Temple Beth Tikvah Religious School: Last post of 2012!

For our final day of Religious School at TBT in 2012, classes were hard at work on some really important topics.

Seventh graders read pages 17-19 in the Prayer Companion book to practice their reading of the Avot prayer and reviewed the root words they have been studying! (Take a look at Sunday's post to see the words) Students also read and discussed this week's Torah portion, Vayigash. I was able to join the class as they continued their study of the Holocaust, reviewing chapter 4 from their text book. Students used the reproduced primary sources and excerpts from the text to discuss aspects of the Holocaust, including the Einstazgruppen, but then talked about the various and numerous Righteous Helpers, such as Oskar Schindler, the inspiration for the movie, Schindler's List. As always, the students were thoughtful and respectful in their discussion.

The sixth graders spent their time studying famous Jews from American History after having read Chapter 4 from their text book on the men and women they learned about in greater detail today. Students read about Emma Lazarus, Uriah P. Levy, Levi Strauss, and David Belasco. They answered questions about their individual histories and how being Jewish helped shape their lives. They also were able to spend a little bit of time reviewing their Hebrew skills after the children read one of Emma Lazarus's poems, The New Colossus.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The fifth grade spent half of their day working on Hebrew, reading the Yotzeir Or in partners and as a class. They were able to show off their skills when I stopped in, and I was impressed with by their skills! Students have homework to practice reading the Yotzeir Or over vacation. We suggested reading the prayer each day during at least two commercial breaks to stay on top of their skills. Students also talked about becoming a B'Nei Mitzvah. Their substitute, Jess, was able to tell the students about Mtizvah projects, and as a twin herself, let the twins in the classroom know how a B'Nei Mitzvah (when there is more than one person on the bimah) works at TBT!

The third and fourth graders spent their day working on Hebrew as well. Students have been learning the days of the week in Hebrew as well as the numbers from 0-10! Ms. Besser has sent kids home with vocabulary sheets to study and practice the days of the week and numbers 0-10. (Don't worry parents, She also sent home a "cheat sheet" with transliterations to allow you to help your child study!) Students also need to continue to practice the two lines of Modeh Ani pictured below and included in their text book on page 58, lines 2 and 3.