Getting Ready for Hanuka

This week we completed our Hanuka unit of study. One of the most important lessons the Talmudic era rabbis wanted to teach future Jewish generations was the idea that a minority culture such as our own can live side by side with a majority culture, yet still hold true to our beliefs. We should never have to fight for our beliefs again - "not by might, and not by power, but by spirit alone shall we all live in peace" (verse from Debbie Friedman song based on a passage in the Book of Zecharia). The story of the miracle of the oil created by the Rabbis about 500 years after the events of the Hanuka story took place, was intended to drive home this message. They decided not to include the Books of the Maccabees (with their recounting of the atrocities committed by both sides during the Maccabean Revolt) in the Hebrew Bible (they are found in the Catholic Bible).  Instead, they left us with the story of the miracle of the oil, hoping that future Jewish generations would never resort to fighting in order to maintain our identity and independence.

As we are learning in our Edot studies, this is what the majority of edot have done - learned to live side by side with non-Jewish neighbors, borrowing from the various cultures, yet always maintaining a strong Jewish identity. During our week day sessions, we took a close look at how our own American edah has borrowed elements of the American culture, giving them a Jewish twist to celebrate, in this case, the Hanuka story.

I shared four YouTube videos in class, and asked the students to identify American cultural elements in each. First, we watched Maccabeats' "Candlelight" song, followed by Sesame Street's "Hanukkah with Veronica Monica" , Adam Sandler's Original Hanukka Song Video , and finally Nefesh B'Nefesh's Hanukkah Flash Mob .  See if you can spot American influences in each. The students were surprised at how many there were!

On Sunday, we met for only one session to allow families to participate in the Women of Isaiah's Hanuka Party immediately after. During the session, we read two chapters in "The Storyteller's Beads," enjoyed the Shekel Game (a review game that we play at the end of each unit of study), learned English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ladino Hanuka songs with Joel Siegel, and practiced our Hebrew Through Movement Hanuka vocabulary. There won't be any classes this coming week, so we can all celebrate "Thanksgivukkah" with friends and family. We'll be back in class on Tuesday, December 3rd and Wednesday, December 4th for our annual "Bring-A-Friend Days."

Enjoy these photos from Sunday's session:

Playing the Shekel Game - how much money do we have? (Important to know, since each group can only bet half as much money as they have!)

You only get 30 seconds to answer the question once it's been asked

Wait a minute - I'm pretty sure I know the answer!

Group huddle

La'lechet me'saveev la'shulchan (Walk around the table)

L'sovev et ha's'vivon al ha'shulchan (Spin the dreydl on the table)

L'hareem et ha'hanukiya (Lift up the Hanuka menora)

L'hareem et ha's'vivon (Lift up the dreydl)

L'hareem neirot shel Hanuka (Lift up the Hanuka candles)

L'sovev et ha's'vivon al ha'yad shel Daniel (spin the dreydl on Daniel's hand)

Sufganiyot for Hanuka

Continuing with our Hanuka theme this week, the Hebrew Cooking elective students prepared sufganiyot. These are the jelly doughnuts traditionally eaten this time of year in Israel. To be honest, it would have taken us more time than we had in the classroom to prepare the actual fried jelly doughnuts, so instead, I found a recipe for baked doughnuts that can be eaten with jelly. We added some pre-made icing on the top of the doughnuts before eating them. The results were very tasty!

This week's Hebrew vocabulary Review and New Words

La'seem et ha'kemach, sookar, avkat afiya, egoz mooskat, keenamon, v'melach l'toch ha'ke'ara ha'g'dola, v'l'arbev otam b'yachad (Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt into the big bowl, and stir them together)

B'oto ha'z'man, leeshbor et shtei ha'beitzeem l'toch ha'ke'ara ha'k'tana, v'leetrof otam eem ha'mazleg (At the same time, break the two eggs into the small bowl, and beat them with the fork)

Achshav, l'hoseef et ha'beizeem, ha'vaneel, he'chalav, v'et ha'Crisco l'toch ha'ke'ara ha'g'dola, v'l'havreesh et ha'kol b'yachad, eem ha'havrasha (Now, add in the eggs, the vanilla, the milk, and the Crisco shortening into the big bowl, and whisk them all together with the whisk)

Whisking is hard to do when you're working with a very sticky dough!

A very, very sticky dough!!!

After a lot of whisking, the batter is finally ready

La'tet et tavneet ha'sufganiyot l'Josh. Josh - l'harsees et ha'tavneet eem shemen (Give the doughnut pan to Josh. Josh - spray the pan with oil)

Az, l'malei et ha'tavneet eem ha'batzek (Then, fill the tray with the dough)

Spread the dough evenly in each doughnut hole with your finger

Achshav zeh moochan la'seem ba'tanoor. La'afot et ha'sufganiyot esreem dakot. (Now it's ready to put in the oven. Bake the doughnuts for 20 minutes.)

L'nakot et ha'shoolchan (clean the table)

The finished product (before the glaze)

Next Wednesday evening, the day before Thanksgiving, we'll be lighting the first Hanuka light.  Enjoy your latkes and doughnuts (baked or fried!).  CHAG HANUKA SAMEACH - HAPPY HANUKA!

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.).

If it's Latkes, it must be Hanuka

Hanuka is indeed just around the corner, so this week we prepared latkes (l'vivot) in our Hebrew cooking elective. Several students,checking out the board where I write the Hebrew vocabulary we'll be using during the cooking session, noticed that the very first word on the list was "la'afot" (to bake).

Rather than frying the latkes in oil, as is the custom, I found a recipe for baked latkes which proved to be just as tasty as if they were fried. There was so much oil in the recipe, that they "fried" in the oven.

Reisheet kol, leeshbor et ha'beitza l'toch ha'ke'ara ha'k'tana (First of all, break the egg into the small bowl)

leetrof et ha'beitza (beat the egg)

L'gared et tapoochei ha'adama l'toch ha'ke'ara ha'g'dola  (grate the potatoes into the large bowl)

L'hachzeek ba'ke'ara  (hold the bowl)

L'hachzeek v'l'gared (hold and grate)

Achshav, leeshfoch et ha' beitza l'toch ha'ke'ara me'al tapoochei ha'adama  (Now, pour the egg into the bowl on top of the potatoes)

L'hoseef et ha'batzel, shemen, shoom, shameer, melach, kemach, v'avkat afiya l'toch ha'ke'ara, v'l'arbev et ha'kol b'yachad (Add the onion, oil, garlic, dill, salt, flour, and baking powder into the bowl, and mix it all together)

La'seem et ha'kol al ha'tavneet eem kaf, b'tzoorat eegool (put it all on the cookie sheet with a spoon, in the shape of a circle)

Achshav zeh moochan la'seem ba'tanoor (now it's ready to put in the oven)

U'va'sof, l'nakot et ha'shoolchan (And finally, clean the table)

Since we still had about 15 minutes left to the session after we put the latkes in the oven, I took the opportunity to review and introduce some Hebrew Through Movement commands.

Ari, la'shevet mee'tachat la'shoolchan (Ari, sit under the table)

Koolam, l'hareem yad (everyone, raise a hand)

Koolam, la'koom v'l'hareem etzbah (everyone, stand up and raise a finger)

Aaron, la'seem yad al ha'rosh shel Jacob (Aaron, put a hand on Jacob's head)