Passage to Passover

We have been working like slaves in Kitah Dalet, and many of us have some interesting tidbits to share, and  some great questions to ask at our Passover Seders. We have been talking about our life as slaves in Egypt and what it means to be free. In our classroom discussions we talked about free will and having the ability to make choices that we are in control of. We talked about the Torah giving us multiple stories to turn and twist, encouraging us to find the hidden meanings that speak to us.  Some of our students struggled with the actual events revealed in the Torah text, and we talked about looking at the bigger picture when reading.  To address this scepticism, we turned the tables and talked about the message GOD is trying to teach.  Students were asked to think about the lessons we can learn to build better relationships with others and what we can do to make our relationship with GOD more meaningful.  

Using the Haggadah as our text book, we have been brushing up on our Seder skills. With a little bit of practice, I am sure all of our students will do a great job asking the four questions at your family Seder. In our classroom discussions, we talked about the fifteen steps to the Seder, and asked our students to look for the evolution from slavery to freedom in each of the steps. We talked about Moses being born a slave, being raised as royalty, and then joining his people as an adult. We talked about making this choice to help his community, and the sacrifices he made for the good of others.

TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST...

This week, our Kitah Dalet students were confronted with the ethical dilemma we face when caring for animals. The story of Noah represents a turning point in the relationship between human beings and animals.  GOD decides to destroy the world by flood, and saves Noah and his family, and all the animals to sustain the species.   It is here we begin to see the importance GOD places on caring for the animals, and the commandment of tza'ar balei chayim, not inflicting pain on animals. We talked about an animals inability to care for themselves, and our responsibility to meet their needs whenever possible.

In class, we had a lively debate about animal testing.  We talked about using animals to test experimental drugs in the hopes of finding a cure for life threatening diseases.  Although it didn't sit well with some of our students, we talked about the Jewish law to save a human life over the life of an animal.  We talked about the ethical treatment of animals, and the commandments to care for all living things with kindness and compassion. However, animals do not know right from wrong, and humans are expected to answer to GOD.  Furthermore, we learned humans have souls, which ultimately are returned to GOD, which makes us accountable for our actions.  

The mitzvah of showing respect for animals has its roots in the Biblical command of showing sympathy for a mother bird nestled with her young. Furthermore, the Midrash says that both Moses and David were chosen to lead Israel because of their kindness to animals. As we discussed in our Kashrut unit, the ideal Jewish diet is vegetarianism, as reflected in life in the Garden of Eden. According to the Torah, however, when God recognized how imperfect his human creation was, he allowed the consumption of meat, with some restrictions. The killing of animals is restricted out of concern for animal life, and is expressed in the mitzvah of 'tza'ar balei chayim' -  not inflicting pain

on animals.

Please ask your child to share their thoughts about animal testing, and kindness to animals.  They are an extremely compassionate group, and some of them were quite concerned about having to make a choice over saving a stranger or saving a pet.

WHO IS YOUR SUPER HERO?

Our students have heard the story of Esther and Mordechai, and King Achashverous and Haman for many years, and they did a pretty good job retelling the basic story in class this week.  Taking the plot a bit further, we talked about the characters in the story of Purim, and our students had the opportunity to look at the qualities of the heroes and villains in the ancient text. 

Students spent some time defining what a hero is, and then they were asked to think about what makes a hero.  Were Mordechai and Esther heroes?  Were they good, but not good enough?  Should Esther have hidden her true identity, and should Mordechai told her to lie?  Was Vashti a victim?  What about the qualities of Achashverous?  Was he a hero, or an accomplice to Haman and his evil ways?  Our discussion was quite lively, and students were asked to make a list of the qualities of a hero.  

By consensus, students thought a hero was selfless, brave, smart, kind, accepting, willing to take risks, and honest. Others said a hero puts others before themselves, and thinks before acting.  After debating the qualities of a true hero, students were asked to think of their personal super hero.  We wrote descriptive paragraph as about our super heroes, and we hope to tweak our papers before presenting our papers in class.  

Please ask your child to share their ideas of what a super hero is, and who their hero is.  

MIRUP YPPAH

We have been bombarding our Kitah Dalet students with all of the wonderful themes associated with the observance of Purim. We have beenlearning about Haman and Esther, Mordechai and the King, and telling the story of Purim over and over and over again. Some of the things we have been talking about…

• Standing up for yourself and what you believe in, (Esther)
• Speaking out if you believe someone is not treating others fairly (
• Justice and taking care of those who have less than we do (Gifts for the Poor)
• Showing family and friends we care about them (Shalach Manot) 
• Being proud of who we are (Esther and Mordechai)
• Consequences for your behavior. (Vashti and Haman)

We have also been talking about the four commandments of Purim, and helping your children understand  that as they get older, they need to take responsibility for observing the four Purim commandments. The commandments are all community bound activities, and can be fulfilled at our Purim Extravaganza.

• Hear the Megillah read aloud 
• Give Mishlach Manot, gifts of food to family and friends
• Give Matanot LeEvyonim, gifts of food and money to the poor
• Celebrate at a Purim Seudah, a festive meal

On Sunday morning, students will have the opportunity fulfil the mitzvot of hearing the megillah and giving Mishlach Manot.  

Students are encourage to wear a costume to school on Sunday morning.

Please remember to send in a COSTCO size package of snacks for our baskets.  

KINDNESS...

Beginning with the first chapters of the Torah, Judaism establishes a fundamental connection between human beings and animals. Animals, created on the fifth day of the biblical story of creation, can be understood as prototypes of the first human beings--Adam and Eve, created on the sixth day. One of Adam's first responsibilities as a human being is to name the animals. As evidenced by the episode in which a serpent tempts Eve to eat a forbidden fruit, humans and animals originally speak one another's language (Genesis 1-3).  

The story of Noah's ark represents a turning point in the relationship between human beings and animals. Furious about human misbehavior, God decides to destroy the world by flood, saving only the righteous Noah and his family and enough animals to sustain all of the species. When the waters recede, God gives Noah seven laws--now known as the Noahide laws--aimed at establishing a just society. On Tuesday afternoon, we talked about these laws, and the importance of maintaining civility and kindness for the good of society.  

Perhaps as a concession to the violent tendencies that God now recognizes within human nature, God also permits humans to eat animals. At the same time, God protects animals against unduly cruel slaughter by banning the practice of cutting a limb off a living animal (Genesis 9:3-4). This balance between simultaneously permitting the use of animals for human need and prohibiting unnecessary cruelty to animals becomes the overarching principle of later Jewish law regarding the treatment of animals.  

In class this week, we began to look at why GOD commanded Noah to save the animals and seeds, over the lives of all living beings. We talked about kindness and accepting people's faults, and just how badly the population must have been behaving to warrant the destruction of all mankind. We talked about the laws of kashrut and how these laws emerged. Students were introduced to the concept of T'zar Ba'lei Chaim, the commandment to care for animals in a humane way.  

Finally, we applied these concepts to our everyday lives, and students were asked to look at how they treat others as well as their pets. We talked about respect, kindness, and acceptance and shared our thoughts about living in a just and fair world.

A PROMISE IS A PROMISE

Our Kitah Dalet students continue to study the text of Noah, and we were quite surprised to find so many basic mitzvot hidden in the Torah. We talked about the commandment to care for all of GOD's creations, and we see first hand Noah caring for all of the animals, seeds, and plants, as well as for his family. We also learn GOD holds us accountable for all that happens to his creations, and even today we are responsible for the natural resources GOD created that cannot be replaced. As we read through the text, we found the promise GOD made with man, and we talked about the importance of keeping our word. We talked about GOD being remorseful when destroying the world, and questioning his decision to destroy all of his creations. Finally, we talked about GOD'S promise to never destroy the world again through a flood. We talked about the Hebrew word for promise, Brit, and how we will see this word again when we talk about the first Jewish men, Abraham and Isaac. 

When talking about GOD's promise, students were asked to think about agreeing to do something, and then changing their minds. We also talked about trust, and honoring their commitments. We had a very interesting discussion about promises they had made and failed to follow through with, and more importantly, how disappointed they were when people promised to do something for them, and failed to hold up their own end of the bargain. Students shared their ideas about building trust through honoring commitments, and the importance of keeping their word. We shared our own personal stories about building relationships and earning trust, and how hard it is to maintain these commitments and do the right thing even when everyone is doing the wrong thing.   Students then created their own personal rainbow promises, and many of our students really thought about the work they needed to do to honor their commitments. Stop in and read their Brit, and remind them of their commitments. 

NO SCHOOL 
Sunday, February 19, 2017 and Tuesday, February 21, 2017.  Enjoy the winter break.   

TORAH IS A TREE OF LIFE

This week we began talking about our responsibility to care for everything GOD created. We talked about GOD commanding us to rule over everything and to also be a partner with GOD. Students were asked to identify ways they ruled over all living things, and how they were also servants. We talked about planting trees and flowers for our enjoyment, and our commitment to care for these living things once they are planted. 

Our discussion about nature and creation brought us to the holiday of Tu B'Shevat and the importance of trees.  We compared trees to the Torah, and students were asked to find ways to support the idea that the Torah was a Tree of Life. Students compared trees to people, as trees and people need the same things to live. They also suggested that people can't live without trees, and Jews can't live without the Torah. 

Our Values and Ethics rotation took this discussion in another direction, and we began to explore

the differences between nature and nurture. We talked about the moral and ethical dilemmas we face in our everyday life. A student presented a question in class about the right of the government to interfere with our private property rights. We had a lively discussion about laws to protect personal property and the laws created for the good of the community. Then we took out our T'nach and students reviewed their navigation skills. They were instructed to find Leviticus 19:23-25, and came upon the following passage....

When you come to the Land and you plant any food tree, you shall surely block its fruit [from use]; it shall be blocked from you for three years, not to be eaten. And in the fourth year, all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the L-rd. And in the fifth year, you may eat its fruit.  

We twisted and turned the text, and after sharing our thoughts and ideas, we learned GOD intended for us to care for trees much like a parent cares for a child. We talked about what is expected of us as babies, and our responsibilities as children and young adults. Specifically, we learned that not everything we want is ours to do with as we please, and we often do things for the good of the greater community.

To end the week, we celebrated Tu B'Shevat as a community, and participated in a Tu B'Shevat seder. Please ask your students to compare the different types of fruits to the different types of people in the world, and the importance of the seasons of a trees life.