Spring Fling

And so, our final day of JQuest this school year arrived yesterday - our Spring Fling! The weather was perfect for all the activities of the day.

First, we met together one last time in our classroom. The hour we had together flew by. I continued reading two more chapters from "A Shout in the Sunshine" which I'd been reading aloud to the students since February. We didn't have enough time to finish reading the entire book, so I read the chapters then summarized the rest of the story. The focus of the book is on what happens when two very different cultures (the Sepharadi -Spanish Jewish and Romaniote - Greek Jewish) are forced to live together because of the political situation of the time (in this case, the late 15th century, following the Spanish exile). There is a definite parallel to what is happening in our own times, with refugees streaming into Europe from the Middle East and Africa.

As soon as I had finished summarizing the book, we got ready to play our final Shekel Game of the year. As always, I was very impressed at how much information the students retained. In this game, the material for the questions came from everything we had studied since September in Hebrew, Siddur (Prayer book), Holidays, Jewish History and Edot. The students take the game very seriously, even as they're having a lot of fun deciding how many shekels to bet on whether they can answer the question correctly.

Sammy is sharing what he's sure is the correct answer, and it was!

Let's see how much money we have - we can't bet more than half the amount we have!

The group has 30 seconds to answer the question after I've asked it.

Kyra is the recorder - writing down how much the group bets, so there's no question about the amount when it's time to pay them for answering correctly!

Hmmm - still mulling over the answer.

And while we played, those students who were absent during the previous weekday session had a chance to thank Rabbi Graetz for all he's done for our Isaiah community over the past quarter century on the card we made for him.

We finished the game, then went upstairs to the Sanctuary where all the other classes were gathering, and where many of our Edot students joined their parents. Once everyone had settled down, it was time to honor the volunteers, teachers and TA's.

Here, we're honoring the TA's.

And here are the teachers, minus one (I'm taking the photo!). (Notice the screen above - just before the concert began, the Shira track's music video was screened. Yasher Ko'ach to Erin and all her Shiraniks on an amazing project!!!)

Special thanks went to Jory, who is leaving JQuest to travel through South America next year.

And then it was time for our special honoree, Rabbi Graetz, to come up front. Rabbi Greninger spoke for all of us when she thanked him, and then presented him with a large bag filled with cards and special gifts made by each class.

As Rabbi Graetz carried his "treasures" back to his seat, Billy Jonas and his band began to perform. He uses all sorts of interesting instruments, and best of all, had us all join in for every song! Below, he's leading us in singing, "Who's Gonna Make Our Music?"

The concert lasted a good part of an hour, and then it was time for everyone to move to the Social Hall, where Bill and his crew had tables ready, brimming over with barbequed hamburgers and hot dogs and all the fixings. 

Amazingly, there was plenty of food for everyone!

The room filled quickly. Once you filled your plate, you could eat at a table inside, or...

...you could find a seat at a table outside, enjoying the glorious weather.

Inside, Cantor Korn led our Kleztone musicians in concert.

Here's our own Sammy playing the dumbek (Yemenite drum).

It's obvious the Kleztones have their own fanbase - and possibly a future member or two!

And outside, there was plenty of action in the funhouse...

...and playing Gaga (there's Ariston heading toward the ball!).

And so the 5776 school year is ended. Have a wonderful summer, and I'll look forward to seeing my students - past and present - on Sunday, September 11th, when our 5777 JQuest year begins (about 3 weeks before Rosh Ha'Shana, when 5777 itself begins!). 

L'HITRA'OT! (AU REVOIR!)

Yom Ha'atzma'ut

Today is Israeli Independence Day - Yom Ha'atzma'ut. We are celebrating the nation's 68th birthday. To celebrate this joyous occasion, I shared a 20-minute segment of the final video in the "Heritage: Civilization and the Jews" program ("Into the Future") during our weekday sessions, which presented the history of the modern Zionist movement, the struggles the new state had to endure from its outset, and how members of 70 different edot (Jewish Diaspora communities) made their way on their own or (especially in the case of Jews living in Arab countries) with the help of the Jewish Agency in Israel. This was the perfect summation of our edot studies this past year - sharing how the absorption of so many Jewish immigrants over the past 6 decades from all over the world has created a unique Israeli culture and has brought to realization the 2,000-year old dream of the Jewish People - "Next Year in Jerusalem!"

These past weekday sessions were busy for us. Aside from celebrating Yom Ha'atzma'ut, we also prepared a special card for Rabbi Graetz, to wish him well on his retirement. Since many of the children in the class have not had the opportunity to work with Rabbi Graetz individually, I decided to conduct a mini-lesson on the roles a rabbi plays in a congregation before introducing the card activity to them. We learned that a congregational rabbi not only serves as officiator at Jewish life cycle events, and not only leads the congregation in holiday and daily prayer services, but also serves as a role model for how to lead a fulfilling Jewish life and how to feel proud of our Jewish identity. The rabbi also serves as a counselor/social worker in many ways, helping congregants deal with personal issues and helping to unite and strengthen the congregation's community. Once the students realized how much Rabbi Graetz has contributed to our Isaiah community, they were ready to write their own special remarks to Rabbi Graetz on the card. The card will be presented to him at our Spring Fling, this coming Sunday.

I printed the photos of every Edot class student on one side of the card, with each student's first and last name printed underneath.

Some of the artists in our class volunteered to illustrate the front and back sides of the card.

Students drafted their wishes and thanks for Rabbi Graetz on scrap paper first, then copied them onto the card with markers, being sure to sign both their first and last names, so that Rabbi Graetz could match the faces with the names.

Students shared ideas with each other about what to write.

During our usual tefillah time, from 4:30 to 5:00, the 6th graders met with Jory, our 7th grade coordinator, in the Youth Lounge in the basement of the Temple House Building. There, Jory shared with them what they could expect as 7th graders - what they would learn, community service projects they'd be involved in, a class trip to Los Angeles during the MLK, Jr. Birthday weekend in January of this coming year, and performing tikkun olam (repairing the world) through the 7th Grade Fund program. We then all moved to one of the classrooms near the Youth Lounge, where Jory led the students in a "Clock Game," requiring them to work together as a team to figure out a solution to how to move around in a circle to different "times" posted on the 4 walls of the room as quickly as possible. I was impressed at how quickly (though very noisily!) both the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions worked to find a solution and succeeded.

Getting comfortable on the sofa in the Youth Lounge

Jory sharing what they'll be doing as 7th graders

Playing the "Clock Game" in the classroom

As many of you know, Jory will not be returning to teach at JQuest in September. We wish him well for his plans for traveling through South America next year, and in all his future endeavors.

I look forward to seeing as many of our Edot families as possible at our Spring Fling on Sunday. Remember that both sessions will meet in our classroom from 10 to 11 a.m.. Then we'll go up to the Sanctuary for the Billy Jonas concert, and finally enjoy a barbeque with lots of fun and games.

YOM HA'ATZMA'UT SAMEACH! HAPPY 68th BIRTHDAY TO ISRAEL!

A Taste of Jewish History and Culture

During this past academic year, our JQuest 5th and 6th graders have been studying Jewish history and values in three different tracks: Edot, Shira and Y'tzira. My Edot students have been exploring the history and cultures of four Jewish Diaspora communities (edot): Ethiopia, Iraq, Spain and Yemen. Erin's Shira students have been studying history through the lens of music and dance, while Maimone's Y'tzira students have been creating skits, games and mysteries to share the history.

Yesterday morning, all three tracks had the opportunity to share some of what they have learned with the other two tracks in an event called "A Taste of Jewish History and Culture." Beginning up in the Beit Knesset, our Edot students staffed food, game and arts&crafts booths to share aspects of the cultures of the edot we studied.

Students learned how to play the Ethiopian game QILEBLEBOSH, a favorite of Beta Yisrael (Ethiopian Jewish) children, very similar to jacks except that you can only use one hand during the entire game, and stones are used instead of jacks.

Picking the right sized stones can be a challenge!

The Mexican game STOP was a busy booth. This is a Sephardic (Spanish Jewish) children's game brought to Mexico by Crypto-Jews who were fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. Originally, it was played orally, but in more recent times paper and pencil have come to be used.

The Iraqi Purim card game of DOSA was a very popular booth. No skills are required to win, only luck, since that is what saved the Jews in Persia from Haman's gallows. A lot of money was won and lost at the table!

A lot of students decided to try making a Yemenite copper wire beaded bracelet. Our Edot students showed them how to use the jeweler's pliers to twist the metal wire into a spiral shape and then string beads of their choice onto the wire. The Yemenite Jews are well-known for their silver, gold, and copper jewelry. Arab Muslims were not allowed to work with metals, so Jews became the jewelers in Yemen.

The Beta Yisrael Jews of Ethiopia were well-known for their intricate straw and yarn basket weaving. At this booth, students could create a foamy yarn basket.

At the food booth, you could taste foods from each of the four edot: Bint al-sahn, a honey "cake-pie" is traditionally served by the Yemenite Jews as a first course at life-cycle ceremonies because of its round shape and sweet taste; charoset balls, made with dates, raisins and honey, are served at Sephardi (Spanish Jewish) seders; sesame bars are a popular candy served during the Passover holiday by Iraqi Jews; and Daabo is a honey yeast bread used by Ethiopian Jews to break their fast at the Sigd Festival celebrating the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai.

As soon as everyone had a chance to play the games, taste the foods, and try out some of the arts&crafts, it was time for the Shira students to share what they have been working on all year - their music video.

We had the honor of watching the premiere of the video! It's wonderful, and the rest of the school will have the chance to view it at our Spring Fling. Yasher koach to the Shira students on their performances!

After viewing the video, we all went downstairs to the Amphitheater where the Shira students taught us two dances: Nigun Atik, a Hasidic dance from Eastern Europe...

...and Debka Kafrit, a Yemenite line dance.

Finally, it was Y'tzira's turn to share some of the Jewish history they had learned during the year. The students had prepared "history scavenger hunts" during the previous two weeks in their class. While we were still in the Amphitheater, Maimone divided us into five teams, each of which was led by Y'tzira students who had created a history scavenger hunt relating to one era or one edah (Diaspora community) they had studied about. I followed Team #5, led by Zach, Josh, Abi and Evan. We had to look for clues all over the Isaiah campus, and then decode the clues when we found them. Our clues all revolved around the Ethiopian Jewish edah, having us search for a key that would unlock the mystery of the Kessim (the Ethiopian Jewish religious leaders) who were working to stop an evil Jew (played by Evan) from preventing the Ethiopian Jews from returning to Israel.

Our search led us from the Amphitheater into the Sanctuary, down to the playground by the Temple House Building, then up to the Basketball court. We raced from one location to the next, searching out clues and finally finding the key! Yasher koach to the Y'tzira mystery writers and actors. Who knew that learning history could be so much fun!

Racing up the stairs to find a clue in the Sanctuary...

...then racing back down to search for the next clue in the playground!

Zach wrested the key from the evil Jew and ran to find the Kes (played by Abi) who would show us how to unlock the mystery.

And when all the teams had completed their hunts, it was time for tefillah. While the fifth graders joined the third and fourth graders in the Sanctuary, all the sixth graders went to Y'tzira's classroom to meet with Erin and Jasmine, to decide which organization would receive the tz'daka money collected by all the JQuest classes during the year. Their decision will be announced at our Spring Fling.

I'd like to thank those Edot parents who volunteered to prepare the foods served at our food booth. Your time and efforts are greatly appreciated! I'm happy to report that "A Taste of Jewish History and Culture" was a great success thanks to all the participants. From what I could tell, everyone enjoyed themselves, and we all learned at least one new thing, if not more, while having fun.