Today, in Kitah Gimel, students led the Blessings for Torah Study and cookies. In place of our usual attendance conversation, students completed a “Comprehensive Exercise.” This Comprehensive Exercise provided students with an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the vocabulary and language elements presented in Chapters One, Two, and Three of our text, Shalom Ivrit. As I correct the Comprehensive Exercises, I’ll be making note of the words and concepts which students know and which we can build upon. I’ll also be attentive to vocabulary and language areas which need further explanation and review.
Once students had completed the Comprehensive Exercise, they turned to the weekly Torah Portion, Va-Yetze. They read the section of Va-Yetze which describes Jacob’s dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder which reached from the ground to the heavens. Students were asked to consider a question which the Rabbis posed in the Midrash (a collection of Torah-inspired stories): How is prayer like the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream…?
In their responses, students referred to concepts which the Cantor had discussed with them in T’fila, and developed their own personal interpretations as well. Here are several examples of their comments:
We “go high” as we begin the service and “descend” as the service concludes.
In entering God’s presence, we take three steps forward and three steps back as we pray “Adonai S’fatai Tiftach…” “The angels are entering God’s presence and then leaving.”
“The angels are like messengers of God, sending God our prayers, then coming back down to reward us.”
Mature responses to a challenging question!
We began Chapter Four in our modern Hebrew text and added six new vocabulary cards for review at home. As we progress, home review of vocabulary is very important in helping students to succeed at spoken Hebrew. The more familiar they are with the words, the more readily they can use these words in practicing speech patterns, and the more easily they can understand the modern Hebrew which they hear in class.
Chapter Four introduces additional words related to the family and adjectives.
In T’fila, students entered into the spirit of “ascending” and “descending” which they had described so nicely in interpreting Jacob’s dream.
L’hitraot – See you soon
Morah Ronni
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