Bet Midrash January Newsletter

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Bet Midrash January Newsletter

What have we been learning?

A message from Rabbi Ariann

Between winter vacations and a snow day, December was a short month in the Bet Midrash. Nevertheless, there was energy to spare and so much learning! Why does Chanukah ignite and motivate our children so much? There might be many cynical answers - the lust for presents, the competitive and commercial nature of Christmas. But it seems to me that Chanukah excites children so much because their parents put time and energy into it. How many times a year does a Jewish home feature beautiful daily ritual acts? There is something magical about a family commitment to lighting candles for eight days and all of the attendant celebratory possibilities: the food, the gelt, the tzedakah giving, and yes, for many families, the gifts. As we trudge through winter and look forward to a spring of many celebrations, let's think of ways to similarly dedicate our homes to the celebration of Tu Bishvat, Purim, Passover, and beyond.

This past month also included some particularly special re-dedications. Our Gimmel (3rd grade) class received their very own Kol Haneshamah siddurim, which they will sew beautiful covers for in the spring. (See the Gimmel class in the picture below - they are hard at work mastering Hebrew decoding!) We are so proud of what they've accomplished on their Jewish learning so far! Our Zayin (7th grade) class led a remarkable class service. You can read their collaborative d'var Torah here.

Gan, Alef, Bet (Kindergarten - Second Grade)

Creative design challenges dominated the Gan/Alef and Bet classes this past month. The Gan/Alef class made a collaborative chanukiah (Chanukah menorah) out of Legos and individual clay dreidels. The Bet class designed, drafted, discussed, and finally built their own Lego chanukiot. Gan/Alef has focused their learning on light and darkness and sacred Jewish time. We've learned that Jewish days and holidays begin and end with the sun going down. We've smelled the Havdalah spices and talked about the separation between Shabbat and the rest of the week. We've also learned about hiddur mitzvah, the commandment to make our ritual objects beautiful, which we translated into our chanukiot and dreidels. Kitah Bet learned about the heroism of the Maccabees. As they designed their chanukiot they formulated 9 heroic and menschlikh acts to correspond to each candle. - Pia Kutten and Ellen Goldsmith

Kitah Bet building chanukiot

Dalet (4th Grade)

I hope the New Year finds everyone with some sense of hope (hatikvah) and courage (ometz). Our class discussions have incorporated these values throughout the year especially when learning about Chanukah. We will need lots of both as we begin the new year. We began reading about prophets who gave the Israelites encouragement in the depths of despair. Your Chanukah lights are a source of hope and faith. This month we will pay homage to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of our most revered beacons of hope.

We will continue to read about brave prophets. The students are looking forward to debating issues that will come up in our studies. The real challenge will be putting on their thinking caps and switching sides to defend the opposite position! This seems to be a very “bring it on” group! Projects will include incorporating styles and ideas of some prominent Jewish artists who faced many challenges but continued to create in the face of adversity.

- Ann Krauser

Hay (5th grade)

Based on the Prayer Al Hanisim – On The Miracles – a blessing that is added during Chanukah to the Amidah and the text of 1 Maccabees 1:41-2:28, Kitah Hay put together and performed a musical version of the Chanukah Story. Our planning for the play included text study, discussions about the conflict between different Jewish groups in the time of the Maccabees, and brushing up on a BK favorite: Ocho Kandelikas. We loved performing in front of other classes and parents, and we worked especially hard on developing skills of team work and flexibility. A special thanks goes to Lincoln, who helped us learn the songs and made this experience even more fun. - Tamar Arieh

A candid shot of Dalet (4th grade) cooking.

Come on, let's eat!

An Evening of Fun with Kitah Vav (6th grade)!

Kitah Vav students joined up with Doni and Eric of Nefesh Mountain on December 19th and together strummed, sang, and delighted the residents of the Atria Assisted Living in Roseland with an upbeat musical Chanukah celebration. During the presentation, students and seniors clapped, snapped their fingers, sang, and spoke about dreidel-making, gelt-making fun in classes and other reasons for loving Chanukah. Among the highlights of the evening, Warren Roth prepared and successfully led the group on his guitar to sing Bob Dylan's "Forever Young." Another gift for the seniors included Guthrie Siwinski on his guitar presenting a song with Alisha Davis and Rainen Solomon - a surprise they prepared outside the classroom! At the end of the evening, students munched on brownies and cookies thoughtfully baked and brought by two students while Xander Zasloff-Thomas softly played his guitar to "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah" for a cherished Atria resident member of his family. While this Monday evening was icy cold outside, our Vav students brought light, warmth, and treasured youthful joy to the seniors in the Atria, as they turned their learning into action and community joy. - Karen Eilenberg and Guy Ratki