CBHT Religious School
Weekly Newsletter - 11/14/14
Our Hebrew Word of the Week: סֵפֶר
Our word of the week was סֵפֶר (sefer), meaning "book". Rabbi told us that a Torah scroll is called a Sefer Torah - and that it's a mitzvah to write a Sefer Torah in our lifetimes. We also talked about the sofer - the Torah scribe that visited our congregation this week (see photo below). We learned that the little Sifrei Torah in our ark are not actually written by hand a sofer like our big Torah scrolls. And of course, in Hebrew, we call a religious school a Bet Sefer, "a house of the Book". This Sunday our terms will be a pair of of words: כֵּן and לֹא (and a few more sets of opposites, too!)
Highlights from Sunday, November 9th
- In Parparim Playgroup we found new treasures in our rice box: a small wooden challah. We welcomed our new friend, Abel. We sang our favorite songs "Give Light" and "We're Building a Better World!"
- In Gan Yeldadim we talked about different kinds of mitzvot and made a book for Ms. Shirley as a part of the mitzvah of caring for people who are feeling sick. We welcomed Micah to our class and read about "The Best Place for a Penny": The tzedakah box!
- In Kitah Bet we welcomed our new friend, Elias to the class and enjoyed wonderful visit with CBHT president, JoAnne Rosenblum. We were interested to hear what her role is in making our synagogue family run smoothly. So far we've met with Rabbi, and Religious School Director, Lauren, and Sacred Music Director James. We really enjoy our one-on-one time with these heroes of our synagogue!
- In Kitah Dalet we had a very special visitor, a friend of Carole's who is a Buddhist nun. She told us about her spiritual practice and we were able to compare it to Judaism and discuss the similarities and differences between Buddhism and Judaism (and some of our young scholars took copious notes throughout her presentation!)
- In Kitah Hey we are preparing for our service on December 5th. We are working with Lauren and Anne to prepare a d'var Torah that brings together the lessons of Hanukkah and the visions of the prophets through our own investigation of the meaning of tikkun olam and bringing light to the world.
- In Kitah Vav we worked with Geri learning about the book of Proverbs - reading some proverbs ourselves and even writing some of our own. Wait until you see what we do with the proverbs we write!
- In Kesher we talked about Jewish food and learned about Jewish ways of eating - discussing the various food we eat on holidays (with a special focus on Sephardi food!). We reviewed some of our modern Hebrew vocabulary about eating and started a new Hebrew unit about traveling!
- In Hebrew we want to say "Kol haKavod" to Keira, Isaak, Bennett, Rachel, and Linsday for moving up! Way to go!
Upcoming Events
- Our next Religious School Shabbat Service is coming up on Friday, December 5th at 6:30 pm, featuring a d'var Torah from Kitah Hey! Once again, ALL of our students are invited to lead services. This was a huge hit and so much fun the last time, so let's do it again!
- Our last session before Winter break is Sunday, December 14th. Lauren, Rabbi, and Debbie will be in Washington DC with many of our teens, but our teachers will be here holding down the fort and helping kids celebrate Hanukkah in their classrooms. Because many of our madrichim will be in DC as well, we invite parent volunteers to help in the classroom. Please contact Lauren, Debbie, or your child's teacher if you'd like to lend a hand that day.
- The first night of Hanukkah is Tuesday, 12/16.
- Stay tuned for details about our annual Menorah Making Contest. You'll find our more on Sunday morning!
- Our congregational Hanukkah celebration will be at 6:30 on Friday, December 19th. Call Julie in the office to make reservations for your family!