LAFTY Purim Carnival

The weather report for the day of our Purim Carnival yesterday warned there might be showers in the morning and throughout the day. Indeed, some showers did appear, but not until after the better part of the Carnival was over. For most of the morning the sun shone - so brightly, in fact, that many participants swarmed outside to the lawn outside the Sanctuary, where the Jump House and Dunk Tank were set up.

We started the morning in our Edot classroom, where I greeted the students as a nutty professor. After reading a chapter out loud from the novel, "A Shout in the Sunshine" as more and more students began to gather, we played a "Purim Shekel Game" where the categories were devoted to each of the 5 major characters in the Purim story. 

In between mouthfuls of hamantashen and Goldfish crackers, students showed that they knew the details of the Purim story backwards and forwards, and could recognize which Jewish values were apparent in different parts of the story.

Occasionally, a question might result in some head scratching...

...but when heads came together, the answers were quickly determined...

...and the reporter in the group answered within the allotted 15 seconds (occasionally while still chomping away on a hamantashen)!

Our T.A., Brian, was kept very busy paying out the money won by each group - in fact, the bets grew larger and larger, so confident were the students that they could answer correctly!

By the time the game was over, we were all in the proper mood for the Carnival...

...and so we headed upstairs to the Sanctuary for the Purim assembly and costume parades.

Once we reached the Sanctuary and took our seats, we sang "Heenei Ma'tov" followed by several Purim songs.

Members of our LAFTY youth group performed a series of short skits.

And then, it was time for our costume parades. First, came the younger children:

And then came the older ones:

After the parades, Rabbi Greninger called all the teachers up to the bima, to show off our costumes. And then it was time for everyone to go into the Social Hall for the Carnival. This took some time as the two lines for buying Carnival tickets quickly grew in length!

Here are Matt and Daniel standing at the end of one of the lines.

Once inside the Social  Hall, there was so much to do and see - here's our Ninja Turtle T.A. Brian who was assigned to the Prize Booth - a very popular booth, indeed!

It was hard to keep track of all the Edot students with so many people at the Carnival, especially since many of them were very well-disguised! (It's Ariston inside the hammerhead shark outfit!)

Other times, it was much easier to spot one of ours - here's Charlotte looking like she's the last girl standing in the hoola hoop contest - GO CHARLOTTE!!!

And standing behind the big plate of hamantashen (can one ever have enough?!) are Joey and his Mom, Angie.

Cotton candy was definitely popular - here's Alex with friend Jackson and cousin Jacob (with his back showing).

And there's Ben with his Dad, Adam, waiting on line for the sponge toss game.

Kyra and friend Abi are enjoying the sunny day as they head to one of the outside booths. It was so warm that a lot of kids bought the shaved ice cups to keep cool!

Here's Aaron kicking a ball with his foot for as long as he can balance on the other foot. We've got talent in our class!

And as I kept going around the room and outside on the lawn searching out Edot students, I ran into a few colorful characters along the way!

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all at our 2016 LAFTY Purim Carnival. Yasher koach to Jory and our LAFTY teens for all the hard work and love they put into preparing a supercalifragilistic- expealidocious Carnival.

It left us all jumping for joy!!!

Purim Posters

During our weekday sessions, we continued exploring the Jewish values which the Roman-era Rabbis recognized in the Book of Esther, this time through the medium of art. Students each day were divided into four groups, each of which was assigned to find the part of the Purim story in which the Rabbis recognized a particular value. The group was then asked to create a poster, illustrating the part of the story where their assigned value could be found. As usual, students could choose any number of materials with which to create their illustrations:

The results, and their value message are as follows:

(If you look carefully at the above poster,  you'll see a man wearing a keepa, taleet (prayer shawl) with tzeetzeet, and t'feeleen (phylacteries)!)

These are all hanging on a bulletin board in the hallway, to share the important values the Roman-era Rabbis believed the Book of Esther could teach to countless generations of Jews after them. Now it's our turn to share these with our own generation in our Isaiah/JQuest community.

Prior to painting the posters, we used our community activity time with the Shira and Y'tzira classes to continue exploring what our students knew or didn't know about Israel. All this information will be used to help create a new Israel curriculum for JQuest. Below is a sample of how we explored what the students knew about Israel:

And, of course, I continued to build upon Hebrew foundational and holiday vocabulary during our Hebrew Through Movement session each day this past week:

Abi, leengo'a ba'meelah "delet." (Abi, touch the word "door.")

Ariston, l'hatzbee'a al ha'meelah "delet." (Ariston, point to the word "door.")

Alexia, leengo'a ba'meelah "loo'ach." (Alexia, touch the word "board.")

Emily, l'hatzbee'a al ha'meelah "keer." (Emily, point to the word "wall.")

Gabby, l'hatzbee'a al ha'meelah "chalon," v'az l'heestovev la'keeseh." (Gabby, point to the word "window," and then turn to the chair.)

Seth, leelbosh et ha' keter al ha'rosh shel Jake. (Seth, put the crown on Jake's head.)

Banot, l'hareem chaticha shel ozen haman. (Girls, pick up a piece of a hamantashen.)

Baneem, l'hareem chaticha shel ozen haman. (Boys, pick up a piece of a hamantashen.)

This coming Sunday is our LAFTY Purim Carnival. I'm looking forward to seeing all the Edot students at 9 a.m. in the classroom, where we'll have some Purim fun before heading up to the Sanctuary for a Purim assembly and costume parade for half an hour, then into the Social Hall for two hours of fun and frolic at the Carnival. Parents are invited to attend, though it's not required for 5th and 6th grade parents. Be sure to send about $20.00 with your child if s/he is coming alone!

From Toledo to Jerusalem

During the past week, we took a closer look at the Sephardi (Spanish) Jews who elected to remain in Spain and convert to Catholicism.

Those Jews who did convert were called New Christians by the Church, and it wasn't long before they were suspected of still harboring an allegiance to the faith of their forefathers. And, indeed, as far as we can tell from Inquisition records, many of these newly converted Jews did continue to maintain Jewish beliefs and laws. Sadly, after years passed, many forgot the prayers and blessings and origins of the Jewish holidays, and began to confuse Christian teachings with Jewish ones. For example, they looked upon several Biblical characters as saints - Saint Esther of the Purim story was especially admired for how she saved her fellow Jews from certain destruction - and they confused stories they learned about Jesus with the background stories of the Jewish patriarchs - they believed Abraham was born with a holy light shining above him and that Terach's wife (Terach was Abraham's father) knew she was pregnant with a holy child free of sin.

And of all the Jewish holidays, Pesach (Passover) was certain to be celebrated even at the risk of being discovered. Thanks to the Catholic Bible, which included all 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, they were able to recall the story of the Exodus from Egypt, and viewed their own precarious existence as similar to that of the ancient Israelite slaves. Their Pesach celebrations included calls to God to hear their cries just as God heard the cries of the Israelite slaves and freed them from slavery. Together in class, we read a passage from the "Out of Spain" series (see February 29th post), describing how Jews observed Pesach by flowing rivers or in basements, often in the dead of night to minimize the chances of discovery by Inquisition soldiers or spies. I also shared a segment of the film "From Toledo to Jerusalem" (beginning of video to minute 22:07), in which the Israeli actor and singer Yehoram Ga'on (himself a descendant of Crypto-Jews who eventually left Spain for the Ottoman Empire) describes the conditions the conversos (converted Jews who secretly continued to practice Judaism) had to live under, always having to look over their shoulders to be sure they weren't being spied upon and always wondering if one day they would give themselves away, perhaps by uttering a Hebrew prayer in Church by mistake, or forgetting to hide evidence in their homes of anything Jewish. The film is narrated in Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language of the Sephardi Jews, so it was a good opportunity for the students to hear the sounds of the language. And Yehoram Ga'on sings both religious and romance ballads of the Sephardi Jews, sharing through song the history of this persecuted group of Jews.

Yesterday, we took a break from our Edot studies to focus on the holiday of Purim (beginning the evening of Wednesday, March 23rd this year). I continued to review and build Purim-related vocabulary during our Hebrew Through Movement sessions:

Ben, l'heeshtachavot leefnei ha'melech Achashverosh. (Ben, bow down before King Achashverosh, a/k/a Andrew.)

 And, during the same sessions, I continued to strengthen basic Hebrew vocabulary relating to our classroom:

Ari, l'chapes et ha'meela "chalon" v'l'hatzbee'a al ha'meela.) Ari, find the word "window" in the classroom, and point to the word.)

Continuing on the Purim theme, I shared a brief summary of the Purim story in the Book of Esther with the class. During our discussion following the summary, several students noted that the plot and characters reminded them of the Aladdin story. This is not surprising, since many scholars believe that the Purim story is a Jewish version of an ancient Persian story about a queen, Sheherazade, who told 1,001 stories, which have come down to us in the form of "1,001 Arabian Nights." One of the stories was that of Aladdin. The tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is another of her stories. It's not surprising, then, to find language in the Book of Esther often associated with fairy tales, such as "what is your wish and what is your request, even to half the kingdom it shall be fulfilled" (King Achashverosh to Queen Esther). I shared with the class that the Book of Esther is the only book of the Bible which does not mention the name of God even once, does not take place even partially in the Land of Israel, whose main characters' names derive from the names of Babylonian gods (Mordechai from Marduk, chief Babylonian god and Esther from Astarte, Marduk's consort), and a copy of which has not been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The obvious question which arises then is why the Roman-era Rabbis decided to include the Book of Esther in the canonized version of the Bible, while they refused to accept the Books of the Macabbees, which did mention God's name countless times, were based on actual historical events, and which took place entirely in the Land of Israel.

The Rabbis determined that there were important Jewish values embedded in the Book of Esther, which warranted its inclusion in the Bible - values such as being willing to risk one's life for important principles, Jews being responsible for each other, celebrating together as a community, and maintaining a distinct identity within a majority culture, among others.

At this point, I divided the class into three groups, assigned each group 3 of the values and asked them to find the place in the story summary where they believed the Rabbis found the values.

There was some discussion...

...but for the most part everyone in each group agreed on the parts of the story describing the values in question.

We'll be using the information collected on these worksheets to design posters during the coming weekday sessions, each of which will illustrate the part of the Purim story in which the Rabbis believed an important Jewish value was being described. These posters will be hung on a bulletin board outside the classroom to share what we learned with other students and visitors to the school.

Remember that this coming Sunday is our LAFTY Purim Carnival. All our Edot students should come to our classroom at 9 a.m. (even those students who usually attend second session!). We'll play a Purim Shekel Game, then join the rest of the school in the Sanctuary at 10 a.m. for a Purim assembly and parade, to be followed by the Carnival itself in the Social Hall (and, good weather permitting, on the lawn outside the Social Hall and Sanctuary as well). We encourage everyone, adults and children, to wear costumes. Parents aren't required to accompany 5th and 6th graders, but we recommend that  you send $20.00 with your child since all the activities and food require tickets which can be purchased at the entrance to the Carnival. Remember that the money spent is for a good cause - LAFTY is our Temple Isaiah youth group, and the money goes toward so many wonderful activities in which they're involved!

Hiddur Siddur

Yesterday morning, fifth graders and their families from all 3 tracks gathered together in the Social Hall to celebrate a very important occasion. Each fifth grader received his/her own Mishkan T'fila siddur (prayer book), a gift from Anshei Isaiah.

Rabbi Greninger welcomed everyone, and as she showed everyone a copy of the siddur, she explained that it was a combination of the Weekday and Festival siddur and Shabbat Siddur, thus making it very practical for the students to use it during our weekday and Sunday tefillah sessions, as well as during Shabbat services.

Immediately following the introduction, teachers of the three tracks plus my own T.A., Nathan, presented a skit which explained the origin of the name of our workshop, "Hiddur Siddur" going back to a Talmudic declaration that we should "glorify God" by performing "hiddur mitzvah."  Today's workshop focused on providing the families an opportunity to perform "Hiddur Siddur" by decorating covers for the siddurim.

Tables were set up around the perimeter of the Social Hall, with the bookcovers and basic art supplies on each. One table was set up with additional art supplies which the families might choose to use: Hebrew and English letter stencils, Jewish holiday and ritual symbol stencils, construction paper, etc.

It didn't take long for students and parents to find what they needed and enjoy the art activity together.

While the families decorated, teachers and T.A.'s circulated providing help when it was needed (how do you write my name in Hebrew? was a frequently-asked question!). We also photographed the proceedings for documentation purposes (yours truly is photographing students and parents above, and also captured Rabbi Greninger snapping a photo from the opposite side of the table).

During the art activity, parents helped their students, and also had time to connect with each other.

With only half an hour allotted to the activity, students lost no time decorating both sides of the book jacket, and writing their name on the spine of the cover.

Many participants brought a family photograph from home, to glue onto the cover; some also wrote a dedication at home which they glued into the inside cover of the siddur. The intent was to create an heirloom which will be passed down to future generations in the family.

Once the book covers were decorated, Rabbi Greninger and Cantor Korn gathered all the students on the stage and, with the help of teachers and T.A.'s distributed the new siddurim to the students. Once each student had a siddur in hand, Cantor Korn led us in chanting the "Shehecheyanu" blessing which is recited whenever we experience something for the first time in our lives or in the season, or receive something new.

Then it was time for the students to go back to their seats and put on the newly-decorated book covers onto the new siddurim. The results most certainly fulfill the mitzvah of hiddur siddur!

At this point, students went with the teachers and T.A.'s into the Oneg Room to play a game, while the parents stayed in the Social Hall to learn more details about the B'nei Mitzvah process at Temple Isaiah and get information about planning a celebration after the ceremony.

As soon as all the students were in the Oneg Room, Maimone gathered them around and gave instructions for a game called "Murder" which allowed the students to interact with each other as they were trying to figure out who the "murderer" was!

How many games can get the students to keep their eyes closed for about 1-2 minutes (while Maimone chose the murderer) and then have them shaking hands with each other (or, in several other iterations of the game, winking and blinking to each other!)!? There was certainly a lot of interaction going on!

When the workshop was over, parents and children joined teachers and clergy in the Sanctuary for a very special tefillah session. Josh Nelson, an amazing musician and singer visiting our campus this past weekend, treated us all to a wonderful concert of his own liturgical compositions. He had us joining him in singing some...

...and performed for us as well:

The decorated siddurim have already been brought down to the Beit Knesset where the fifth graders will be using them beginning tomorrow and Wednesday.

Tragedy in Spain

We continued our studies of the Sephardim - the Jews of Spain - during the week day sessions. After briefly reviewing what we had learned the previous week about the early history of Jewish presence in Spain and the Golden Age of the Jews in Spain from the 9th through the 11th centuries, I introduced the subject of the "Reconquista" - the Spanish term for the Christian reconquest of Spain from the Moors during the 11th and 12th centuries.

Again, I used video segments and multimedia presentations from the "Heritage: Civilization and the Jews" dvd-rom program to share both the situation of the Jews who remained in Spain
(Part 4, "The Crucible of Europe," minute 49:00 to the end of chapter), as well as the re-defining of what it meant to be Jewish by those who left Spain in 1492 after the Edict of Exile issued by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in March of that year. (Part 5, "Search for Deliverance," beginning of video until minute 8:05).

We learned about Jews who converted to Christianity in order to remain in Spain, but who secretly continued to practice what they could recall of the religion of their ancestors (ironically, often referring to Inquisition records to learn about Jewish beliefs and rituals). These Jews were referred to as "marranos" by the Christians (an old Spanish term for "swine"), and as "New Christians" by the Church. They, themselves, used the term "conversos" (the converted ones), while in Hebrew they are referred to as "anooseem" (the persecuted ones) and in English as the Crypto-Jews (the hidden Jews). We learned about the re-emergence of Jewish mysticism, the Kabbalah, among the Jews who left Spain, and its explanation for why God would allow such a traumatic event as the exile from Spain to occur. Finally, we learned about how Sultan Bayezid II of the Ottoman Empire invited the exiles to settle in his lands (which included the Land of Israel in the 15th century), and how many of them took up his offer.