T.A.) for taking the wonderful photos and video during the ceremony, as well as helping our other two servants to serve the food and drink and then clean up during and after the ceremony. 

 

We now look forward to traveling through time and space this coming week, when we begin a new unit of study about the Jews of Morocco, our final Edot unit of study for this year. Stay tuned!

Poha Porridge for Malida Ceremony

Continuing in our preparations for this coming Sunday's Wedding and Malida ceremonies, our Edot students prepared a special "porridge"-like dish this past Tuesday and Wednesday sessions. The mixture is made of Poha (the Hindi and Marathi word for flattened rice flakes) soaked in water, unsweetened coconut flakes, sugar and cardemom.

It took us all of 20 minutes to prepare, and the finished product is now sitting in the school refrigerator until Sunday morning, when it will become part of the Malida ritual plate upon which will also be five different fruits eaten during the Malida ceremony.

No matter how simple or quick the food preparation activity is, the students always thoroughly enjoy themselves, as can be noted in the following photos:

After putting one cup of Poha flakes into the bowl, we all waited until I gave the go-ahead, then every group poured in the water over the flakes at the same time.

Now came the hardest part of all - waiting 4 minutes for the flakes to become thoroughly soaked

; waiting....

...still waiting...

Time's up - pour the soaked flakes into the sieve...

...then gently press down on the flakes to drain them as much as possible

Now transfer the flakes over to the empty bowl...

Add in the 1/8 cup sugar and stir it gently with the fork until it's completely absorbed into the soaked flakes

Finally, add in the 1/8 cup unsweetened coconut flakes...

...and stir everything together one last time  - very gently!

That's all folks! We transferred it all into the large tupperware container which is now in our school refrigerator. Sunday morning, I'll add in the cardemom (the mixture has to be very cold when you add it in).

In this unit of study, we've taken the "hands-on" approach to teaching to a new level!

Letters from Here to Afar

Fifth graders and their families from our Edot, Shira and Y'tzira tracks gathered outside the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco this past Sunday morning, as we waited for our two assigned docents to greet us at the main entrance. At 9:55, Elizheva and Joan came out, introduced themselves, and gave each of us a round tag to stick onto our jackets/shirts, next to our name tags, proclaiming that we were part of a private tour.

Once inside the Museum, there was so much to look at that heads were constantly moving up and down and to both sides, as we were introduced to the history and architecture of the building. We were then led to a large classroom, and once everyone was seated, Elizheva described the art project that would, once we had completed it, help us better understand the two exhibits we would be viewing immediately after.

Students and parents immediately began to rummage through the transparencies on each table, deciding which looked interesting and how they might cut and paste them into a collage. There were old maps which we could cut up and use for our "postcard collage," as well as markers with which to color and add in drawings. Once the collage was completed, we were asked to turn over the "postcard" and write a note to the people in the pictures, using prompt questions to help formulate the note. (There were copies of these prompts on each table.)

For the next half hour or so, you could hear children sharing ideas with parents and vice versa, calls for the glue sticks and certain colored markers - music to a teacher's ears! Elizheva and Joan kept the transparencies coming, as they were being used up at the tables, and I made the rounds from table to table, photographing and filming whatever I could catch with my "old-fashioned" (i.e. not IPhone) digital camera. (I still remember not so long ago having to keep rolls of film in my desk drawer to be sure I always had enough available!)

That's Erin, our Shira teacher, reaching for the transparency

Once all the collages and notes were completed, it was time for volunteers to share what they had written.
Andrew shared his note:

And so did Seth:

And Erin:

Once we had helped to clean up the tables, it was time to divide into two groups for the tours of the two exhibits: "Letters to Afar" and "Poland and Palestine." Erin joined Joan's group while I followed Elizheva's. We were led upstairs to the freight elevator doors onto which a huge map of Europe as it looked in 1938 was hung.

Elizheva shared the history of European Jewry going back a thousand years to help us understand the richness and depth of the Ashkenazi Jewish experience, particularly in the area known as the Pale of Settlement where Jews were forced to live from the end of the 18th century until the Russian Revolution in 1917.

She also used the map to introduce Poland and Palestine: Two Lands and Two Skies. This is an exhibition of approximately fifty images made in the 1930s by photographer Ze’ev (Wilhelm) Aleksandrowicz. The images selected for this exhibition depict everyday life for Jews in Poland and the British Mandate before the Founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Ze'ev traveled frequently between Poland (where he lived) and Palestine; Elizheva showed us on the map the route he had to travel each way - not an easy voyage! Amazingly, it wasn't until 1998 that the negatives of his photographs were discovered by his grandson after he passed away. They were in perfect condition!

After viewing the photos, Elizheva led us into the "Letters to Afar" exhibit. The room, totally darkened to make viewing the old films easier, was divided by temporary walls into what almost could be described as a maze. When you thought you had come to the final film, you turned a corner and there was another one projected onto another temporary wall. The creator of this exhibit, a Hungarian filmmaker named Péter Forgács, collected films taken by Polish Jews who had immigrated to the United States and then returned to visit their hometowns in Poland during the 1920's and 1930's, taking silent movies of family and friends and other residents of the towns and cities they had left behind. He cut and pasted and added music written especially for this exhibit by the Klezmorim band, to convey a message about their lives back then and our lives now. It immediately became very apparent how the art project helped the students immediately connect to what Forgács the artist was doing! When Elizheva asked the students what messages Forgács might be trying to convey, they immediately understood what she was asking. For example, they noticed that some films kept the same image repeating and duplicating itself for a mirror effect - Andrew thought that might be the artist trying to say that our lives today are like the lives they led back then in many ways.

Two hours go very quickly when there is so much to do and see. A very big "THANK YOU" goes to Elizheva and Joan for their warm welcome to the Museum (most of our participants had never visited before Sunday!), and their wonderful guidance through the history and art forms behind the two exhibits. They established a wonderful rapport with both children and adults, and asked wonderful questions which stimulated the students to recall what they had learned in our Edot classroom, as well as to how messages can be conveyed through different art forms, as well as in writing.

And speaking of messages, as I left the Museum, I turned around to take one last look at the Museum, and caught this photo:

Daniel Liebeskind, the architect, designed the cube and the old PG&E red brick substation to form the Hebrew letters "chet" and "yud," which together spell the Hebrew word for "Live" - "CHAI"! It's hard to see from ground level; much easier from overhead. I wonder if the people living in the upper levels of the apartments in the photo can look out their windows each morning and see "CHAI" staring at them - what a wonderful message to start their day!