This is my 100th blog post. What better way to celebrate than to share Wednesday’s happenings in Kitah Gimel! We began with the Blessings for Torah Study and cookies, followed by our attendance conversation. The class no longer needs the “prompt” sheets as they know the questions and answers by heart. We noted that we’re now in the happy month of Adar, looking forward to Purim. As we increase our Hebrew vocabulary, new words will be added to the attendance routine.
To review the Chapter 5 Hebrew vocabulary words, we played “Concentration” and matched each Hebrew word with its English translation. Students participated very enthusiastically!
Building on that review activity, students next read aloud a story which I wrote about a “Yom Sheleg” (“Snow Day”) – recalling last week when Hebrew School was closed due to harsh weather. Students responded in Hebrew to Hebrew questions about the story – another opportunity to use vocabulary and practice speaking.
In the coming week, students are to review again the Chapter 5 vocabulary cards which they’ve made and brought home. Each student received a sheet with the transliteration of all Chapter 5 vocabulary. This transliteration sheet is for the convenience of family members who aren’t familiar with Hebrew, but who would like to help their students with their vocabulary review – a very important part of the modern Hebrew program.
For the Torah Study section of our class, each table group received an information packet about one of the last three Torah Portions: Mishpatim, Terumah, and Tetzaveh (the Portion for this Shabbat). A fourth packet described the portable desert Tabernacle and its furnishings.
Students presented summaries of the information they’d read, so that everyone could recognize the themes and main details of the Portions. One student, who had recently begun Bar Mitzvah studies, told us that his assigned Torah Portion was Terumah and asked to take home the Terumah information packet. Having pre-B’nai Mitzvah students identify a Torah Portion we’re studying as “theirs” is a special element of the Kitah Gimel experience.
We discussed the differences between the last four Torah Portions (Yitro, Mishpatim, Terumah, and Tetzaveh) and those that came before. Students insightfully pointed out that these four Portions focus on “rules instead of a tale,” that they aren’t mainly stories “about a person.”
A student suggested that the last four Portions we’ve studied involve “preparing” to live as a law-abiding community, preparing to build structures and sacred implements for worship, and even preparing unique clothing for the Priests.
As students lined up to go to T’fila, I showed them color pictures of the golden Menorah and the bejeweled Priestly Breastplate that Terumah and Tetzaveh had described.
Students were also invited to tell something they’d learned as their “ticket” to depart for T’fila.
One student was excited to learn about the gold covered Ark of the Covenant which inspired the movie “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark!”
In T’fila, the Cantor introduced students to several Torah trope symbols and melodies. Students really enjoy learning trope and applying it to familiar prayers. Please join our students for Wednesday T’fila and share the joy of seeing their synagogue skills blossom.
L’hitraot – See you soon!
Morah Ronni
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- Starting Over, Starting Up, Reviewing and Re-thinking….Again! - June 6, 2014