Sep 13
Listen: the children are telling us what we need to know. This week at our end-of-session singing time, we asked children to tell their grown-ups what they love to do as a family and want to do more frequently. We asked children to tell their grown-ups what they wish their grown-ups would do less of. We …
Sep 28
This week, alonim and middle school really wrestled with two ideas about a cry in relationship to the high holidays. First, there is the cry of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Second, and where they really had asked questions, is about the text they are reading. In Genesis 18:20-21, “ Adonai said, “The cry of Sedom and Amorah …
Sep 25
Today we took a little trip… … to see the Torah dressed in white for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We practiced careful looking and quietly sketched the Torahs. Children noticed, “crowns,” “that it [the Torah] has legs,” and “writing.” And then, we were ready to imagine. With hushed voices children offered the following explanations …
Oct 07
Yesterday, we headed to the sanctuary and sat on the bimah in the dark stillness of a rainy afternoon. We read aloud “Tear Water Tea,” by Arnold Lobel. (Thanks, Mish Zion, for suggesting the story!) One child exclaimed, “Oh! I get it. Tears are like the bad things. Like, the bread you throw into the water.” …
