Religious School Update January 27, 2022
Shalom Everyone!
And welcome back to Religious School. After a long hiatus, it was great to see everyone at the Temple again. Now that we have passed the holiday season, we will have regular classes every Sunday from now until February 20. Our next meeting will take place this Sunday, January 30, at 9:30 a.m.
And now for the recap. We all gathered outside for our Tefillah Service, led by Rabbi Dean. Afterwards, each class celebrated the fun holiday of Tu’Bshvat. The younger grades got to sample the 7 species (wheat, barley, grapes, pomegranates, figs, dates, and olives) along with a variety of fruits).
I taught the middle grades along with the Bnai Mitzvah kids this week. We started off by reading a rebus about the origins of TuBshvat and then they tested their skills with a TuBshvat puzzle. For the second half of class, we all got to participate in the tradition of tasting the 7 species along with 15 different fruits (symbolizing the 15th day of Shivat, the name of the holiday). They got to try regular fruits like apples and oranges along with more exotic fruits like Dragonfruit. They all liked some of them, others did not pass the taste test, but we all had fun trying out new flavors.
And that about covers it for now. Next week we will return to our regular subjects until the next major holiday of Purim. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
David
Religious School Update – February 3, 2022
February 3, 2022 by tbhrich • Beit Midrash
Hello Everyone,
We had another great day of Religious School this past Sunday. Thanks to the reduced case counts, we were all able to go back to the classrooms. Our next meeting will take place this Sunday, February 6, at 9:30 a.m. We will also have school on February 13 and then be off on February 20.
And now for the recap. Rabbi Dean led our Tefillah Service before the kids went to their classes. The younger grades got a wonderful surprise when the Fox family distributed T-shirts to everyone! Everyone can wear them for next week’s classes!
In the Bnai Mitzvah class, we resumed our work on the Torah prayers and are now moving on to the Haftarah prayers. The students can now not only read the prayers but also chant them! They have come a long way. For the second half of class, we learned more about the Karaite community, who originated in Egypt. There are a lot of differences, especially in Kosher laws, celebrating Shabbat, who gets to interpret Torah, etc. It is always fascinating looking at the different ways Judaism can be celebrated around the world. Now that we have looked at Jewish communities in Asia, Europe, and Africa, we will turn our attention to the Pacific and South America. Should be interesting.
And that about covers it for now. Please let me know if you have any questions. I’ll see y’all on Sunday!
Best,
David