Religious School Update – March 13, 2024
Hello Everyone,
Our next session will be held on March 17 and our lessons will focus on the traditions of Purim. The following week will be our fun Purim carnival on March 24. On that day all the teachers will be in costume and we encourage all our kids to be in costume as well. We also wanted to thank all of our families who volunteered their time to make this event a success. Jane told me we now have enough volunteers so well done everyone! And I will be finalizing the details in the next week but it appears we will have our field trip to the Oakland Zoo on April 14 so please mark your calendars (and I will let you know if there are any changes). Finally, our next Family Shabbat will take place this Friday, March 15, at 6:15 p.m. We will be doing Purim activities and enjoying hamentashens so please come and enjoy the fun!
And now for the recap. As always, Rabbi Dean and Cantor Marney led us in our Tefillah service before we headed to our classes. Because it was Daylight Saving Time, we had the annual tradition of families coming in individually as we sprang forward!
In the Bnai Mitzvah class, we once again invited the middle grades in for a joint session. All the kids are now able to chant the Ain Camocha, are learning the Ki Mitzion prayer, and will continue reviewing the Before and After Torah prayers. For the second half of class, we continued our exploration into gematriyah by looking at family members. One major theme we found was that the female counterpart of each pair (mother/father, brother/sister, grandpa/grandma, etc) always had the higher gematriyah value. And in a huge surprise, the family member with the highest gematriayah value was the female cousin while the lowest was the father. Discussing the meaning of these patterns will likely take years! Students in the Bnai Mitzvah class also started putting together key facts from their family histories in preparation for the end of year project.
And that about covers it for now. We will see everyone next week!
Best,
David
P.S. Please take a moment to sign up for bringing snacks in March along with hosting an oneg in March, April, May, or June. Thanks everyone!
Religious School Update – March 21, 2024
March 21, 2024 by tbhrich • Beit Midrash
Shalom Everyone,
We have some exciting events coming up! Next week, on March 24, we will all be meeting for our regular Tefillah service at 9:30 a.m. All teachers will be dressed in costume and we encourage all students and parents to dress up as well. Rabbi Dean and Cantor Marney will be reading from the Megillah and lead us in singing Purim songs. It will be so much fun! We will then have regular class for about an hour and adjourn at 11:45 to get ready for the carnival, which will begin at noon. Finally, please mark your calendars for April 14, which will be the date for our field trip to the Oakland Zoo.
And now for the recap. As always, Rabbi Dean and Cantor Marney led us in our Tefillah service before we headed to our classes. The younger grades all learned the traditions and rituals of Purim. In the B’nai Mitzvah, we did a deeper dive into the meanings of Purim. Students learned about the extent of the Persian Empire of the time, what it means to draw lots (in their case choosing the date of Purim by rolling dice), and the unique features of the Book of Esther. Specifically, the fact that one verse contains all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet (one of only a few in the Tanach), the longest verse in the entire Tanach (clocking in at 43 Hebrew words when most average around 20 or so) and the fact that G-d is never mentioned in the entire book. We then read through the Book of Esther and discussed the sections that are not often told in the Purim tale. The kids were quite engaged and enjoyed learning more about Purim.
And that about covers it for now. We look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday for the festivity of Purim!
Best,
David
P.S. Please take a moment to sign up for bringing snacks in March along with hosting an oneg in March, April, May, or June. Thanks everyone!