Preparing for the Journey

Now that I have shared the first 200 years of the history of Jewish presence in the United States, we're beginning to prepare for our upcoming field trip to Sonora and Columbia in the Mother Lode country. Last Sunday, we divided into four groups and each group was assigned a particular problem that new Jewish immigrants to the American West had to confront and solve.

Once each group had listed solutions to the problem with which they were presented, we discussed the solutions and made a list on the white board. I typed up the solutions the students came up with, and the worksheet will become part of an "archive" each student will receive for a project we'll be working on next week - stay tuned!

During the last two weekday sessions, we prepared for our trip in a very different way - we prepared hardtack and 1-2-3-4 cake (so-named because many pioneers were illiterate, and could only follow simple recipes that were easy to memorize). This cake is made by mixing together 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour and 4 eggs, then baking it in a 350 degree F oven for an hour. Jewish peddlers learned to make these from farmwives and miners whom they encountered as they peddled their wares. We made enough of both to share with everyone who will go on the field trip; those students not able to participate will get pieces of hardtack to take home next week, and we'll enjoy a taste of the cake next Tuesday and Wednesday, while I read "Out of Many Waters" at the start of each session.

Did I mention that the batter for the 1-2-3-4 cake is sticky?

I warned the students to keep one hand free of the bowl...

...because it's hard to get the batter off your hands if both are "involved."

Luckily, there were a few clean hands left in the room to help get most of the batter off the hands...

...and into the pan!

Finally, I added three more stumpers to the holiday bulletin board in honor of Sukkot:

1.) Who is the "Hatan Torah'? Who is the 'Hatan Beraysheet'?
2.) What is another name for Sukkot in the Bible?
(you can find the answers to the above 2 stumpers in the "Jewish Holidays and Customs" book on the window sill in our classroom!)
3.) Which American holiday, founded in 1621, is based on Sukkot?

MOADEEM L'SEEMCHA - ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL SUKKOT HOLIDAY!