Jewish Every Day

One of the many goals in Kitah Dalet is to teach our students to live a Jewish life in a non-Jewish world.  We often talk about what separates us as Jews from the community, and what makes us active members of society.  We talked about passing on the lessons of our ancestors through actions, and began to explore just what is expected of us as young members of our Jewish community.  We began learning together in our Sunday morning minyan, and students were asked to be mindful of the things they said to others, as part of our Torah Talk discussion.

Our Tuesday afternoon class finally met and we introduced our Middot and Mitzvot Program.  We had a meaningful discussion about Jewish values, and decided that values are behaviors that are important to a group of people with common interests.  Expanding on this definition, students brainstormed values important to us as a community in general, and more specifically to us as a Jewish community.  Students learned the importance of upholding the values of a group, and recognized that when group members fail to uphold the values of a community, the community slowly disappears.  Fortunately for us, our ancestors have been quite clear regarding the importance of maintaining consistent Jewish values throughout time.  We talked about family values and passing on values to future generations.  Finally, we looked at the Chumash and discovered the Torah is the foundation for living a Jewish life, passed on to us for generations. 

Next week we begin an introduction to observing Shabbat, and look forward to making beautiful mosaic Shabbat candlesticks with Artist in Residence, Gail Kaplan.  Please plan on attending this wonderful family program with you child.

TABLE TALK:  Please ask your student to share their ideas about tzedakah, and have them explain the true meaning of why tzedakah is a Jewish value.