Jun 04
Which organizations should receive our tzedakah money? Should we give to Jewish organizations, or to ones that give out stickers? Three children checked out organizations that care for animals and nature. They read the organizations’ mission statements. They decided on the Nature Conservancy. As one boy summarized, “This one [NRDC] only helps polar bears. …
May 31
Both Shorashim and Nitzanim have been working on panels for their group quilts. These quilts have not only been a review of the main themes they have learned this year (Sukkot, Breishit, Shema, Pesach, and Tzedakah VaChessed), but a culminating project to be displayed in a public space over the summer. Shorashim children have been …
May 24
What we deem “Jewish” and how we act as Jews is strongly influenced by teachings from the first several generations of rabbis, those rabbis who wrote the Mishnah (c. 220 CE) and the Talmud (c. 400-600 CE). By exploring foundational ideas from what’s known as this “Rabbinic Period,” our children grow into knowledgeable members of …
May 17
In Shorashim we have begun making “chessed cards”. In order to do this, the kids pick a shape, color it, and send it on a pretend “postcard” into their friend’s mailbox in Shorashim. Instead of a normal stamp, the kids get to stamp the first letter of their Hebrew name. Not only is it a …
May 17
Shavuot is coming! On Shavuot, we read the Book of Ruth. In Shorashim, we have been reading a Shorashim-appropriate version of the story, with a focus through the lens of Tzedakah vaChessed. For example: “Ruth shows so much chessed when she picks up all the leftover barley for Naomi,” and, “Boaz does chessed when he asks …
May 16
Lots of math these days! We are learning to count to 100 in Hebrew. Each day, Nitzanim children guess how many marbles/beans/stickers/etc. are in a glass jar, and write their guess in Hebrew. At (pegisha – meeting), we count the pieces, out loud in Hebrew. Children figure out the difference between the closest guess and the actual …
May 16
Just what, exactly, is צדקה (tzedakah)? What is חסד (chessed – kindness)? We’re building understanding of each concept. This week, Nitzanim children asked great questions: Can you do צדקה (tzedakah) or חסד (chessed) by accident? Can you do צדקה (tzedakah) without חסד (chessed)? To explore our opinions, we turned to Maimonides, a famous rabbi from 12th century Spain. (It’s so wonderful when children ask …
May 10
Nitzanim wanted to be like Avraham and Sarah, welcoming guests into their tent. On Monday, they prepared to welcome a guest into Beit Nitzanim, our Nitzanim home. We reviewed what a host does: who will greet our guest? what would you like to ask our guest? show her in Beit Nitzanim? We were definitely ready. …
May 10
On Tuesday, Nitzanim made cookies to give away to The Night Ministry, an organization that provides shelter, health and other support services. The Night Ministry serves cookies on its Health Outreach Bus because they discovered that folks were more likely to come for needed care if there were cookies involved. Nitzanim showed great חסד (chessed – …
May 03
This week in Nitzanim… (click above for a video of our work!) In preparation for our final huge Yetzirah project of the year, Nitzanim spent a few days revisiting this year’s themes – Sukkot, Breishit, and Shema. We revisited through the lens of Tzedakah VaChessed. Nitzanimers received play כסף (kesef-money) to spend on playing and …
