Happy Thanksgiving

How appropriate that we should end our Edot unit of study about American Jewry just before our Thanksgiving holiday break. There is so much our American Jewish community has to be thankful for in this country in which we settled 360 years ago. And, of course, the original Thanksgiving observed by the Puritan colonists back in the 17th century was modeled after the ancient Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles - Sukkot.

We played the Shekel Game yesterday, a group game which tells me if the students have retained key  information I have shared with them in our units of study. I ask each group questions from several subject categories. Yesterday, the categories were Eevreet Bee't'noo'a (Hebrew Through Movement), Seepoor (Story - "Out of Many Waters"), Siddur/B'rachot (Prayerbook/Blessings), Heestor'ya Yehoodeet (Jewish History), and Chageem (Holidays). The students had a lot of fun betting that they could answer my questions, and there was quite a lot of money earned, since they recalled everything I asked in all categories. The final round of the game is the "All or Nothing" round, where the students can choose the category the question will be taken from, and can bet all their money, if they wish. They know that the "All or Nothing" round questions are the most difficult ones in the categories. I was pleasantly surprised that every group chose the Hebrew Through Movement category, rather than the story category (which is usually chosen by most groups). The students feel confident in the Hebrew vocabulary taught during our sessions. The series of commands given to each group were tough ones, and they performed them perfectly.

Listening to Charna asking the question - listen carefully, since the question can't be repeated!

So how much money should we bet?

"The Huddle" - Everyone has to agree on the answer to be given by the reporter.

A perfectly executed command - "La'seem rosh al ha'shoolchan" (Put head on the table)

"La'shevet al ha'reetzpa" (Sit on the floor)

Following the Shekel Game, we moved over to the Beit Knesset, where Joel led all the 5th and 6th graders in singing. One song, written by Jeff Klepper, is about Rabbi Ben Bag Bag  and his teaching about the Torah. It's a catchy tune!

When we returned to our classroom from our music session with Joel, I officially began our unit of study about Shabbat, which I will be teaching in tandem with our unit of study about Ashkenazi Jewry. This is because the culminating event for our unit about Ashkenazi Jewry will be a family "Shabbat Seder" on Friday evening, January 23rd. Our Edot students will share what they learn about Ashkenzi Jewish culture by conducting what was once a typical Ashkenazi "Kabbalat Shabbat" (Welcoming the Sabbath ceremony on Friday evening), which included Yiddish songs and a Yiddish re-telling of a Talmudic era story about Joseph who valued Shabbat. Joel came into our classroom a few minutes after I introduced the unit, and began to teach us two of the songs we'll be singing at the "seder" - Shabbos Shabbos Shabbos and Chiri Bim, Chiri Bom (a Hasidic version of L'cha Dodi).

We finished our session with an all-school t'fila in the Sanctuary. We had a special guest help lead some of the prayers -  Liz Lerman. Taking suggestions for movements from the children, she led us in the singing of several prayers, including "Elohai, neshama she'natata bee, tehora hee..." ("My God, the soul you have given me is pure...")

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!

Vegetable and Fruit Kugel Cupcakes

During our Tuesday and Wednesday weekday sessions, the 5th and 6th graders in the Edot, Shira and Y'tzira tracks participated in our monthly Hebrew cooking session. This month, we prepared Vegetable and Fruit Kugel cupcakes. Since we are between holidays now, it's the perfect time to fit in a Shabbat recipe. Kugels have been part of a traditional Ashkenazi Shabbat meal for centuries. They were originally round in shape, so by preparing them in the form of cupcakes, we are being a bit truer to the definition of the word, "kugel" (ball-shaped) than when we prepare them in our square baking dishes.

L'hareem tapoocheem (Hold up apples) - I begin the sessions by making sure the students know the Hebrew names for the ingredients.

L'hareem g'zareem (Hold up carrots)

L'gared gezer (Grate carrot)...

...v'l'gared od gezer (...and grate another carrot) - hmm - which side of the grate should I use?

L'gared batata (Grate sweet potato)

L'gared tapoo'ach... (Grate apple...)

...v'l'gared od tapoo'ach (...and grate another apple)

L'hach'zeek ba'meegreret! (hold onto the grater!)

L'hoseef kemach matza l'toch ha'ke'ara ha'g'dola (Add matzo meal into the big bowl)

V'az l'hoseef chem'a nam'es l'toch ha'ke'ara ha'g'dola (And then add melted butter into the big bowl)

L'arbev et ha'kol b'yachad (Stir everything together)

L'maleh et ha'nee'yarot ba'tavneet (Fill the papers in the baking pan)

V'achshav, zeh moochan la'seem ba'tanoor l'chatzee sha'a (And now, it's ready to put in the oven for half an hour)

Following hafsaka (recess) and our weekday t'feela (prayer service) session, our Edot students went back into Room 202. There, I had prepared two plates on each table filled with the 1-2-3-4 cakes which we had prepared the week before our Gold Rush field trip, so that those students who weren't able to join us on the trip could taste the results. The students all helped themselves to two or more pieces, and some asked to bring home pieces to share with their families. I also handed out the Gold Rush pouches we had made the previous weekday sessions, with a piece of hardtack in each, to those students who didn't receive them on the trip.  

While the students ate their cakes and gnawed on their pieces of hardtack, I reviewed what we had learned about the reasons for Jewish emigration from Germany, France and Prussia during the 1820's to 1870's and the reasons so many Jews immigrated to the U.S. I then introduced the history of eastern European Jewish immigration to America between the years 1880 to 1924. Again, I used video segments and multi-media presentations in the "Heritage: Civilization and the Jews" dvd-rom program (minutes 24:56 to 36:08) to bring to life the history. First, I shared how a unique form of Judaism began to take shape in the United States during the 1860's and 1870's, with the growth of the Reform Movement among German Jewish immigrants. Later, with the arrival of their eastern European cousins, the Conservative and Modern Orthodox movements arose. I also shared the horrors of pogroms and the lack of economic opportunities and religious freedoms experienced by eastern European Jews, eventually forcing nearly 2 million of them to immigrate to the U.S. - "Der Goldne Medine" (The Golden Land). We listened to a lullabye sung in Yiddish by mothers in the shtetls (lyrics written by the famous author Sholom Aleichem), describing how life would be so sweet and good in America that mothers could serve challah and chicken broth in the middle of the week! We listened to an excerpt from a diary written by a recent immigrant in 1897, describing this "crazy game of baseball" where even adults play. In Russia, he writes, they would be put in an insane asylum if they played such games after childhood! We learned of the crowded conditions in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and how children taught their parents their ABC's instead of parents teaching their children their ALEPH-BET's. 

Beginning this coming Sunday, I'll be introducing our new unit of study - Shabbat and the Jews of Poland and Russia (Ashkenazeem), which will culminate on Friday evening, January 23rd, with our Family Shabbat Seder. At the "seder," the students will get a chance to share what we learn about the history and culture of Ashkenazi Jewry as we celebrate a typical Ashkenazi "Kabbalat Shabbat" (Welcoming Shabbat ceremony) and meal together. Put that date on your calendars now!

 

Gold Rush Field Trip

And so the day finally arrived yesterday when we all gathered on Risa Road, at 8:40 a.m., to meet the bus for our trip to Sonora and Columbia. The weather could not have been better all day long - crisp, fall weather, just perfect for enjoying our outdoor picnic at Sonora's Woods Creek Rotary Park and for walking up and down Main Street in Columbia, not to mention up and down the hill there leading to the old schoolhouse.

Gathering on Risa Road - every student received the Gold Rush pouch s/he made or one that was made for them, filled with a large piece of hardtack

The bus came right on schedule, though it took a good amount of time for Craig, our driver, to maneuver the 55-seater to face Mt. Diablo Blvd. We learned later that Craig trains the other drivers to drive school groups.

We got ourselves comfortable in the bus, and were ready to go.

Once the bus was on Hwy. 24, I began my introduction to our field trip. To get everyone in the right frame of mind, we sang two songs from the era - "Oh, California" and "Clementine," then I shared some general history about the pioneer Jews who came to seek their fortunes in Gold Country, most by merchandising, but some (like Adolph Sutro) in the mining industry. Each family received a packet of historical readings and activities just before getting on the bus. As part of the introduction, the adults were asked to read excerpts aloud to the children from a memoir, a letter, and a travelog, relating the writers' experiences on their journeys to California and to Sonora.

Then, it was time to watch a 42-minute film called "Birth of a Community: Jews and the Gold Rush," directed and produced by Bill Chayes, a local filmmaker. Blending action movies depicting the Wild West with interviews of local historians and still photos of the Jewish pioneers and their institutions, the movie was able to give us a detailed background history about the Jewish pioneers who settled in, and established the Jewish institutions we are familiar with today in San Francisco and the Mother Lode country. This was especially helpful for the adults and non-Edot students.

The film ended just about half an hour before we reached Sonora where we stopped to have our picnic lunch and meet the families who drove on their own. While the children ran around the field and played near the creek and on the playground structures, the adults had time to get to know each other over lunch. As a special dessert, I brought along the 1-2-3-4 cakes we made last Sunday which everyone seemed to enjoy. After half an hour, it was time to leave for Columbia, just a 5-minute drive from the picnic area.

We climbed the hill to Main Street and walked to the Fire House, where our docents, Diane and Don, were waiting to greet us in full period costumes.

We divided into 3 groups for 3 stations: the town tour with Diane and Don, the School House lesson with Ms. Phillips, and free time to explore what Columbia State Park had to offer in the form of activities and food - this Wells Fargo coach took you on a 15-minute tour of the historical part of Columbia and was a popular attraction for our families, along with gold-panning and watching a blacksmith work over a forge as they did in Gold Rush times.

When we arrived at the building that housed the S&H Dry Goods Store back in the 1850's, Ben read us his "pioneer letter home" to share the adventures of Harris Morris Levy and his wife, who were shipwrecked off the coast of Cuba on their way to California, and who finally arrived and conducted a very successful business.

After we learned about all the female clothing carried by Philip Schwartz in his "Fancy New York Dry Goods Store," Don captivated the boys by describing the "Gentlemen's Jewelry" worn by most men in those days (the gun, the Bowie knife, and the baton for defending themselves).

Once the tour was over, each group moved on to the old schoolhouse, situated on top of a very (read V-E-R-Y!) steep hill, where the school marm, Ms. Phillips, conducted a lesson typically taught back in 1860, when the school house was built. The superintendent of schools in Columbia back then was Bernard Marks, a Jew who had moved to California from Massachusetts where his family had resided for generations. 

Waiting for us at the entrance to the school was Ms. Phillips, dressed as the teachers would have back in 1860. Boys were told to line up silently on one side of the staircase, girls on the other. The cost for attending this public school was far less than to attend many others for a very good reason - just to the left of the school, nestled among the trees, is the city's cemetery.  School was sure to end before dark in Columbia!

Students had to stand to speak.

As part of our history lesson, we were asked which routes the pioneers took to come to California. I was so proud when many of the students in my Edot class raised their hands immediately, since we studied the routes in great detail in class.

As part of our reading lesson, we were introduced to McGuffey's Reader, and were asked to turn to the page with the poem, "Try, Try Again" on it. Its message is still valid today!

A little after 3 p.m., we all met back at the bus, and drove back to Sonora, to visit the pioneer Jewish cemetery which dates back to 1853. The cemetery lies adjacent to the Tuolomne County Sheriff's Department, with its county jail. For the past 10 years or so, a detail of prisoners has been sent to clean up the grounds of the cemetery, so its one of the best-maintained cemeteries of the 7 pioneer cemeteries the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks in the West owns the deeds to and oversees.

As soon as we arrived at the gate of the cemetery, even before we opened the combination lock, some of the Edot students could already spot "their" graves - the graves of the pioneer Jews they were asked to "become" during our letter writing exercise two weeks ago. 

After a brief introduction to the cemetery and the Commission, I gave each family a "treasure hunt," which allowed them to look at almost every gravestone in their search for specific symbols.

Many gravestones were decorated with broken sheaves of wheat, broken tree limbs or wilting flowers, to indicate that here lay someone who died too young. Other stones had Masonic and Odd Fellow lodge symbols, showing how proud the men were who belonged to these fraternal organizations which accepted Jews into their midst.

Then it was time for some Edot students to read the "letters home" they had written, sharing information we know about the pioneer or, since we don't know much about most of the people buried here, making up information which would be historically accurate. Here Sammy brings Moses Reeb, a shoemaker, to life...

...while Jennifer "becomes" Melanie Reeb, wife of Moses.

Alex "becomes" Mayer Baer, a clothing store merchant...

...and Kyra shares the life of his wife, Helena.

Jacob "became" Abraham Barlow, who owned the only Sefer Torah in Sonora and who led prayer services in his home.

Emma Barlow, Abraham's wife, was brought to life by Jessie and...

Ella. Both had a lot of material to work with since the Barlow's were a wealthy family, and so there were a lot of records and articles about them.

Abi brought along her own bonnet, which she put on to help bring Pauline Morris to life.

Jake had his own backup group to support him as he "became" Aron Jacob.

Andrew stood by the iron gate surrounding the grave, as he "became" the wealthiest man in Sonora back then - Emanuel Linoberg. As we walked up to the cemetery, we passed by Linoberg Street.

You may have noticed from the photos above, that by the time it was time to place stones on the graves and recite the Kaddish, the Mourner's Prayer, it was already getting pretty dark. Interestingly, aside from the fact that it was getting cold and damp, no one seemed upset by the fact that we were standing in a cemetery in near-dark conditions. We left the cemetery, locking the gate behind us, said goodbye to the families who were driving on their own, and headed back to the bus. 

On the bus, there was one more song to sing as we started the trip back to Lafayette - "The Ol' Gold Rush Jews," sung to the melody of "Sweet Betsy from Pike." The lyrics were composed by members of Congregation Shir Ami in Castro Valley, the synagogue to which Robert Levinson, the "father" of research into the Jews of the Gold Rush, belonged. Each year during the 1970's, they would visit one of the pioneer cemeteries, and put on a musical relating to the pioneers buried in that cemetery and to the Jews of the Gold Rush era in general. The final verse of the song is a perfect way to sum up our trip -

"So this is the end of our story today

We hope that you've learned and you've found much delight

Like the gold in the mountains

The Jews stood out bright

A beacon of courage

A beacon of light!"

Then we all sat back in our seats, and enjoyed watching "The Frisco Kid" on the way home. It sounded like a lot of people enjoyed the comedy about the adventures of a Polish rabbi (played by Gene Wilder), sent to become the rabbi of a new congregation in San Francisco in the year 1850. It takes a bank robber he meets on the way (played by Harrison Ford), to keep him alive long enough to reach his destination. The movie ended just 10 minutes before we pulled up in front of the Veterans' Building on Mt. Diablo Blvd at 7:15 p.m., and we ended our day-long learning adventure in Gold Country. 

 JEWS IN THE GOLD RUSH?! YES, INDEED!

Gold Rush Pouches

Just 2 days to go 'til our Gold Rush field trip!  Now that we've prepared the hardtack and 1-2-3-4 cakes, our final preparatory activity for the trip was to make Gold Rush pouches, like the ones miners and peddlers used to carry their gold dust or their dried foods, including hardtack.

We made a very simple felt version of the leather pouches they used. Students were introduced to the fact that many Jewish merchants in the area ended up becoming cattle ranchers even while they still ran their stores. Often, ranchers and farmers had to pay the merchants in kind for finished goods that they bought in the "mercantiles," since they often didn't have enough money. Merchants received grain, fruits, vegetables, and not infrequently, cattle and sheep. Emanuel Linoberg in Sonora had a very large cattle ranch just outside the city limits. The Jewish cattle ranchers, like other ranchers, had to brand their cattle.

I shared examples of the brands used by Jewish cattlemen, then suggested that the students might want to decorate their pouches with brands of their own design - perhaps variations of their initials, or completely different symbols. Many students followed my suggestion.

Below are some photos of the students decorating their pouches, and weaving the drawstring through the holes in the round felt pieces they were given, which became their pouches. On Wednesday evening, I put a piece of the hardtack we made into each student's pouch. We made extra pouches for absentees and for those Y'tzira and Shira students who will be accompanying us on the field trip.

Once most of the students had completed their pouches, I read to them an adventure path from a "do-it-yourself-adventure" book called "The Other Side of the Hudson," written by Kenneth Roseman. It's one of a series of historical adventures he's written about different eras in Jewish history. Each page presents the reader (who is the main character in the book) with choices which had to be made by real people, and depending upon the choice made, the reader continues on to a specific page to continue the "adventure path." We made the decisions together - the majority's decision ruled. This is another fun way to learn about Jewish history.

 We also continued to build our Hebrew Through Movement holiday vocabulary this past week, reviewing Shabbat vocabulary which most of the students had learned last year, and introducing two new words: pamot and pamoteem (candlestick and candlesticks). We also reviewed the "Ha'motzee" and "Kiddush" blessings (thanks to Rabbi Greninger's suggestion, I realized that when just speaking the words, they are harder to remember than chanting them, as we're all used to doing!).

La'seem challah al ner shel Shabbat (Put challah on Shabbat candle)

Ian, la'seem nerot shel Shabbat al rosh shel Ari (Ian, put Shabbat candles on Ari's head)

Ari, la'seem nerot Shabbat b'pamoteem shel Shabbat al rosh shel Ian; Ian, la'seem challah al rosh shel Jason (Ari, put the Shabbat candles in the Shabbat candlesticks on Ian's head; Ian, put challah on Jason's head)

Ethan, la'seem nerot shel Shabbat b'pamoteem shel Shabbat al rosh shel Jennifer; Jennifer, la'seem challah al rosh shel Kyra; Kyra la'seem challah al rosh shel Danielle v'l'histovev (Ethan, put the Shabbat candles in the Shabbat candlesticks on Jennifer's head; Jennifer, put challah on Kyra's head; Kyra, put challah on Danielle's head and turn around)

SHABBAT SHALOM EVERYONE!