Kitah Hey- Diana's Update

Dear Kitah Hey families,

The fifth graders have been learning so much in Hebrew School over the last couple of weeks.
In values class last Tuesday and Wednesday, we began talking about gratitude through the lens of family. The students had a chance to talk about what they were grateful to their families for. One student, who just recently became a big brother to a second sibling, shared that he was grateful for the opportunity to be a role model for his little brother.

 Another student shared that he was thankful for his mother and listed all the ways she cares for him. This exercise proved to be a very positive one and allowed the students a chance to reflect on all they have. During this same class, we also discussed the parasha of that week, which revealed that Moses had a speech impediment. We discussed the idea that all of us have some sort of disability. We all have strengths and weaknesses but our weaknesses don't stop us from succeeding.

The Wednesday class had a chance to participate in a Bible play about three important characters in the Bible; Jacob, Isaac, and Moses; each of whom had some type of disability. The students discussed these disabilities and connected them to disabilities those close to them have as well as disabilities that they, themselves, have. One student shared that many significant challenges people have are genetic and that we should all be very kind to those people because "it could have been us". Another student explained that she learns in an inclusive classroom and it has been an eye-opening experience for her because she has realized that the students in her class who have physical disabilities are just like us, but just need a little extra help. We also talked, at length, about not passing judgments on those with significant disabilities. One student mentioned a book she recently read called, Out of my Mind. This book, she explained, is about a girl with cerebral palsy. Throughout the book, she is regarded as mentally challenged. In reality, however, she is smarter than most adults. This becomes evident when the girl gains access to an augmentative communication system which enables her to transmit her thoughts.

I thought this was a fantastic example of why it is important not to pass judgment.

This past Sunday, the fifth graders were able to participate in an exciting program called "World Wide Wrap", where they learned about the significance of tefillin in Judaism and then were given time to make their own pair. The students had so much fun with this and showed off their talent!

 

This week, during our Tuesday and Wednesday class, we talked about Tu Bishvat, a holiday also known as the birthday of the trees. We discussed the importance of this holiday and Judaism's beliefs about nature.

 

During Tuesday's class, we continued working on our Hebrew greetings and time was devoted toward having each student participate in an informal conversation with a peer, asking questions such as, "How are you?" and "Where are you from?" and responding to each of these. We also finished up a discussion we had about a story we had read. In this story, there is a shopkeeper and every time this shopkeeper prays for G-d's help, his prayers are answered. The shopkeeper explains that once his business was doing poorly so he went to another town to find other businesses and to look for a new business partner. Instead of taking a human as a business partner; however, the shopkeeper decided to take G-d as his partner. The shopkeeper said that since that day he puts half of his money in one cash box for himself, and half of his money in another box for G-d. This was to be used as tzedakah. 

The students had so much to say about this story. Some students shared their belief that if you trust G-d, G-d will help make your wishes come true. One student explained her thought that people can't always depend on G-d. Rather, people must work really hard in order to be successful. Something else that emerged from this discussion was the idea of G-d as a kind of "Santa Claus". Just as people must do good deeds in order to get on Santa's "good" list, people must do good deeds in order for G-d to answer their prayers.

The Wednesday class, yesterday, was able to benefit from a very engaging program led by the director of Prozdor Hebrew High School. The students had an interesting debate about whether or not certain roads in Israel should be shut down on Shabbat. The students had many thoughts on the matter and came up with a number of compromises with which they felt all Israelis would be satisfied.

 

The class has just recently mastered both the blessing before the Torah reading and after the Torah reading. A copy of the February calendar with the next prayer we will be studying, V'zot HaTorah, is included below. A copy of this prayer as well as a youtube link to the tune used for this prayer are also included as well as a picture of the homework assignment for February 12th, which the students will be receiving via hard copy.


Thank you for your support,
Diana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by857i2XvEU