Class Updates
Tefillah
With Morah Sonia
In Kitah Dalet we continue to explore different Tefillot and B'rachot. We have learned that Blessings and ritual objects help us connect to Jewish history and Jewish people and help us find the sacred in our day, week and year. We have explored in depth the Havdalah ceremony that separates Shabbat from the rest of the week and learned about the purpose of this ceremony. We were able to look closely at the text of the blessing and practiced reading fluency reading and chanting different parts of the blessing, We were also playing the games in order to learn the vocabulary and match the Hebrew with English translation.
We were also practicing the different prayers such as Shema and V'Ahavta, Barechu and Mi Kamocha, were we had an opportunity to discuss the ways we recognize and celebrate miraculous events and different ways we celebrate freedom along with practicing our reading skills.
Stories and Comics for the Book of Joshua
In Tanakh class, we just finished learning the 4th chapter of the book of Joshua, where the people take stones from the Jordan River and turn them into a monument to remember their entry into the land of Canaan. We wrote short stories and comics to imagine what it was like when we visited the stone monument many years later.
Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)
With Morah Sarah
Kitah Dalet has begun our study of Tanakh this year by learning about the various books of the Hebrew Bible. In previous grades, most of our learning has focused on the Chumash, or first five books of the Torah. We began learning these new texts this year by looking at a chart of the different sections of Tanakh: Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim and identifying which types of books are included in each. We have had an opportunity to do some hands-on learning, looking at the different books within the Etz Hayim chumash they are familiar with from Shabbat services. We then did a text study from the end of the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) as Moses is about to die, and prepare the Israelites for Joshua as their next leader. Ask us what words of advice Moses has for the people!
Getting into the mood for Tefillah
with Morah Sonia
In Kitah Dalet we started our Tefillah curriculum with setting up the appropriate mood for Tefillah learning.
After we discussed, what is a prayer and what prayers we have already learned, I had an opportunity to share with my students my personal Tefillah journey that started with a very special prayer Shema that had changed my life. The students were really inspired by my story and had so many questions to ask! I hope that this have really sparkled their interest in the subject.
Last class the student were divided into 4 groups and each of the group had to explore the different aspect of this prayer, such as what are saying, when are we saying it, how are we saying and where are we saying that. This week the students will have the opportunity to teach each other what they have learned.
We are looking forward to many more in October!
Chaggim (Holidays)
With Morah Livia
Now that the holidays in Tishrei are over, we are shifting our focus to a holiday we have each week, Shabbat. We studied the vocabulary ק.ד.ש We learned different words with the root and understood what is root and how it appears in Hebrew language. We talked about holiness and the holiness of Shabbat. We also linked the word "Kiddush" to Shabbat and we practiced the Kiddush reading. The students collaborated and understood the meaning and the relationship between the prayer and creation of Shabbat.