Hello Everyone!
And welcome to the first full month of spring! I always love this time of year because the days are just getting longer and soon warmer weather will be upon us! I wanted to remind everyone that next week, on April 9, we will have a break for the Passover holiday. In two weeks, on April 16, we will have our special field trip to Urban Adamah in Berkeley. On that day, there will be no Tefillah service or classes because we will all meet at Urban Adamah for the scheduled program. I will send more details next week. Also, if your family would like to attend the Temple Seder on April 8, please fill out a registration form in the lobby and return it to the main office.
And now for the recap. Cantor Marney and Rabbi Dean led our Tefillah service to start the day. Afterwards, the younger kids in Jenny’s class heard Passover stories, watched part of the Prince of Egypt, and, most importantly, made Afikomen covers. They all turned out beautiful and will make great additions to all of our Seder tables this year.
In the Bnai Mitzvah class, Heather’s class joined us for the first hour to learn about the Passover Seder. Once again, I had all the students go over each of the 14 steps and the symbolic importance of each one. Afterwards, I had the students write out each step, cut them out into separate parts, and rearrange them to make their own Seder ritual. They each had clever ideas, including putting all the cups of wine together, having the meal earlier, waiting to find the afikomen until the very end, etc. This year the Bnai Mitzvah kids may yet be running their family seders! I will be sending out the handiwork of each student to their parents.
And that about covers it for now. Have a wonderful break and hopefully we will see y’all at the Temple on Saturday for Seder!
Best,
David
Religious School Update – May 21, 2023
May 26, 2023 by tbhrich • Beit Midrash
Hello Everyone,
I can’t believe I am saying this but Religious School is nearing its completion for the year. We will have the week off this coming Sunday, May 28, in celebration of Memorial Day. We will then have two more sessions, one on June 4 and the final one on June 11. For the last class, we will have our traditional Mensch awards along with special treats. More details to come.
And now for the recap. Rabbi Dean led us in our Tefillah Service before all the kids adjourned to the kitchen for a special baking activity. Teacher Jenny graciously provided her superb cooking skills to teach the kids how to make blintzes for Shavuot. They were absolutely delicious! And while they were baking, in celebration of Lag B’Omer, all the kids got to practice their archery skills with a toy bow and arrow set. By the end of the hour, some of the kids were scoring bulls eyes with remarkable accuracy. Afterwards, we all enjoyed blintzes along with a special cheesecake.
For the last part of class, the younger kids finished their Lag B’Omer art projects while the older kids met in my classroom to learn about the Ten Commandments. I had them read the text from Exodus and compared it to the text from Deuteronomy. They found out there are subtle differences in the two different versions in the Fourth Fifth and Tenth Commandments, reflecting how the commandments changed between the wandering in the wilderness and the creation of the Jewish kingdom. The Torah rarely fails to provide great insights when we look for them!
And that about covers it for now. Everyone have a wonderful long weekend and we will see y’all on June 4.
Best,
David