A VERY JEWISH HALLOWEEN

As a whole, the Jewish community does not celebrate Halloween, but we do celebrate Purim! So, save those costumes and think about adding a Jewish twist or a tzedakah piece to your Trick or Treat Traditions.  While it is important to support our neighbors in their celebrations, and equally important to not separate ourselves from the community, there are many ways of participating in a custom without observing it the way others do. Some suggest Jewish children share in the celebration by greeting their neighbors and giving out candy. It is certainly possible for our children to get excited about giving to others, and then the underlying theme for them is that Halloween is about giving.  

A noted rabbi and educator, Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht, once noticed the similarity between Purim and Halloween. In both cases, children get dressed up and go door to door receiving gifts of food. The distinction between the two is that on Halloween, the children only receive, whereas on Purim, the emphasis is that the children learn to give. The fact that they might receive in return is of secondary importance.  

To reinforce the value of giving, and to encourage the act of helping others, we will be collecting all extra wrapped candy you have. Please talk to your children about giving to others, and help them turn an everyday moment into a Jewish experience.

TORAH IS THE HEART OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

We have been quite busy exploring the laws and customs associated with the fall Jewish holidays, and we enjoyed celebrating together. We ate apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah, talked about teshuvah and turning things around for Yom Kippur, invited guests and snacked on graham crackers in the Sukkah, beat the willow branches for Hashanah Rabah, and unrolled the Torah for Simchat Torah. 

With the holidays gone but not forgotten, our Sunday morning class started to explore the lifelong lessons our Torah teaches us. Students compared the original hand written text found in the Torah scroll to the printed words in the Tanach, or the Chumash, better known as the Five Books of Moses, or the big red book found on the book shelf in the sanctuary. Students learned to navigate the Chumash, looking for book, chapter and verse. We had a mini Torah Scavenger Hunt, searching for clues hidden in the words of Torah. We learned many of our customs and traditions start with a basic phrase in the Torah, interpreted through time to keep Judaism alive and well. Our discussion continued with the basic understanding that the Torah teaches us to live a Jewish life. We talked about the phrase Torah is the Heart of the Jewish People and how just as people cannot live without a heart; the Jewish people cease to exist without the Torah. 

Next Sunday we will be participating in the Fall Fix-up Program, and hope to see you there. Please be sure to register online, or let Allison know you will be attending. 

TURNING THINGS AROUND

The students in Kitah Dalet have been talking about the basic tenets of the high holidays, specifically the laws, customs, and traditions associated with Rosh Hashanah.  Our discussions centered around tefillah, teshuvah, and tzedakah, the Jewish ways to move forward in the new year.  Students shared their thoughts and ideas on being being a respectful member of our Jewish community, and the importance of taking responsibility for observing the rules and laws in our Torah to ensure a safe environment for all learners. We talked about setting goals for ourselves, making amends to those we have hurt with our words or actions, and  fixing the wrongs we have committed.

After a brief introduction to new beginnings, we compared Rosh Hashanah to the secular new years we participate in as Jews in our community. We talked about the differences between goal setting in September, new year resolutions in January, and doing teshuvah at Rosh Hashanah. We talked about the importance of following through with our commitments as part of doing teshuvah, and accepting responsibility for our behavior as part of making the world a better place.  

We had a rather lively discussion on Tuesday afternoon, and we brainstormed ways to guarantee the continuity of Jews around the world and close to home, how to best get along with others, and the importance of taking responsibility for our behaviors.  Finally, we talked about making meaningful apologies and the three steps to true repentance.  Please ask your child to share these steps with you, and encourage them to do true teshuvah  with a family member they may have harmed.  

Wishing you a new year filled with peace, health and happiness, G'mar Chatima, Tova!  

BUILDING OUR CLASSROOM COMMUNITY

We are busy building our sacred community (kelillah kedoshah) in Kitah Dalet.  We have been talking about the importance of building connections with others to help make the world a better place and creating relationships that connect us to GOD and to each other.   Although we come from different families, schools, cities and neighborhoods, and we have different values, interests and talents, we are connected through many similar experiences and most importantly, we are connected as Jews. 

We tried our hand at webbing and talked about passing on traditions and customs from generation to generation. During the webbing exercise, students discussed the many different ways we actively participate in building our Jewish community.  We learned that our strength comes from action, and when we no longer practice our customs and traditions, our community slowly disappears.  This visual activity gave our students a unique way of seeing how we are all connected, and how when we lose our connections, our community ceases to exist. 

On Tuesday afternoon we extend our Sunday learning, and explore the mitzvot, middot, and holidays that make us one people.  We began a discussion on Rosh Hashanah, and we will continue sharing our experiences next week.  Please ask you child to share one goal they have for the New Year, and encourage them to work towards meeting their target.  

Wishing you an amazing Shabbat and an awesome weekend.  See you Sunday, Barbara

WELCOME TO KITAH DALET

Hi, and welcome to Kitah Dalet.  I am Barbara J Dworin, and I am honored to be your child’s Religious School teacher.  I am passionate about Jewish living, and I am excited to share this love with you and your family.  I have been planning all summer long, and I know your children will have a great time discovering how unique and special they are as we explore our theme of the year, Created in GOD's Image. 

My classroom objective is to provide a fun, safe, stimulating, and creative learning environment which will build a strong Jewish foundation and encourage students to be informed, knowledgeable and educated Jews, able to take personal responsibility for living a Jewish life in a non-Jewish world.  

I plan to do this through teaching integrated lessons on Torah, Jewish law, ethics and values, and praying together as a community.  This thematic approach encourages each student to recognize that being Jewish affects everything we do and helps to build a meaningful connection to our commitment to Israel and the Jewish community.  My expectation is our time together will serve as the basis for building lifelong connections in the community long after students have finished their religious school education. 

This year, I look forward to building a safe learning community while developing personal relationships with you and your children.   I invite you to visit our classroom whenever you are available, and encourage you to stop in and introduce yourself.   

Best Wishes for a new year filled with health, happiness, and peace, Barbara

LIVING A GOOD LIFE

With Passover a recent memory, and the end of the year quickly approaching, our students have blossomed into thoughtful, creative, and well informed Jewish thinkers.  They are stretching their minds and developing the ability to critically look at a situation and apply Jewish values to situations which may not be seen as Jewish on the surface.  We had lengthy discussions about Passover and moving from freedom to slavery, and the commitment it takes to embrace a Jewish way of life.  We talked about being a slave to things, and being free to make independent choices, which helps make our community stronger, and makes us better people along the way.  

We shared our ideas about counting the days between Passover and Shavuot, and the importance of making each day count.  We shared our ideas about being at the bottom of Mt. Sinai, and having the patience to wait for the things we want.  We talked about wanting things and needing things, and being mindful of the many gifts we have. To end the week, and too bring our many class discussions full circle, we spent some time talking about the Ten Commandments Moses brought down from Mt Sinai, and the relevance of them even today.  

We talked about the commandments between man and GOD, and the commandments between man and the community.  We talked about what rules we need to make the world safe, and what we have to do to build a meaningful relationship with GOD and with others. We had some trouble wrapping our arms around the GOD relationships, but when we talked about finding ways to connect with others through GOD, the ideas flowed a bit easier.  We also talked about the values and behaviors we need to establish as a society in order to be fully functioning, responsible members of our community.  

To end the week, we talked about the commandment to honor our moms and dads as being a commandment between GOD and between the community.   Students shared their ideas about honoring and respecting their parents, and took some time to create Mother's Day notes. Hopefully, you will see some of these cards on Sunday.  

As our year comes to an end, I want to thank you for sharing your students with me this year. We have grown together as a community, and it has been an honor to be a part of your Shaarey Zedek family. Enjoy the summer, and please stay in touch.   

PASSOVER POEMS

Slavery smells like smelly armpits
Slavery feels dumb
Slavery sounds like sad people
Slavery looks stupid

Freedom smells like brownies
Freedom feels like soft stuff
Freedom sounds like jumping people
Freedom looks like happy people

Slavery smells like pollution
Slavery feels jail
Slavery sounds like kids crying
Slavery looks hard work

Freedom smells like cookies
Freedom feels like running around
Freedom sounds like peace and quiet
Freedom looks like no work and you can recline

Slavery smells like sweat
Slavery feels torture
Slavery sounds like screams
Slavery looks suffering

Freedom smells like sweet fruit
Freedom feels like happiness
Freedom sounds like dancing and singing
Freedom looks like smiles and joy