Like a Maccabee

This year as we celebrate Hanukkah in Kitah Vav, we aim to increase our Jewish knowledge beyond what some call "Pediatric Judaism." The holiday of Hanukkah is more than a children's holiday centered around lighting candles and getting gifts. Hanukkah is about an amazing story, a miracle as many suggest.

Did you know the Maccabees were zealots?

Did you know the first fight actually began as Jew against Jew?

Do you know the real fear was not of physical extermination, but of spiritual annihilation?

The message we hope to share this year is one of standing up for our beliefs because we are proud of who we are. This year we hope to teach our Kitah Vav students to believe in themselves, and know who they are through learning and understanding.

Hanukkah is a minor holiday with many rituals, and families continue to create new traditions to teach the special messages which are part of our history. What are the messages we want our children to understand? Despite pressure to conform, Mattathias and his five sons refused to bow down to idols. Being a Maccabee, whether long ago or today means fighting for the right to be different, and being proud of these differences. We also need to reinforce the concept that being small in number does not mean being insignificant. The Jewish people have always been small in number, but we must continue to be strong in spirit. We know that each of us can make a difference in the world, and this is the legacy of the Maccabees we want to reinforce for our Kitah Vav students.

Have a wonderful Hanukkah and a safe, happy, and healthy winter break.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Wishing you a very kosher Hanukkah.

A Very Jewish Thanksgiving

When the Pilgrims came to American in 1620, they felt just like the Children of Israel. They too, had come to a new land to find freedom. The Bible was a very important part of their lives. Their first year in America was very hard. When their first harvest was completed, they wanted to have a celebration to thank G-D for helping them survive. They read in the Bible about the harvest feast called Sukkot, and they believed they too should give thanks to G-D for helping them. They called their American celebration of Sukkot, "Thanksgiving."

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks. The oldest Jewish prayers are the brachot, those prayers which begin with "Baruch Atah Adonai," Blessed are You, Adonai." The students are quite thankful for the many commandments we observe, and sing words of praise and gratitude, recite prayers before enjoying the bounty of their senses, and sing brachot before fulfilling the mitzvot. Here is just a sample of the many things the students in Kitah Vav are thankful for. From my house to yours, I wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving Celebration.

Thank you for G-D making my family healthy. In these time of H1N1, it is amazing that none of us have gotten it yet. Also, thank you for not having any cancers or life threateding diesease. Thank you G-D for my education. In order tohelp the world out of its current state, we will need to be able to do many things, especially in maths and sciences.

Thank you for my life. I really like to live, it's so fun. I wouldn't have anthing without life. Thank you for trees. I like to breathe. Air is important and comes with trees.

Thank you for my great family, my good health, and my home. Thank you for food to eat, my beautiful room, clothing I get to wear, and my good education.

Thank you for my life. By that, I mean thank you for letting me meet so many people. Now I have a lot of friends. Thank you for all you do. Thank you for keeping my family safe. For protecting me from H1N1 9swine). I am so blessed with my family. They are greater than anything else in the whole world. Thank you for a great dog too! She is crazy but I can tell you put a little extra magic in her.

Thank you for my life and for my family. I love my family. Thank you for my good education. I enjoy learning about new stuff every day.
Thank you for love, knowledge and life. Thank you for all you have done. Thank you for Judaism.

I am thankful for my friends and loved ones, my mom and dad. I am thankful for my shelter, food, and a good family. I am thankful for life, a good school, clothes, restaurants and bathrooms.
Thank you for for my good fortune and my ability to give to others who need my giving. Thank you for opening my lips to pray to you for my intelligence, clothes, normal birth, spirit and everything else.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for shelter and food.

Thank you for my clothes, my life, shelter, my knowledge, making us the chosen people, my doing well in school. Thank you for sight, speaking, hearing, smelling, and being Jewish. Thank you for the Torah.

Thank you for my life. Thank you for my health, our world, and my friends.

Thank you for my family and my health. Thank you for my house, my friends, and birth. Thank you for my food, my long hair, my smartness, my Jewishness, and my hearing.

Thank you for my life and my family. Thank you for my good friends and my good education.

Thank you for a good family. Thank yo for making me smart.
I am thankful for life. Thank you for giving me food, shelter, night and day. Thank you for sights, hearing, health, clothing, school, education, taste, and Torah. Thank you for giving me feelings, emotions, family, water, toilets, friends, Judaism, knowledge, and entertainment.

Thank you for life. Thank you for knowledge and live. Thank you for giving us family, friends, and schools, Thank you for giving use eyes to see, and ears to hear. Thank you fo rmaking us the chosen people. Thank you for giving us clothes to wear and good looks.

I am thankful for life, food, water, shelter, and all of the necessities I have in my life. Thank you for giving me sight, taste, feel, hearing, smell, school, night, day, family, and knowledge.

Thank you for my pet dog Satchel because he is so awesome. Thank you for my very great educaton because I wouldn't be smart now.

Ben Zoma Who?

Pirke Avot - 4:1 Ben Zoma says:
Who is wise? He who learns from every person...
Who is brave? He who overcomes his evil inclinations...
Who is rich? He who is happy with what he has...
Who is respected? He who respects his fellow man...

Ben Zoma tells us that a wise person might not know more than anyone else, that someone rich may not have a lot of money, that a mighty person might not be physically strong, and that a person we honor might not be a hero or an award winner.

Ben Zoma teaches us that these good qualities are about the way a person respects other people, and gets respect in return. When a person acts with respect to others, he or she earns respect in return.

What do you do to earn your good name?
What do you do to show respect to others?
What do you do to earn respect from others?

Respect and our Role in the World

What character traits help us define who we are as individuals?
What are the ways we can interact positively with others?
What are our responsibilities to improve the world?

These are some pretty heavy questions, and they are just a few of the many topics we touch upon each week in our Kitah Vav community. Students are encouraged to think about how they can be most successful in the world we live in, and be knowledgeable, informed, and intelligent Jews living in a non-Jewish world.

Judaism has much to say about how we live our lives. The Jewish Values we talk about on Sunday and Tuesdays are not just something we use while at Religious School or when we visit the synagogue. These values are life skills we need to practice 24/7. These are tools to use everyday. We are Jewish all of the time, and being that Judaism is a religion of action, we are expected to use these life skills on a daily basis.

A GOOD NAME

Rabbi Shimon said,
There are three crowns:
The crown of Torah;
The crown of Priesthood;
and the crown of Royalty.
However, the crown of a good name is greater than all of them.
Pirke Avot - 4:13

As we continue on our Life Cycle Journey, we have been talking about our names, and what it means to have a good name. Jewish tradition suggests naming babies after a loved one or in honor of someone who has a good name. When we are honored by having someone elses name, we are motivated to carry on the good work of those before us. The most valuable things in life are those we work the hardest for, and that includes making sure our name remains honorable. A good name has much to do with one's reputation. What do we have to do to protect our reputation? As our discussion progressed, we talked about Simchat Bat, or the naming ceremony for a girl, and the Brit Milah, the circumcion ceremony, where baby boys are given their names.

TABLE TALK:
What are you doing right now to earn your good name?
Who were you named for, or how was your name chosen?
What values did this person have that you can embrace?

ON OUR WAY

With the full moon looming overhead, we left our calendar unit behind us and began our journey through our first life cycle, Brit Milah, the single thread that binds all of our lessons together. From one little commandment the energy in our classroom peaked, as we talked about the idea of revelation, how we are all connected to each other through faith, and finally, the commandment to circumcise our male children.

In this week's Torah Portion, Lech L'cha, we learn about Abraham starting a new life and the promise that the Jewish people would be as plentiful as the stars in the sky. We also learn that G-D revealed himself to Abraham, and the two of them made a promise to each other. Abraham promised to circumcise himself, his son, and all those who belonged to his community, from generation to generation, and G-D would reward the Jewish people by making them a great nation. Even today, this single commandment binds us to every generation, past, present, and future.

Discussions in class began with the idea of revelation, and why we follow the laws in the Torah. We talked about the covenant of circumcision and why we are commanded to perform circumcision, or as some suggested, mutilate our babies, why only boys are commanded to participate in the circumcision ceremony, and how our Jewish duties and obligations begin at birth at the hands of our parents, and as we approach Bar or Bat Mitzvah, we begin to take responsibility for these same mitzvot as adult members of the Jewish community.

In our Hebrew Language rotation we have been polishing our reading skills and mastering the chanting of the Shabbat Torah Service. Students are working in small groups, one on one with tutors, and in pairs. Finally, in our Jewish Values and community rotation, we have been talking about how we fit into the community and our synagogue. What brought us to Shaarey Zedek, and how does the synagogue continuously enrich our lives and connnect us to each other.

Thank you to all of the families who donated candy to our Halloween Tzedakah Project. It's not too late to participate.

Do something kind for someone, and have a great week.