Grade 4-Kitah Daled Explores Shabbat Bookends

Have you ever noticed that Shabbat begins and ends with similar rituals?  We light candles and we say a blessing over wine as we mark transitions to and from sacred time.

Kitah Daled students are learning about marking these transitions and creating beautiful candleholders and Kiddush cups.  This week we studied two versions of the fourth commandment; one found in Exodus and the other in Deuteronomy.  We found that the version in Exodus begins with the verb, ‘remember’ while the one in Deuteronomy begins with ‘keep’ or ‘protect.’  Each presentation also gives different reasons for Shabbat observance.  In the first, we are commanded to rest on the Sabbath because after creating the world in six days, God rested on the seventh day.  In the second presentation, we are commanded to rest and to permit everyone on our property to rest including our servants and our animals.  Some commentators call this the ethical foundation for Shabbat.  At the end of class, we created a giant Venn diagram with hula-hoops and used it to compare and contrast Shabbat evening rituals with Havdalah.