Immigration Challenges

Following a brief review of what we learned about the Jewish westward migration to date during our week day sessions, students were divided into four groups. Each group was presented with a situation faced by Jewish immigrants to the U.S. in the 1840's and 1850's, and asked to brainstorm a list of solutions. The situations were as follows: (1) You can carry only one very small bag on your trip from Europe - what will you put into it to help you maintain your Jewish traditions?  (2) What solutions might you find for maintaining your Jewish identity during the long boat trip to the United States from Europe and during the overland route to California (consider what foods Jews were allowed to eat, keeping Shabbat, etc.)?  (3) When you arrive in the United States, you don't know any English, and you have no work to earn money. What can you do to survive? and (4) There are no synagogues, rabbis, Torah scrolls, siddurim (prayer books), or Jewish calendars when you arrive in the West. How will you be able to continue to observe Jewish rituals and traditions and be certain that your children and future generations will be able to do the same?

The solutions arrived at by each group to the above questions were then shared. We created a list of solutions on the whiteboard which I copied down. These solutions have now become part of a page entitled "Leaving for California? Be Sure to Keep Your Jewish Traditions By..." which will be become part of the information packet given to the Gold Rush field trip participants.

On Sunday, I shared with the students a presentation I put together from the "Heritage: Civilization and the Jews" dvd-rom program, focusing on the mass immigration of Jews from eastern Europe to the U.S. between the 1880's and 1924 (when the U.S. closed its doors after accepting more than 25 million immigrants in that time period). It's estimated that at least 2 million Jews (and possibly as many as 3 million) entered the U.S. during that era; most of them came from eastern Europe. The presentation focused on the challenges these Jews had to face. Many imagined that they were about to enter a new "Promised Land," where the streets were paved with gold. Instead, they found themselves in crowded living conditions in tenements, and working 7 days a week, from dawn til dusk, to earn enough to put food on their tables. The presentation also included a lullabye written by the Yiddish author Shalom Aleichem, in which a Jewish mother promises her baby that life in America will be so sweet that he'll eat challah in the middle of the week, and chicken broth every day (a great treat for the poor Jews of eastern Europe!). There were also some humorous bits in the presentation about "this crazy game of baseball that even grown-ups play" and a young Jewish boy's insistence that his father study his "abc's" more diligently, to learn how to read English.

We continued our "Hebrew Through Movement" vocabulary-building sessions outdoors in the amphitheater (the weather was too nice to stay indoors!), and I set up a new bulletin board in the classroom to show off the vocabulary we've learned to date, illustrated by photos of the students themselves performing the actions. 

Finally, we all want to wish our classmate Leon "re'fua sh'leima" (complete healing). We miss him. To be sure he knows we're all thinking of him, we made a giant get-well card filled with our wishes for a speedy recovery.

Our newest classroom bulletin board - Hebrew Through Movement (Ivrit Bit'nua)

Taking turns to wish Leon a speedy recovery

B'nai Mitzvah Prep Workshop #1

This past Sunday, October 21st, our fifth and sixth grade families came together for the first of three B'nai Mitzvah Prep workshops scheduled for this academic year. Fifth grade families came first session; sixth grade families came second session. I always look forward to those occasions when I have a chance to see my students in the context of their families. It was so nice to see that most families were able to join us for both sessions. Both workshops met in the Social Hall, with breakout groups using the Oneg Room and Sanctuary as well. If your family wasn't able to attend this first workshop, I can offer you a "taste" of what we did, hopefully to whet your appetite for the next workshop (Saturday morning, February 2nd for sixth grade families and Sunday morning, February 3rd, first session, for fifth).

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:

We all met back again in the Social Hall, at which point the students were each presented with their own copy of Scharfstein's Torah translation. It was wonderful for me to see the reactions on the faces of the children as they opened up their own copy of the Torah for the first time.

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.

After a final wrap-up, reminding everyone about the due date for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah date selection request forms and a brief preview of the second BM Prep workshop, families moved to the Sanctuary to join the 3rd and 4th grades for T'fila.

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 -

SHIN

VET

AND TAV

Rabbi Miller wrapped up the workshop, sharing with the families how the sixth graders will be participating in "Creative Tefillah" over the coming academic year. They'll be divided into groups; each group will help to lead one of the Religious School's Sunday Tefillah sessions, working with Rabbi Miller beforehand to find a theme to connect the major prayers of the service together. It's a wonderful preparation for giving each student a "feel" for what it will be like to help lead the congregation in prayers during the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony.

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.

Getting Ready for our Gold Rush Field Trip

Most of the fifth and sixth graders in our Edot class participated in field trips to the Mother Lode country with their fourth grade secular school classes. But they were likely never taught then about the stabilizing influence that the pioneer Jews had on the rough-and-tumble times in that area. Rather than participating in the actual mining of gold, most of the Jewish pioneers brought with them their old-world skills of tailoring and merchandising. Many spent their first few years in California as itinerant peddlers, carrying up to 100 pounds of merchandise on their backs. If they were lucky, they saved enough money to invest in a pushcart, and then, if they were very successful, they invested their earnings in a wood or brick building.  These buildings were often the only permanent structures in the mining towns, surrounded by the miners' tents. Because the Jewish shopkeeper had the only permanent establishment in the camp, he often also served as the banker, sheriff (some shops used their locked storerooms as jail cells, when needed), judge, and assayer. On early maps of the Mother Lode region from the early 1850's, many of the mining camps were simply referred to by the names of the Jewish shopkeepers who owned the only building in the camp- "Goldstein's" and "Kaufman's" to name two.

On November 11th this year, Edot students and their families will participate in a "Jews of the Gold Rush" field trip to Sonora and Columbia State Historic Park. They'll learn about these Jewish pioneers, many of whom owned shops on Columbia's Main Street, and many more of whom are buried in the Jewish Pioneer Cemetery in Sonora.

To prepare for the field trip, the students made small versions of the pouches that many miners used to hold the gold dust they discovered.  Many travelers in those days, and certainly this included the Jewish peddlers, carried dried food in the bags. We'll be preparing hardtack in two weeks, and the students will be able to put some pieces into their pouches for the trip to Sonora.

This week the fifth and sixth graders began to hold hafsaka (recess) during the weekday sessions on the lawn outside the Social Hall. Josh, my satellite teacher, was successful in getting a ball game organized with many of the students, while other students stood or sat around schmoozing. With the beautiful east bay hills as backdrop, it looks like we'll be using the lawn on a regular basis now for hafsaka (weather-permitting).

Finally, continuing on with building our Hebrew vocabulary using the Hebrew Through Movement approach, I introduced the verb "to run" (la'rootz) and the words "baneem" (boys), "banot" (girls), and "koolam" (everyone). Put these new words together with the "la'shevet" (sit), "la'koom" (stand), "la'lechet" (walk), "la'atzor" (stop), "leekpotz" (jump), and "l'histovev" (turn around) verbs we've already learned, and a lot of fun results!
                                                               

LA'SHEVET (SIT)

LA'ROOTZ (RUN)

 

LEEKPOTZ (JUMP)

KOOLAM LA'ROOTZ (EVERYONE RUN)

From Recife to New Amsterdam

We officially began our unit of study on American Jewry this past week.  I say "officially" since I "unofficially" introduced the subject when I started to read the historical novel, "Out of Many Waters" by Jacqueline Dembar Greene, out loud at the start of each session three weeks ago. The novel tells the story of how the first permanent Jewish community was established in 1654 in New Amsterdam (to be re-named New York by the British in 1664). This past week, we read about the early history of American Jews, beginning in 1654 and going up to the end of the Revolutionary War. We learned how those colonies which were established for religious reasons (like Maryland and Plymouth Colony) would not allow Jews to settle within their boundaries. Instead, Jews were welcomed into the colonies established for trading purposes along the eastern seaboard (New York, Philadelphia, Newport, Charleston, and Savannah). The earliest Jewish settlers in these colonies were of Sephardi (Spanish/Portuguese) descent, though by the time of the Revolutionary War, Ashkenazi (central and eastern European) Jews were settling in the colonies as well. Most of these Ashkenazi Jews came from Germany and England, so it was not surprising that they sided with the loyalists when war broke out in 1775.  There were Jewish patriots as well. Most of the loyalists eventually made their way back to England. By 1780, there were approximately 2,500 Jews in the United States.
 
On another note, those students who attended Sunday's sessions, did a remarkable job creating a giant "Get Well" card for Bill Broussard, who supervises the Isaiah campus' maintenance crew. Special thanks for the card's beautiful front page design goes to Anna, Melissa, and Sarah. Bill had knee replacement surgery a week ago, and is sorely missed by us all. We all wish him a speedy "Refu'ah Sh'leima" (complete recovery).

I'm attaching a couple of photos that I shot during our week day hafsaka (recess) a couple of weeks ago. The 10-minute break we have is a short, but important one. The children have a chance to interact with each other in the informal setting, and quite a few friendships are made in the play area.

Chag Sukkot Sameach

Beginning last night, Jews around the world ushered in what is considered to be the most joyous holiday on the Jewish calendar - Sukkot.  It's the first of the three major harvest festivals - the other two are Passover and Shavuot. Ancient Israelites were commanded to bring offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem during each of these festivals, to be sacrificed by the Kohaneem (the priests) to God, in thanks for the harvest. Because most Israelites lived outside of Jerusalem, they made a pilgrimage three times a year to the Temple. In Hebrew, we also refer to the three major harvest celebrations as "Sh'loshet Ha'Regeeleem" (the three pilgrimages). Sukkot, like other Jewish festivals, has more than one name. It's also referred to as Chag He'Aseef (the Harvest Festival) and Z'man Simchateinu (the Time of our Joy). 

We are commanded in the Torah to be joyous on this holiday. Obviously, there are many ways to rejoice, and our Temple Isaiah Religious School found a unique way to do so this year - we held a flash mob during our t'fila (prayer) service between the two sessions. The clergy, Religious School staff, TA's, students and their families practiced dance moves for several weeks;  all the rehearsing paid off, and the flash mob truly turned out to be an incredibly joyous and fun experience for all.

During our Edot sessions before and after t'fila, the students were introduced to the major symbols of Sukkot - the Sukkah and the Lulav/Etrog. As we practiced the ritual of shaking the lulav, a few students remarked how similar the sound of the shaking palm, myrtle, and willow branches was to the sound of a gentle rain falling. This is not a coincidence, as it is this time of year, as part of our Sukkot celebration, that we ask God to bring rain for the crops.

Edot students also continued to build a working Hebrew vocabulary through the "Hebrew Through Movement" program - reviewing the commands "la'koom" (get up), "la'shevet" (sit down), and "la'lechet (walk), and learning a new command - "la'atzor" (stop). They also began to read "Hebrish" (English words written with Hebrew letters). Working in pairs or in groups of 3, they read out loud to each other, correcting any decoding errors when a word didn't make sense to them. This is the beauty of working with Hebrish - the students know immediately if they are decoding correctly or not. Each student has a binder, within which are readings, puzzles and games, all written in Hebrish. Students were asked to read a "welcome to our Edot class" letter from me, to help them become familiar with Hebrish. Once they finish reading the letter, they can choose to read any worksheet in the binder. For example, they might choose the riddle, "Why did the boy throw a clock out of the window?" (Answer:  to see time fly!), or they might choose to read one of several limerick poems, or fill-in-the blank worksheets, where, as an example, they might be asked to read a description of a famous fairy tale, and write the title on the blank line. (Just as they must read in Hebrish, they must write their answers in it as well!)  The students may also take worksheets home from the binder, and bring them back for stickers in our "Stumper/Challenge" incentive program.Eventually, the students will be reading about chapters in Jewish history, the origins of major Jewish holidays and prayers, and even excerpts from the first part of the Mishna - Pirkei Avot (The Sayings of the Fathers) - all in Hebrish (with some Hebrew vocabulary introduced every now and then).

Judging from the faces of the students during the Hebrew Through Movement and Hebrish decoding activities, they enjoyed both, which was quite appropriate as Sukkot, our "Z'man Simchateinu," our time of joy, was just about to begin. Having Joel Siegel, our music director, come in at the end of each session to teach us some wonderful songs relating to Sukkot, was icing on the cake! 

Chag Sukkot Sameach.