Parashat HaShavua

Our rabbinic intern, Micah Glickman, is teaching parashat hashavua (Torah portion of the week). Students dive into the Torah portion being read each week as they familiarize themselves with the cycle of reading Torah.

We have learned lessons from Ki Tavo, Nitzavim, Ha'azinu and the last portion of the Torah: V'Zot Habracha.

The picture above shows students acting out the events of one of the portions.

Students learning about a calligram (a word or piece of text in which the design and layout of the letters creates a visual image related to the meaning of the words themselves).

Israel

Each group meets weekly with Anita, our shinshinit from Israel. Anita has led discussions on several topics including:

• Rosh Hashanah and the ritual of Tashlich
• Israel--the flag of Israel and about what Israel is for each of us
• her personal connections to individuals who died on October 7th and the ways she has found to honor their memories.

Students looking at posters created by Anita in memory of those who died

Life Cycles

In life cycles, we learned that covenant is a recurring theme in our exploration of Jewish Life Cycles. Through studying our Pledge of Allegiance, the Hippocratic oath, the IDF pledge and the US Citizenship pledge, we discovered that Covenant is a promise. When we were born, our parents made a covenant to raise us Jewishly.

Many JLL students knew their own namesake and Hebrew name. We learned about Abraham’s covenant with God. Abraham promised to lead the Jewish people and God promised them the land of Israel - this is the covenant written in Genesis that we looked at. We also explored the Covenant of Brit Milah and the tradition of Brit Bat was discussed. We expanded our understanding of bat and bar mitzvah (son or daughter of the commandments) in current times.  

Ivrit

Over the course of this year, all our 5th grade students will begin their chevruta (1:1 Hebrew) lessons. Some are well on their way, some have started in the last two months, and others will start at the beginning of 2025.

On Sundays, the last part of our day is spent in groups based on when students start chevruta lessons. Some groups use this time to review letters in accordance with the Letter of the Week. Some groups use this time to learn some Modern Hebrew conversation. All groups engage in some kind of Hebrew learning to maintain skills, exposure and excitement about the Hebrew language.