November 13, 2022
Bet students continued working with the four Hebrew letters and two Hebrew vowels sounds that they are learning. They completed an activity where the teacher called out letter and vowel combinations, and then the students wrote what they heard on individual white boards. They also practiced converting one sound to another sound. The students had fun challenging each other with their own made-up sounds. One student gave the class a seven letter (made-up) word to write, which all the students wrote correctly. This activity was very helpful in assisting some students that were struggling to read the letters and vowels while it also reinforced letter writing and reading with all students. In Tefillah, we sang Hatikvah, learned the prayer “L’chu N’ranina”, and continued practicing other prayers from the Kabbalat Shabbat service. In Judaic studies, the students learned that we face Jerusalem when we pray and then solved riddles and completed fill in the blank questions about what we do in synagogue and the meaningful items in a sanctuary-including the Aron Hakodesh (ark), Bimah, Ner Tamid (eternal light), and Menorahs. We ended the day by playing an around the circle game where each student said why they were going to Temple Israel and used their memories to repeat their classmates’ reasons (who had their turn before them). At this point, the students understand that we pray in a sanctuary or chapel facing Jerusalem and are aware that Torahs are kept in the Aron Hakodesh, the Ner Tamid, (eternal light) hangs over the Aron Hakodesh, and services are lead from the Bimah. Next week, we will learn how we dress to pray!
November 6,2022
The Bet students practiced reading Hebrew words with the four letters and two vowel sounds that they had already learned. Students read in small groups and then played Tic-Tac-Toe on Hebrew Word boards with a partner. In Tefillah, students practiced prayers from the Kabbalat Shabbat Service including Tzadik Katamar, Romemu, and Yismechu Hashamayim. In Judaic studies, the students reviewed the items inside the sanctuary (including the bimah, Ner Tamid, Aron Hakodesh, and stained-glass windows) and then created their own beautiful stained-glass windows. Some of the students brought their windows home, while others chose to hang their designs on our classroom windows. If you’re on the playground, look up to the right corner on the top floor, and you will see the student’s beautiful stained-glass windows. Some of the themes they chose to depict are Jewish stars, a menorah, rainbows, a dove with an olive branch, a piece of matzah, hearts, and golden retrievers.
October 30, 2022
Last Sunday, the Bet class enjoyed our Family Education program. It was wonderful meeting the student’s families! We learned about the laws and customs of Shabbat, created a zany Shabbat Mad Lib, painted Kiddush cups, and wrote personal Shabbat blessings for our families. We hope that the kiddush cups and booklet can be used to enhance Shabbat in each student’s home.
October 23, 2022
The Bet students learned to read with the Hebrew letter “Lamed” and a new vowel sound, the “OH” sound. The students read lines of Hebrew aloud as a class and also in smaller reading groups. Since it was such a beautiful day outside, we had our class Tefillah in the Temple Israel outdoor amphitheater. We practiced singing the prayers we have already learned from the Friday night service, including Tzadik Katamar, Romemu, and Yismechu Hashamayim. We then visited the Temple Israel chapel and examined the objects in the chapel that make it a meaningful place to pray. We specifically learned that the Torahs are kept in an ark called the “Aron HaKodesh”, an eternal light called the “Ner Tamid” hangs over the ark, beautiful stained-glass windows adorn the walls, and the bimah is used by the leader to conduct services. Each student completed a worksheet where they labeled these and other items found in the chapel.
Next Sunday is our Bet Family Education program. We’ll begin the day with Tefillah in the Temple Israel sanctuary and then move to Gorelick Hall in the Levine Jewish Community Center where we’ll have our program. I look forward to being together as a group!
October 16, 2022
The Bet students learned to read with the Hebrew letter Tav and discovered that they now can read their first Hebrew word - שָׁבַּת – Shabbat. The students practiced reading as a class and also read individually to our madrichot. In Tefillah (prayer), we learned a new prayer from the Friday night service, Yismechu Hashamayim, and continued practicing the prayers that we have previously learned (Romemu and Tzadik Katamar). For Judaic studies, we discussed how we celebrate sukkah as we recall the “booths” that our ancestors lived in for forty years as they traveled from Egypt to the land of Israel. We ate a snack, recited the Shehecheyanu, and shook the lulav and etrog in the Temple Israel sukkah. We also continued our unit on exploring the synagogue by taking a tour of Temple Israel. We visited all the rooms inside Temple Israel, including the sanctuary, chapel, social hall, gift shop, and kitchen-where all the students stepped inside the jumbo refrigerator. Next we will focus on learning about what is inside sanctuaries and chapel, which make them meaningful places to pray.
Sunday, October 9
The Bet students practiced reading and writing with the Bet, Shin, and AH vowels sounds. The students read words with these letter and vowels aloud as a class and individually to the teacher or madricha. The students completed an activity where they took turns telling the class to find a word on a sheet and label the word with a box, circle, cloud, etc. The students had fun coming up with lots of creative directions. Each week in our class Tefillah (prayer), three students are selected to help as the rabbi (leader), pointer, and flag holder, and then we practice Hebrew tefillot (prayers). This week in Tefillah, we practiced singing the Hatikvah, Tzadik Katamar, Shehecheyanu, and Romemu. In Judaic studies, we began our unit on “Discovering the Synagogue” by discussing how the synagogue is a part of the community. We created a community on the white board with a store, post office, park, school, bank, office, museum etc. and then added a photo of Temple Israel to our community. Each student completed the sentence “I’m going to Temple to …….”. Some of their responses were the following: to learn Hebrew, spend time with friends, celebrate holidays, and meet new people. We ended the day by creating paper chains and decorating card board pictures that will be hung in the Temple Israel sukkah.
First day of TIRS is SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11!
Shalom Bet Families,
I enjoyed meeting all of your children and am excited about teaching each of them this year!
In Hebrew, the students learned to read with the letter Shin and two “AH” vowel sounds. The students practiced reading aloud as a class, and each student individually read aloud to our class madrichot, Amia and Amalia. The students also completed two worksheets that reinforce their Shin reading skills and practiced writing Shins. The students are encouraged to practice their Shin Hebrew reading skills with the page they brought home.
In Judaic studies, we discussed how we are celebrating the Jewish new year-Rosh Hashanah for the year 5783, and that our Jewish calendar is based on the Jewish philosopher Maimonides’s interpretation that the world was created in 3761BCE. We made an acronym for the customs of Rosh Hashanah – BLAST which stands for Blasting the shofar, wishing each other a L’Shanah Tovah, eating apples and honey, saying the Shehecheyanu, and Tashlich (the students will learn about Tashlich next Sunday). We learned the Shehecheyanu prayer, and then discussed how Rosh Hashanah is a time to think about what we did well in the previous year, what we are sorry about, and how we can do better in the upcoming year. Each student wrote their own personal Rosh Hashanah reflections.
We will be learning to read new letters and vowels sounds every Sunday, so it is very important to have strong attendance in the Bet class. Each lesson builds on the previous lesson. Today, we read very short words with only the Shin, but next week, we will learn a second letter, Bet, and then read words with Bet and Shin. As you can see, the curriculum reinforces lessons already learned while introducing new material, so regular attendance is key to developing strong Hebrew reading skills!
If you ever have any questions, please contact me at mmusa@carolina.rr.com
