I am so excited to be working with the Gesher
class students this year. As the eldest students in the Temple Israel Religious
School, they are role models and potential leaders. Unlike other classes which are named for
their grade (aleph, bet, gimmel,…), Gesher is called a bridge. Like a bridge, the Gesher class is connected to both the school and the adult
congregation, as they themselves bridge the divide between childhood and
approaching adulthood. Most will celebrate their b’nai mitzvah during this school year and the community will
celebrate their transition into Jewish young adults. They will attend a morning minyan each week and, as their bar or bat mitzvah approaches, they will be counted in the minyan receiving aliyot to the Torah and other honors.
We look forward to a year of growth, challenge, rich learning, creative
opportunities and joyous celebrations.
Since Gesher students are
immersed in their life cycle event, we will explore the Rhythm of Jewish Life
and invite experts to teach us about pieces of the Jewish life cycle. We will embrace the Torah reading cycle
examining the parashat haShavua (weekly Torah portion) with an
emphasis on Jewish values found in each.
We will consider Jewish prayer and attempt to extract personal meanings
from the Birkot haShachar (the morning blessings).
We will meet the prophets and sing some verses from Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Sages) and we will create a very special
and personal siyyum (culminating
event) as we prepare for the next steps in our exploration of what it means to
be a Jew. I look forward to continuing our journey together.
Rabbi Daniel Gordis wrote, “The Jewish phrase “Shannah Tovah” means not a “happy” new
year, but a “good” new year. Jews wish
each other not just a year filled with happiness, but a year filled with
goodness, in which we do good, bring good to the world, and try to become good
people…” (A Jewish Parent’s Reference Guide, p. 222)
May this be a year of tov
in which our focus and our actions reflect our identities as images of God.
Shannah tovah
u-metukah--Best wishes for a good and very sweet new year.
HaMorah Margalit (aka Gretchen Marks
Brandt)
Gretchen.tiofnatick@gmail.com
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