Religious School Recap

Ruth & Lewis Davis Religious School

Kindergarten-2nd Grade Update:

This week's Miss Jo's students joined together with the whole school for our opening Havdalah ritual. Aaron was the first to arrive, so he received the honor of holding the Havdalah candle. The students updated their Mitzvah Tree by describing mitzvot in which they participated. They learned the Hebrew letter Bet and they learned all about Noah's Ark and the rainbow. We hope you enjoyed the beautiful Noah's Ark and booklet that they brought home! Ask your child to sing you the song about the "arky, arky".

Flying to Israel!

Shalom 3rd-6th Grade Families,

On Sunday, we began our year-long curriculum of studying about Israel. Students filled out their passports by answering questions about themselves and Israel (hopefully they brought it home and showed it to you). They went through our airport screening as they entered the airplane. On board, they recited the Traveler's Prayer, saw an in-flight movie about touring Israel, and learned about places they will visit this year.

Students put together a giant map of Israel to learn about the location of the cities, the surrounding countries and the bodies of water within and surrounding Israel.

Ask your child to tell you:

Three cities in Israel
The 4 surrounding countries
The main bodies of water that border the country
Three things they would like to do in Israel
Two words or phrases in Hebrew

(Hint: In the west, Israel is bound by the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon and Syria border it to the north, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the southwest and the Red Sea to the south.

On Tuesday, students learned about The Tower of Babel by building towers without being able to communicate with each other. Then they watched a short video about the parashah.

Sundays will be dedicated to our Israel curriculum and Tuesdays will be dedicated to Parashat HaShavuah, the Torah portion of the week (please see the box below written by Rabbi Baum for more details).

Have a great week!

Kim Beame, MAJE

Congregational Director

Acting Religious School Director

Click Here to see pictures from Week 5

Devash: Hadar’s Weekly Parashah Magazine for Children & Families

Shalom Religious School Families,

Our religious school recognizes the importance of our students learning the Torah portion of the week (in Hebrew, Parashat HaShavuah). When we engage in studying the weekly portion, we connect to the sacred and eternal story of the Jewish people, thus connecting to our past. We connect to our present with Jews around the world and recognize the importance of peoplehood because all Jews study the same text week after week, and we engage with our future as we come up with new ideas related to our timeless stories and teachings. We are excited to announce that we are going to bring our Parashat HaShavuah study to a whole new level, and deliver it into your home every week!

Shaarei Kodesh has partnered with the Hadar Institute, an institution of Jewish learning, which empowers Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing, egalitarian communities of Torah, Avodah, and Hesed, to bring their unique and creative take on Parashat HaShavuah to our families through the Devash: Hadar’s Weekly Parashah Magazine for Children & Families.

Devash is a weekly parashah magazine that makes learning Torah sweet. By engaging directly with texts and taking children seriously as Jews, Devash helps children and grownups discover new ideas, values, and sweet morsels in the weekly Torah portion. Devash is designed for children aged 7-11 to read independently, or together with families and teachers.

Starting in late November, your child will come home with a different parashah packet every week. Our students will study the portion together on Tuesdays, and then share what they learned with their families on Friday nights at Shabbat dinner, and/or on Shabbat mornings. Parents can use the innovative packet of information to enhance your discussions with your children at the dinner table or elsewhere.

Click here to download this week's Devash for Parashat Lech Lecha

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Rabbi David Baum

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

Each week the students will be given a challenge.

At the beginning of the year, we challenged the students to learn the Hebrew months in order. Each week we have been practicing in class. Ask your child if they have mastered this challenge yet.

This week we added the challenge of counting 1-10 and 10-1 in Hebrew. So far only one student mastered it. Ask your child to find out who!

The challenges will be on-going and we will keep adding more.