Grade 1—Kitah alef—December 6, 2015
I missed seeing the students
today, while we teachers attended the Limmud program at Congregation Mishkan
Tefila. It was a marvelous opportunity
for some Jewish learning, some for personal enrichment and some to apply in the
classroom. These are some of the
sessions I participated in:
Warriors, Wonders and
Wisdom: The Real Story of Hanukkah. Through texts like the Book of Maccabees and
discussion, we examine the events and changing interpretations of the meaning
and rituals of Hanukkah and its parallels to Sukkot. The miracle of the oil is not mentioned until about the second century C.E. Cheryl and I both attended this one.
Moses: Soul of a Leader, a
Midrash Performance and Discussion.
Actress Annette Miller performed a midrash in the voice of Moses. Then we discussed the various aspects of
Moses’ leadership.
n Pictures Paint a Thousand
Words, we discussed how pictures can be cropped, taken out of context, to
mislead an audience, particularly regarding Israel. For example, we examined a staged photograph of a Palestinian rioter and the mislabeled photograph of a supposedly dead Palestinian child. The speaker, Gary Kenzer, recently spoke at
Temple Israel. Plus, I won one of the
door prizes, an Honest Reporting t shirt!
During lunch, several of us told
each other about the interesting workshops we had attended. I saw part of a Sheldon Low concert,
before I had to leave for a panel on The Future of Judaism. Judaism will continue to evolve.
I learned about Utilizing Art
and Drawing to Learn About the Hebrew Alphabet from artist Mordechai
Rosenstein. This may show up soon as a
class project!
My final session was given by a
friend of mine, Nancy Sohn Swartz , on A Potpourri of Teaching Ideas. She offered suggestions on activities for
young learners.
By the time I left at 4:30, I was
full of new thoughts, ideas, and inspirations.
Judy Azer
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