Temple Beth Tikvah Religious School: Love and Miracles!

During Tefillah today, Rabbi Offner talked about the miracles the we have each experienced in the last week. I couldn't help but mention the daffodils that finally bloomed in my yard. They are usually open and bright by Passover, but spring seems to have decided to mosey in this year! I was reminded of something that my mother's rabbi, Rabbi Jerome Malino said to her and she's repeated year after year to me, 'Though we know that spring will come every year, it's always a beautiful miracle when it actually does." I hope that you enjoy the signs of spring as they arrive! We will have our spring break soon and will not have school on Sunday, April 14th, Wednesday, April 17th and Sunday, April 21st. We do have school this Wednesday, so we look forward to seeing our 3rd through 7th graders this week and on Wednesday, April 24th when we return to school.

Also during Tefillah, our 5th graders shared the V'Ahavtah from the bimah and Rabbi Offner talked about the root word LOVE in the word V'Ahavath. The prayer talks about loving G-d and students offered their thoughts on way that we can honor and love G-d every day. Talk to your child about their thoughts on loving G-d! We started the service by lighting memorial candles for Yom HaShoah and honoring those that we lost, saying, "We will not forget."

In classes today, the 9th grade confirmation class continued to prepare for their Confirmation service on Friday, May 17th. Our 8th graders discussed Jewish law in relationship to abortion. They used their knowledge of concepts like "an eye for an eye," additional information from Dr. Kaye, and their own perspectives to discuss the issue.

Our seventh graders were excited to learn that Dr. Stein has planned a field trip to New York to the Jewish Heritage Museum on April 28th. Please contact her if you have additional questions about the trip. During class, students worked on their Hebrew, translating texts with their knowledge of suffixes, root words and common words and phrases. Students also learned about Israel in preparation for their Israel presentations on Wednesday.

The sixth graders are eagerly anticipating their visit with the 6th grade CCD students from St. George's Catholic church in Guilford. In preparation, they had an extensive discussion on what they want to share with their Catholic contemporaries and the questions that they have for them when they arrive. In Hebrew, students worked on fluency by participating in a small class competition.

The fifth grade class was busy preparing for their presentation of the V'Ahavatah and reading about the Holocaust for Yom HaShoah. They read stories of survivors, poetry from the Holocaust and readings from the Holocaust service on Saturday evening.

Third and fourth graders took a test on Hebrew vocabulary. They wrote in Hebrew, translated the words into English and read the words in Hebrew. Students also read about the Holocaust and Yom HaShoah. Homework is to read about Yom Ha'atzmaot on pages 143-151. They should complete the bottom of page 152 and top of 153, writing their answers in their binders.

Second grade continued their good work with Hebrew, practicing forming letter, identifying the sounds of each letter and practicing pronunciation. They had a discussion about families, Hebrew names and family lineage. They read the story, "Justin's Hebrew Name" and discussed their Hebrew names. When we return to classes, they will continue talking about family trees and have a quiz on the Aleph Bet!

The first graders learned about Yom HaShoah by reading the story, "The Lily Cupboard." Students participated in an age-appropriate conversation about the Holocaust and talked about the people who helped Jews, moving toward the concept of Mitzvahs. They read the story, "How Mitzvah Giraffe Got his Long, Long Neck." Students also continued working with their Hebrew letters in class!