May 7, 2023
Judaic Studies:
We concluded our study of Israel today with a review of facts and trivia. The students did a great job recalling many of the things we learned throughout the year and learned a few new pieces of information. Ask your child about the surprising kind of restaurant that is popular in Tel Aviv (sushi) and what a sabra is (someone born in Israel).
Hebrew:
Students completed the end of year Hebrew assessments and worked to finish the current Ramah (level) they are working on in Mitkadem.
April 30, 2023
Today we explored life on a kibbutz. We watched a film that told us about the origin of the kibbutzim and how they have changed and adapted to life in the 21st century. Ask your child about the features of the kibbutz they liked and which they would never want to do? What did they notice in the other pictures of kibbutzim we viewed? Are they ready to pick grapes or drive a tractor? What kibbutz will your child join?
April 23, 2023
Today as a part of our study of Israel we prepared for Yom Ha’atzmaut which we will celebrate this Wednesday, April 26. We recalled the celebrations in 1948 when modern Israel became official and how we celebrate it today. Compare with your child how Israel celebrates their Independence Day and how we celebrate ours. Then, ask your child about the design they created for Israel’s Independence Day.
March 26, 2023
Today we continued with our study of Tel Aviv. Ask your child about the founding of modern day Tel Aviv and how the land was originally divided. We then discussed the importance of having a dream–and working to be sure that dream comes true. Have your child share with you “Im tirtzu ein zo agada”--”if you will it it is not a dream” and how it relates to modern day Israel. If you’d like to listen to the song Im Tirtzu (we did in class) , you can follow this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifxDMPzMemw&list=OLAK5uy_nuyT2fXDUfMTcez5atDFt429MLMAvPP7I&index=22
March 19, 2023
Judaic Studies:
Today in our study of Israel we explored information about the modern day city of Tel Aviv. Discuss with your child all that makes this city modern and exciting. What did they like best about what they learned or what they did when they visited there? What would they like to do if they went to Tel Aviv (again)? We then compared Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Ask your child about the similarities and differences. Was there something new they saw about Jerusalem that they didn’t learn when we first studied the city? What is now most interesting to them about Jerusalem? About all of Israel?
Hebrew:
Students went over the parts of the seder in Hebrew (there are 14 parts), and acted out the various plagues while classmates tried to guess the plagues. Students also talked about their favorite Passover traditions, foods and songs.
March 12, 2023
Judaic Studies:
Today we finished work on our Magan David designs as a part of studying Israel’s flag. Ask your child to tell you about the tessellation technique we used. We also studied Israel’s seal. Discuss with your child the significance of the 7 branch menorah, how is it different from another kind of menorah we use at another time of year. And what is the significance of the olive branch? The next time you are at Temple Israel have your child point out to you the symbols that appear on Israel’s seal.
Hebrew:
The kids did amazing work on the Ramot , putting extra focus on reading, practicing prefixes in (ב) , and (ו) , to(ל)
So proud of the students. They are dedicated and work hard.
February 26, 2023
Judaic Studies:
Today our focus was on the flag of Israel. We discussed the choice of the two blue bands (ask your child what those represent) and then the use of the Magen David. We know it is named for Israel’s King David–have your child tell you how he used it and then why it was adopted by the Israeli people as a symbol. We then started creating our own interpretation of the Magen David using tessellation. We will finish up our designs when we return to regular class schedule, the week after Purim.
Hebrew:Students took a break from Mitkadem and learning different words and phrases associated with the Purim, including the 4 mitzvot of Purim.
February 12, 2023
Today in our study of Israel we reminded ourselves why the Zionists located modern day Israel where it sits today. Then we talked about how the Israelites governed themselves when they first returned to the land after the Exodus. We learned that first they had judges. Discuss with your child what some of the decisions the judges had to make were. Then the Israelites decided they needed a King like other countries had. Ask your child about the first kings and what they can tell you about them. We’ll be learning more about them in coming weeks.
February 5, 2023
Judaic Studies:
Thank you to all that were able to make it to our Dalet Class Shabbat on Friday night. The students all did a fantastic job–wasn’t their poetry amazing? They are truly displaying their learning about and love for Israel every week.
Today we picked up again our study of the Bedouin people that inhabit the deserts in Israel. A couple of weeks ago we viewed two videos of their lives and today students used a viewing guide that they completed while watching to shape our discussion of these interesting people. Some of the points we discussed were–1) the roles of men and women in that society and how they are different from what we see around us, 2) how their daily routines are like and different from ours, 3) what students would like about living that lifestyle, and 4) what they would miss most from their current life were they to live the life of the Bedouins. Ask your child how they answered these and other questions we discussed. Then ask what they recorded as their two most significant facts about the Bedouin people in Israel.
Hebrew:
Students learned the different blessings we say over food and how to read these blessings, some of them contain difficult Hebrew words. The students are doing a great job working on their decoding skills. They also used flashcards to help them learn new Hebrew words.😁
I wish you all a blessed weekend
See you unday
January 29, 2023
JUDAIC STUDIES
The class spent the day practicing their songs and poems that they will present at our Class Shabbat this upcoming Friday night, February 3. You will hear, in traditional songs, and in poetry, written in their own words, some of the meaning our home land Israel has for these students. The students have worked hard to prepare for this so we hope all families will attend.
Please have your child to the Temple Israel lobby by 5:20pm as we will run a quick rehearsal of our songs with the piano and once again check our seating and standing spots. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
HEBREW
Students spent the Hebrew period rehearsing with Cantor Lissek and Rabbi Kornsgold for their Class Shabbat.
January 22, 2023
Today in our study of Israel and in preparation for our Class Shabbat on February 3, we concentrated on Hatikvah, the national anthem of Israel. We talked about the significance of an anthem, what it means to citizens of a country, and how we use it to honor a country. We then examined specifically the words in Hatikvah and why they are so appropriate to our homeland. The students worked on composing a poem that will help us teach others about Hatikvah and Israel. Be sure you have February 3 on your calendar for our Class Shabbat so you hear their great work.
January 8, 2023
Judaic Studies
In our continuing study of Israel we viewed two videos about the desert nomadic people–the Bedouin. Ask your child to describe to you the Bedouin lifestyle. What surprised them? What do they envy about the lifestyle? What would they miss from this lifestyle if they were to try and live as the Bedouins? How many of you have visited Israel and witnessed the Bedouin? Tell your child about what you saw.
Hebrew
Students are working their way through the different Mitkadem levels. This week a number of students completed Ramah 3 where they worked on learning about root words, prefixes and suffixes. A few students completed ramah 4, where they were learning the blessings over food, candle lighting and different holiday blessings.
December 11, 2022
Judaic Studies:
Today we continued our study of the Israeli desert. Picking up from where we left off last week students completed posters about the animals that inhabit the Israeli desert, including those that are near to extinction and under protection of the Israeli government. Ask your child about those animals and how the animals are being protected. They did an absolutely fantastic job creating the posters and sharing them with the class–they were very impressive with their hard work and team cooperation.
Hebrew:
-I wanted to take a moment to rave about your wonderful children who did an amazing job this week in the find the word game for Chanukah and matching the holidays symbols to the words in Hebrew and writing them. In addition. They are all doing a great job in their different ramot in Mitkadem. Wishing you a great week and Happy Chanukah.
December 4, 2022
Judaic Studies:
Today we continued our study of Israel by taking a closer look at some of the animals that live in the desert portion of the country. Small groups researched and produced posters on the desert dwellers: camel, ibex, red-necked ostrich, caracal, and arabian leopard. Ask your child which animal they reported on and which ones they think might be close to extinction. We will be following up with that next week.
Hebrew:
November 20, 2022
Judaic Studies:
Today we continued with both our study of Jerusalem and writing midrash. We completed the video about the three families/religions living in Jerusalem, what they share, and how they differ. Ask your student what else they now remember from the video and the families/religions represented. The students then worked in groups to write midrash about how Jerusalem came to have its various names (City of David, Lion of God, Oasis of Justice, etc.) Ask your child which group they worked with, what name for Jerusalem they were assigned, and how the resulting midrash they wrote was expressed. Which of the other names for the city do they remember from the groups’ presentations?
Hebrew:
Students continued working through their Mitkadem binders. Some students are working on mastering Hebrew vocabulary related to the Friday evening kiddush, while others are working on reading skills.
November 13, 2022
We extended out study of Jerusalem today with a video showcasing three families living in the Old City–1 Jewish, 1 Muslim, and 1 Christian. Ask your child about the one thing that brings all three of these groups together (One God–monotheistic–and all come from Abraham) and how each family feels about their religion and place in Jerusalem (all three religions had important events happen in the city). We also began to explore the concept of midrash–ask your child about the example of midrash we read in class (one version of how Abram came to smash the idols in his father’s shop). We will continue next week with both Jerusalem and midrash as the students will work to write midrash about how Jerusalem came to have its various names (City of David, Lion of God, Oasis of Justice, etc.)
November 6, 2022
Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, and other adult friends that were able to join us for today’s Family Education program. Elliot, Dylan, and I enjoyed exploring facts about Israel and especially about Jerusalem with you. Everyone did such a great job with the Jerusalem paintings–I hope they will always help you think of Jerusalem–the city built of Jerusalem stone. Our prayers for the Kotel have been delivered to my friend and soon they will be placed in the Western Wall for God to her our prayers. May we all be together one day in Yerushalayim.
October 30, 2022
Judaic Studies - Students studied the major bodies of water in Israel. They added the Jordan River, the Mediterranean Sea, Lake Kinneret, the Red Sea and Dead sea, to their individual pas and our large classroom map. Then, they conducted an experiment to replicate the Dead sea. Ask your child which objects floated on their own and what they had to do to make others float. How is what they did similar to what they would find in the Dead sea? Remember, this Sunday, November 6, is our Family Education program. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Hebrew -
Dear parents,
I wanted to take the a minute and formally introduce myself, my name is Rotem Eckman.
And I’m your child's new Hebrew teacher on Sundays and Tuesdays.
This week we continued our work on the different Ramot, and on Tuesday we even got to play a little game ״Simon says״ but in Hebrew😊
Feel free to reach out with any questions. I am super excited and honored to teach your child.
October 23, 2022
Judaic Studies - We reviewed the 5 Books of Moses–their names, that they are divided into chapters and verses–then read two more passages that describe the location of the land God promised his people. This was more of the information the Zionists used when they were settling land and creating Modern Israel. We then began work on a large wall map of Israel that we will continue to use throughout our study. We had team “create the outline of the map” and team “create the sand for the desert. Ask your child about how they served. We then all worked together to add the sand to the map to create the Negev. Discuss with your child the fact that 60% of Israel is made up of desert. In future lessons we’ll discuss how Israelis are able to make things grow and flourish in the dry desert conditions. Be sure your calendars are marked for Sunday, November 6–that’s our Dalet Family Education Day and we’d love to see everyone here.
Hebrew - Students continued working in their Mitkadem binders. They are making great progress. Students are working on various tefillot, including Friday night Kiddush, The Amidah as well as learning the blessings over different foods.
October 16, 2022
Judaic Studies
Today we examined the reasons behind the location of modern day Israel. How did the Zionists know exactly where to place the borders and what should be included in a new modern nation? We turned to the Books of the Torah to find answers. We discussed the books of the Torah–can you and your child name them?--and their divisions into chapter and verse. Review with your child what the notation Genesis 15:18–21 means. If you want to explore more of the references to Israel that we found review these passages:
Genesis 21: 25-32 (Beersheba)
Genesis 26: 23-25 (Beersheba)
Exodus 23:31 (Borders–Red Sea to Med Sea–Desert to Great River)
Numbers 34:1–15
Hebrew
Students started working in their Mitkadem binders. Mitkadem is the self-paced Hebrew program, based in Tefillah, which our students use to learn Hebrew and the meaning of different tefillot.
Sunday, October 9
JUDAIC STUDIES - Today was a day to prepare for Sukkot. We made three dimensional paper apples to hang in our Temple sukkah–and some students made one to take home for their family sukkah. We also read the story Molly’s Pilgrim. Ask your child about the relationship between Sukkot and the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Have them tell you how Molly and her mother taught the children in the class that there are many ways to be a pilgrim and talk about the times Jewish people have been pilgrims.
HEBREW - Students learned Sukkot related Hebrew words and practiced writing these words. Then, students played Sukkot Bingo with these Hebrew words while reviewing the concepts and mitzvot associated with Sukkot. Next Sunday, students will begin working in their Mitkadem binders.
First day of TIRS is SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11!
Judaic Studies
We had a great first day in Dalet. It was a pleasure to meet this great group of students. We started with a version of “would you rather” where students made choices like “would you rather be able to fly out to turn invisible?”. Ask your child about some of the choices they made. We then brainstormed a list of all the things we already know about Israel. Israel will be our main focus of study for the year so expect to hear lots more about it. Please share with your child any stories you have about Israel; we’d love to hear them.