Shalom. Students led the Blessings for Torah Study and cookies. In our attendance conversation, students commented that even though Ha ona choref (“The season is winter.”), it felt more like spring today. Modern Hebrew Language Students were given one minute to review the vocabulary words which had been assigned for homework. Then, without the help […]
Farewell to February and the Rest of the Bullshit Secular Holidays
Some of you may remember that in my last post, I embarked on a celebration of all of February’s bullshit secular holidays and got as far as Valentine’s Day. So, it turns out that I pretty much used up all the good holidays, but here’s some stuff I pulled out of my ass for the rest of the month- enjoy!
Grammy Awards- Feb 13
A Grammy is one of the greatest honors that a person can receive for excellence from an irrelevant organization in a dying industry which is desperately clinging to an outmoded business model – – right up there with Blacksmith of the Year, the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism and Knighthood. This year the theme was “Come as Your Favorite Protein-Rich Food,” but unfortunately, only Lady Gaga got the email and came as an egg. Several artists later apologized, including Justin Beiber who said that, had he known, he would have come as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crusts cut off; and Katy Perry, who said she would have come as a mouthful of Russell Brand’s spunk.
Shabbat Commentary – Va-Yak’hel
This week’s Torah Portion, Va-Yak’hel, echoes previous Portions. Moses addresses the children of Israel and repeats the instructions which God gave him for building the Mishkan and creating the furnishings and sacred accouterments associated with worship in this Holy Space. As God instructed, Moses begins by warning the children of Israel that no work is […]
Shalom Kitah Gimel Students and Families #18
Shalom Kitah Gimel Students and Families. Today students led the Blessings for Torah Study and cookies and the attendance conversation. Modern Hebrew Language Students were given 2 minutes to look over the vocabulary words which they’d been assigned last week for homework. We then applied these words to the Surprise Box game. Each student, in […]
Take It From Here #1 – Surprise Box
This post is the first of a series with the title, “Take It From Here.” The “Take It From Here” posts briefly describe an activity, a project, or a teaching strategy for you to take away and either use as is or modify to fit your grade level and learning environment. The ideas are meant […]
Shabbat Commentary – Ki Tissa
This week’s Portion, Ki Tissa, continues the theme of God and Moses on Mount Sinai. God gives Moses more instructions for the Israelites – instructions for taking a census; instructions for fashioning oil, incense, and utensils for Priestly rituals. God divinely inspires Betzalel, a master craftsman, to lead the building process. God tells Moses to […]
The Complexity of the School System
The month of February is always the most challenging month for Nursery School Directors, as it is the month of admissions and exmissions. It is the season of supporting families through the process of getting into ongoing schools and then reviewing hundreds of applications for a very limited number of spots here at the JCC for next September. […]
Shalom Kitah Gimel Students and Families #17
Shalom Kitah Gimel students and families. In Wednesday Hebrew class, we began with the Blessings for Torah Study and cookies. As part of our attendance conversation, we sang Yom Huledet Sameach (Happy Birthday) to two students who had recently celebrated their birthdays. Modern Spoken Hebrew As review, we re-read aloud the story Yom Sheleg (Snow […]
If Not Now, When – Blurring the Lines for the Future of Jewish Education
The dust is settling after the January JEA and NATE conferences. Synagogue educators of all stripes and flavors are returning to our old haunts: Congregations and real life. A taste of what is possible still remains in our mouths, though. We need to ask: How do we keep the spirit that we felt in Mt. […]
Hurray for February– the month of bullshit holidays!
Let’s say you’re someone who really enjoys fasting (bear with me, this is going someplace.) You don’t have an eating disorder and you’re not protesting anything, you just like to find any excuse you can to be really, really hungry. Well, if you’re a Muslim, you’re psyched. You’ve got Ramadan, a whole glorious month at the all you can’t eat buffet. If you’re Jewish, you may not get a full month, but there are still ample fasting opportunities: you’ve got Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Tisha B’Av (commemorating the destruction of the Second Temple), Tzom Gedalia (the fast of, um, Gedaliah?) and other fast days sprinkled throughout the year.
But what if you’re a Christian? If you’re Catholic, then you might fast by giving up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for Lent. If you’re a Protestant of some sort- well, the closest you’ll get to fasting is running out of Light Miracle Whip so you can’t bring deviled eggs to Bible study or skipping lunch after church because snake handling makes you queasy (I don’t know what you people do.).
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