Jewish History Timeline

Our Edot students were tasked this past week with creating an over-sized Jewish History Timeline, which will become an important prop during our Edot Fair's opening skit this coming Tuesday and Wednesday.  The first part of the task involved cutting out magazine pictures and photographs relating to different time periods, from ancient to modern. This was accomplished during the week day sessions. I set out magazines that covered the subjects of Israel, Archaeology, and the Jewish Diaspora Communities and their cultures. Some examples of these magazines are "Eretz" (the National Geographic magazine of Israel), "Biblical Archaeology Review", "Hadassah Magazine", "Pak'n Treger" (the magazine of the National Yiddish Book Center), and "Heritage" (the magazine of the American Jewish Historical Society).  Our Sunday session was dedicated to completing the Timeline.  Magazine photos and pictures were attached to the appropriate time periods and students brainstormed ideas for their own drawings to depict special events in Jewish history. The final result is very impressive, and is a wonderful reflection of all the work the students put into it.

There were fascinating photos to enjoy as the students searched through the magazines.

There was a lot of discussion as to which photos were appropriate for the assigned time period

Students worked in shifts; the timeline was spread across four 5-foot tables and still couldn't be completely unrolled

Different students founds different ways of reaching the space they drew in

There's nothing like throwing your whole self into a project!

A Messianic Age at the end of time filled with happy children, rainbows, puppies, and lots of candy! Sounds good to me!

Happy Birthday, Israel

During our past week day sessions, we celebrated Israel's 65th birthday. The actual day of "Yom Ha'Atzma'ut" (Independence Day) was on Tuesday, but we celebrated on Wednesday as well. We began by taking a close look at Israel's national anthem, "Ha'Tikvah" (The Hope). After reading a short blurb about the song's history, it occurred to us that the song is a wonderful reflection of the Edot. Its influences came from different countries, all combining to create an Israeli anthem. The lyrics were written by a native of Galicia (Poland) and set to music by a native of Moldavia (around the area of Rumania today). The melody was inspired by a theme in the opera, "Maldau" written by the Czech composer, Smetana, who based the theme on Scandinavian folk songs he had heard.

After reading together about the song's history, I conducted a brief review of what we had learned in Jewish history this year. The focus of this brief review was on the fact that throughout most of Jewish history, certainly since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., we have lived in countries all over the world at the invitation of those who ruled those countries. In many cases, we were forced to leave countries at a moment's notice. After the Holocaust, thousands of Jews were stranded in displaced persons' camps in Europe. They couldn't return to the countries they had lived in before the war, and the U.S. and other countries were making it very difficult for many Jews to enter as immigrants. When Israel was declared a nation on May 14, 1948, we achieved our "two thousand year old hope...to be a free nation in our land, the Land of Zion and Jerusalem" (lyrics from "Ha'Tikvah"). We discussed how Israel is the only nation in the world today which protects its citizens not only within its borders, but outside its borders as well (the rescue of Yemenite and Ethiopian Jews and the raid on Entebbe, to offer just a few examples). It's not only Israeli Jews who have their own government and military to protect them. Jews all over the world know that there is a land we can go to (or who may "come to us") in times of need, or which will accept us immediately if we make aliya (immigrate).

We then read the Hebrew words of the anthem and translated them, then sang the anthem several times through. During t'fila, Rabbi Greninger led us in singing the anthem again.

We used the last half hour of the session drawing the Israeli flag, which is known in Israel as the "Kachol Lavan" (the blue and white).  This may sound like a simple exercise, but I'm proud to say that the students drew the flag following my directions - IN HEBREW.  I used the "Yom Ha'Atzma'ut" lesson in the Hebrew through Movement program, teaching the vocabulary the students would need to understand my commands the previous week. They remembered what we had learned, and everyone followed the commands perfectly.

Once the flag was drawn, I reverted to English and asked the students to think about what we had discussed earlier, and to write one sentence on the face of their flag describing what Israel means to them. I gathered the flags at the end of each session, and hung them on one of the hallway bulletin boards, to share "What Israel Means to Me."  Below are some examples:

"To me Israel was always supposed to be there, to always be a protector of other nations."

"Israel means a Jewish place that reaches out to all the Jews around the world. To me."

"Israel before and after everything is still the toughest "state" known. They have gone through more than any one person ever."

"Israel means to me a place that will not die. As long as there is a single Jew, Israel will not be lost."

"To me, Israel is my homeland and my people."

"To me, Israel is Judaism's center point and a place with rich history."

"To me, Israel is a safe home where Jews are not disrespected."

"Israel is a place I want to go to."

If you're interested, above is a film Josh, my satellite teacher, took of the Hebrew Through Movement Israeli flag lesson.

B'nai Mitzvah Prep Session 3

The families of our 5th and 6th grade Edot and Shira: The Musical! students met for the third and final B'nai Mitzvah Prep workshop yesterday. The fifth grade families came during first session; sixth grade families during second session. The three BM workshops have proven to be a wonderful opportunity for families of students in the same grade level to meet and get to know each other better, forming what we hope will be a vital part of our Isaiah community through the Bar/Bat Mitzvah process and after.

The focus of this final BM workshop for the fifth grade families was on prayer. The families were divided into three groups based on the students' birthdays, and these groups rotated through three "K" stations - Keva, Kavanna, and Kehila. Rabbi Greninger led the Keva station in which the participants learned that the word "keva" means "fixed" in Hebrew. We do certain prayers in a certain order every time we pray together. I led the Kavanna station, explaining how even though we are given specific words to say in each prayer and must say them in a specific order, the Talmud states that "One who prays must aim his/her heart at heaven" (Brachot 31a) and "Don't make your prayers fixed!" (Avot 2:13)  The Hebrew word "kavanna" means "aim" or "intention." We should not simply repeat the words of the prayers but should, instead, use the words to help us connect directly to God and to our Jewish community. The third station was led by Alex, our Shira: The Musical!" teacher and Josh, my satellite teacher. "Kehilla" means "community" and it is through prayer that Jews build connections and relationships - a sense of community. To remind the participants in this station about the importance of Kehilla in Jewish prayer, Alex and Josh led everyone in working together to create and then untie a "human knot."  Near the end of the session, Rabbi Greninger briefly explained to the parents details of the new Hebrew program we are inaugurating at Isaiah in the fall, while Alex and Josh and Ira (our 7th grade and youth group coordinator) led more community-building activities for the students out on the lawn.

Rabbi Greninger introducing the prayer focus of the workshop to the fifth grade families 

As always, food for the body is provided along with the "food for the mind"

Part of the "Kavanna" station involved writing a personal blessing using the "Blessing Formula" in the Siddur Journal which each fifth grader received as a gift during the second workshop in the series

Josh and Ira preparing the fifth graders for one of the community-building games; from the looks of things, we have a very enthusiastic and strong community in the making!

As soon as the fifth grade families moved into the Sanctuary for tefilla (prayer service), sixth grade families took their places in the Social Hall. The focus for this final sixth grade workshop was on the Torah, Haftarah, and Mitzvah Project which are all central to becoming a bar or bat mitzvah. As part of the introduction to the workshop, Rabbi Miller showed a clip from President Obama's comments at the URJ Biennial in which he acknowledged the centrality of the Torah to the Jewish People, and shared the common response of our Biblical forefathers when called upon by God: "Hineni" ("I am here.") This is the response we make when we are becoming b'nai mitzvah. Rabbi Graetz then led a discussion about the Torah - what is it? Where does it come from? Who wrote it? What does the word "Torah" mean? and how do we relate to it in the 21st century?  The families were then divided into five groups representing the five Books of Moses (a/k/a The Torah). Each group was composed of families whose sixth grader was assigned to read from the Torah portion in the group's Book during his/her Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony. Erin (Shira:The Musical!) teacher led the "Genesis" group; I led the "Exodus" group; Rabbi Miller led the "Leviticus" group; Rabbi Greninger led the "Numbers" group; and Rabbi Graetz led the "Deuteronomy" group.  Each family in each group read a summary of the Torah portion they had been assigned and shared who the main characters in their "parsha" (Torah portion) were, what the major events in the parsha were, and what the themes (the big ideas) of the parsha were with the entire group. Finally, each group discussed what the major themes of the entire book were.  Following a brief break, a representative from each group shared the theme(s) of their group's Torah book, and Rabbi Graetz then introduced the three major parts of the Hebrew Bible - Torah, Nevee'eem (Prophets), and Writings - and shared the history of the Haftarah - readings from the Prophets which accompany readings of the Torah portion of the week. Families were informed that Isaiah b'nai mitzvahs have two options - reading from the traditional Hafatarah selection or talking about their b'nai mitzvah project, which carries forth the prophetic idea. No matter which option is chosen, every bar and bat mitzvah candidate is encouraged to do a mitzvah project. We then conducted a "Mitzvah Fair" during which families were given a "Mitzvah Project Scavenger Hunt" form, and were instructed to walk around the Oneg Room adjacent to the Social Hall and read informational posters which had been hung on the walls, describing various charity and social service organizations. As they read the posters, families worked together to answer questions on their scavenger hunt forms. Rabbi Miller then wrapped up the workshop by asking the families to share any ideas the Mitzvah Fair had generated, and encouraging everyone to start working on the projects over the summer. Finally, Ira and four seventh graders shared what an incredible year the sixth graders were in store for next year, both in class and as part of the Anachnu youth group, which is made up of seventh and eighth graders.

Viewing Pres. Obama's comments to the URJ Biennial - "Hineni!"

Rabbi Graetz leading a discussion about Torah and its meaning

Themes of the parshiot (weekly readings) in the Book of Exodus

Rachel, a seventh grader, sharing some of the activities she experienced during the seventh grade Los Angeles trip

Game On!

The Edot students spent the final week of school before Pesach playing games. During the weekday sessions, we reviewed the material covered during our Bene Israel (Jews of India) unit of study by playing "In the Manner of the Word."  This is a role-playing game which involves everyone in the class as volunteers and audience. To prepare for the game, we reviewed what we had learned about the Bene Israel of India. Students volunteered information, and I wrote each piece of information in the form of a complete sentence on the board. We narrowed the information down to 10 sentences. I then asked the students to give me 10-15 adverbs, which I wrote on the board next to the sentences. To play, a volunteer steps outside the classroom, with another volunteer guarding the door. A third volunteer then goes up to the board and silently points out one of the adverbs until everyone in the classroom knows which word is the chosen one. The door guard then lets in the volunteer who stepped out. This volunteer then goes up to the "stage area" in front of the board, and chooses a volunteer who will act out (no words allowed!) a sentence chosen by the first volunteer "in the manner of the word" (the adverb). The first volunteer gets 3 tries (3 separate volunteers and 3 separate sentences) to figure out which adverb was chosen. I don't think we stopped laughing while we played.

The "B.I." stands for the Bene Israel in the sentences on the board

The B.I. eat Malida rice dishes during the festival of the same name "menacingly"?

...and the word is..."Jewishly!" The B.I. were shipwrecked off the coast of India...Jewishly? 

No trouble getting volunteers in this game!

On Sunday, we reviewed the 15 parts of the seder ceremony in our Student Haggadahs, then reviewed everything we had learned during the second semester in our Hebrew Through Movement, Jewish History/Edot, Siddur (Prayer book)/B'rachot (Blessings), and Jewish holiday/Jewish calendar units of study by playing "The Shekel Game."  This group betting game is a hit with the students; I try to play it every 6 weeks or so.  It's fun for the students and gives me a chance to see how many of the students recall important pieces of information in each unit of study (if a lot of students can't recall the information, it tells me it's time to review!). What's nice is that in every group, there are "experts" in different units of study, so everyone contributes and everyone learns.

Lets' see - do we bet 1 Theodore Herzl, 2 Chaim Weizmann's, or 10 Moses Montefiore's?

A Hebrew Through Movement question - in this case, the entire group has to respond as follows: La'koom (get up) v' la'shevet al ha'shoolchan (and sit on the table)

Recorder and treasurer figuring out how much they  have to know how much they can bet

20 seconds left - what's the answer?!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Pesach holiday. We return to school on Tuesday/Wednesday, April 9th/10th, at which time we will observe Yom Ha'Shoah - Holocaust Memorial Day  - in our Edot classroom (Yom Ha'Shoah is this coming Monday, April 8th - the 28th day of Nisan on the Jewish calendar).