Apr 05
After 10 weeks of serious investigation of the Exodus story, our final week of preparation for Pesach was a little more lighthearted. Anafim (Branches, 3rd and 4th grade) spent last week cooking! We learned about how the Jews of Cochin, India celebrated–cleaning for months and then making matzah together as a community. On …
Oct 30
Want to spook yourself? Nitzanimers love to be just a little scared. Late in the day, we love to curl up with our friends and listen to a Jewish story about demons or witches. We’ve heard scary Jewish stories from Yemen, Eastern Europe, and Belarus, and an oldie-but-goodie from the Talmud. Our favorites: Hayyim’s Ghost, …
May 02
This week in Shorashim we added “Chessed Jars”. With a huge pile of tzedakah, the Shorashimers each had a chance to pick which Chessed Jar to put their coins in. Each jar had a different picture on it representing a different act of Chessed: -giving food to people who need food -giving toys to kids …
Jan 08
Today, the kids approached Jewish grown-ups to ask them whether or not they knew the שמע. By learning more about the Jewish people around them, the kids begin to connect with the concept of a “Jewish community” that is both local and global–otherwise known as עם ישראל (am yisrael – the people of Israel). We …
Oct 31
By creating “lanterns” in the style of Morocco, we brought the Moroccan Jewish community to Hyde Park. We saw that Morocco is at the northern tip of Africa. We also looked at pictures of how sukkahs look in Morocco, and learned that at the end of Sukkot the children in Morocco are allowed to burn …
