Jan 23
Can you feel it? Can you tell, just by looking at the photo, that something shifted inside of our bodies when we saw the נרות (nerot–candles) in a quiet, dark room? In Nitzanim, we’ve been trying to feel Shabbat. In past weeks, we’ve tried to feel the chaos of getting ready for Shabbat, or the calm of …
Jan 11
“The Israelites should keep Shabbat, to make Shabbat…for in six days Adonai made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day (God) paused, and was refreshed.” (Ex 31) What kind of a Shabbat “pause” could we do together that might leave us refreshed? Here are several ideas 5th – 7th graders came up with: “You …
Nov 02
This week, Shteelim (“saplings” for Kindergarten) designed felt pieces so we could act out the story of Avraham V’Sara on the Felt Board We sat down and listened carefully to the text, stopping when we heard something we wanted to make We had so many ideas for the felt pieces we wanted to play with! …
Oct 19
All this week, Shorashim celebrated Simchat Torah. On Simchat Torah, we finish the end of the last book of the Torah, and start all over again at the beginning. This holiday is typically celebrated with song, dance, and yup, you guessed it, the Torah! But what exactly is the Torah that we talk (and sing) …
Feb 23
This week, we spent time outside exploring קדושה (kedushah, holiness) outside. What a perfect week to spend time outside! At our special session on Shabbat, we walked to the lake and observed the day turning from Shabbat back into a normal day as the sun went down. We noticed the changes in the colors of the sky …
Dec 01
“Quick, quick! They’ll see us!” “This way, behind the pillar!” Later: “There were tiny people, and it was us, and there they were, huge…they started chasing us…” (Context: In ענפים (Anafim, “Branches,” our 3rd-4th grade group), the children have been exploring the last text from our במדבר (Bamidbar, “in the wilderness”) theme, and adding their characters’ versions …
Apr 21
Sometimes, the best learning comes up unexpectedly. It’s up to us to seize the moment. There we were, pulling apart the structure of Rabban Gamliel’s argument (really! with great enthusiasm!), and one fourth grader said, “Hallel is in the Tanakh.” [Tanakh is an acronym for Torah, Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).] And I said, “Prove …
Nov 20
With nursery children, things often go one, two, three. One child will have an idea, then a second child will join, then a third. Often it’s the best things that spread one, two, three. What fun! The first boy said, “I want to stretch my body. I want to do alef bet yoga.” And then it …
Apr 01
After a few weeks away from each other, it was so nice to be back together as a community this week. With פסח (Pesach-Passover) just a few days away, there was a lot to do in Shorashim to get ready. During משחקים (Mischakim-games) we made sure we really remembered the items on the Seder plate …
Aug 27
Today at camp, we continued the exploration of our שמות (Shemot-names) and looking closely at the different אותיות (Otiot-letters) in the Aleph Bet. We started our morning putting together Aleph Bet puzzles and Morah Chana lead us in a Yetzirah project where we made the special אותיות (Otiot-letters) in our שמ (Shem-name) out of glue and food coloring. …
