4th Grade Newsletter, December 2024 Recap | Kislev 5785

What is in this newsletter?

What did the students learn: Content and values from this month's curriculum


What did students do: Crafts, games, songs and other classroom experiences


Hebrew corner: A recap of Letter of the Week


Torah Corner: A selected text students learned this month


The Shabbat table: Questions and conversation starters for the family Shabbat, holiday, or weekday dinner table about the 4th grade curriculum


Coming Attractions: What you can expect from the next month at the JLL

What did the students learn?


We continued to learn about the story of the Exodus, the escape of the Israelites from Egypt. We read about Moses and the burning bush, how Moses reacted to hearing God's voice and how Pharaoh treated the Israelites. Taking a break from the Exodus story, students took a look at the Binding of Isaac.

We try to include many types of media to keep students engaged. Just before break, we completed a Chanukah scavenger hunt.

What did the students do?


Our students thought about the question "Why did God only create one couple?" They drew their answers as in the above photo. Prompts for discussion about why God created one couple included: so that people won’t make a mistake and think there are many Gods, each one creating one section of humanity; and to prevent families from fighting with one another, since we’re all from the same family.

Hebrew Corner


Letter of the Week

Every week we explore one letter of the Alef-Bet, the Hebrew Alphabet. This is the first taste of Hebrew for many of our students. In our midweek sessions, we complete work book pages from "Shalom Alef Bet" that correspond with the Letter of the Week. Over the last few weeks, our letters have been:


  • Hey (ה) - as in Hakhnasat orchim, Hakol b'seder, Hamotzi
  • Aleph (א) - as in Ometz Lev, Aron HaKodesh, Ahavah
  • Bet (בּ- as in BimahB'vakasha, Brit
  • Nun (נ) - as in Nes, Ner, and Nisiyah Tovah

Torah Corner

torah-reading.jpg

One of the most powerful scenes in the Torah features Moses encountering God through the burning bush. God gives Moses the task of becoming God's messenger.

God called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” And [God] said, [...] “I am the God of your father’s [house]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

Come, therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?”

And [God] said, “I will be with you; that shall be your sign that it was I who sent you. And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”


(Exodus 3, 4-12)

The Shabbat Table


Knowledge Questions:

What did Moses see when he left the palace? Where did he go when he fled from Egypt?


Comprehension questions:

Why did Moses have to flee from Egypt?


Analysis questions:

Why did Moses kill the Egyptian?


Opinion Questions:

How can we hear God's voice in our time? What are we being called to do to repair the world?

Coming Attractions


We are looking forward to see everyone for the Family T'filah on Sunday, January 12, 2025.


Noam Vinokor-Meinrath, 914-723-5226 ext. 8525

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