B”H 5773 – 2013 Calgary Yachad Hebrew School Summary Report May 2013 - Sivan 5773 Dear Parents, We are pleased to inform you that the school year at Yachad is going great! It is wonderful to see your children’s progress in both Judaic and Hebrew classes. Below is a short summary/report of what we have accomplished in the last series of classes. Judaic Studies We have been continuing our lesson plan by learning the Parsha (Torah portion) of the week along with learning the history, laws, and customs before each holiday. Here is a quick synopsis of the parshiot that we have recently learned. Parshat Shemini Parshat Shemini begins by discussing the eighth and last day of the inauguration of the Mishkan. It speaks of the many offerings brought and sacrifices made. it also mentions Nadav and Avihu, Aharon's two sons who brought their offering up to God on the Golden Mizbeiach without permission. The consequence to their actions was that they died. The parsha continues to talk all about Kosher. Kosher animals, we are taught, must chew their cud and have split hooves. A kosher fish has fins and scales and birds are all kosher except for the ones listed in the Torah. As for bugs and rodents, we learn that they are never Kosher. Lastly, this Parsha discusses the laws of purity and impurity and examples of ways to purify yourself should you become impure for instance, immersing oneself into a body of water called a mikvah. In class, we discussed the importance of food to help our bodies grow. The children all agreed that although unhealthy food sometimes tastes better and is more tempting, we need to eat healthy food to help us grow strong and healthy. We then talked about Kosher food and how it is important because that is what helps our souls to be strong and healthy. The children enjoyed a variety of games that reminded them about what they had learned. The children were very excited when a scavenger hunt was announced, allowing them to run and collect pictures of Kosher food from all over the room and make themselves a yummy Kosher sandwich to enjoy. Everyone was exhausted but smiling widely after the intense ball game we played where the "meat ball" and the "dairy ball" needed to be passed around super quickly but could never touch or be in the same teams hands at once. We ended class with a great story to calm us down from all the excitement and before we knew it, our time together was up. Parshat Tazria-Metzorah Parshat Tazria-Metzorah goes more into detail regarding the laws of purity and impurity. We hear of a skin disease people used to get in the times of the temple called tzara'as. This is something that would appear on one's skin as a consequence for gossiping. We learn from this about the importance of only saying kind words about others and to always be aware of what we are saying. We played a game of broken telephone to show that once you say something, you cannot take your words back and sometimes even if we say something innocently, without meaning to hurt another, it can be interpreted in a hurtful manner. We took this game of broken telephone even further when we introduced the live version to the children. Showing us their acting skills, the children enjoyed trying to copy every action of the person before them, and noticing how drastically the story can change as it is passed along. We also played a fun ball game called "Keep Away" that taught us that when someone is saying something not nice, it is our job to stay away and not listen. Lastly, we played a game called "Clean your Mouth" wherein the children learned to differentiate between the different types of speech (positive and negative) as they moved around the circle. Finally, we ended with a story about a man who was told that words are just like a pillowcase full of feathers and once you let them leave your mouth, there is no way you can pick them all up. Therefore, we need to be extra careful to make sure that anything that isn't nice shouldn't leave our mouths. Parshat Acharei-Kedoshim This week’s Parsha begins by listing off several mitzvot that we are commanded to do including being moral and modest, being honest, treating others with kindness, fearing your parents etc. One particular mitzvah that is mentioned is 'V'ahavta le'reacha kamocha' which means to love your fellow lie yourself. We discussed what this means and the concept of putting other people first. We also spoke about different ways we can perform this mitzvah. For instance, we can say nice things about others, respect others, share, comfort the sick etc. Using adorable finger puppets, the children all made wonderful short puppet shows to demonstrate acts of friendship and caring for their peers. They were all very creative in thinking up examples for their shows and they all really enjoyed watching the other children’s shows as well. The children then gathered around for a friendly version of musical chairs where everyone wins! Chairs kept being taken away after every round, and children were forced to pile up on top of one another until they exploded into fits of laughter. This led right into a fun game where the children were able to learn more about one another, their likes and dislikes, through an active game of sitting and piling on top of each other. Lastly, as a fun review game, the children were asked to answer parsha related questions in under 10 seconds, sometimes resulting in ridiculous responses from the kids as the pressure built. By the end of the game, everyone was laughing and we couldn't believe time was already up. Parshat Emor - Lag Ba’Omer Between Pesach and Shavuos, there is a seven week countdown called the counting of the Omer. It is a time to work on ourselves in preparation of the giving of the Torah on Shavuos. The children were introduced to this concept through an interactive activity of "this or that" wherein the children grouped themselves based on their preferences, likes and behaviours. The children gained a better understanding of the idea that although everyone is different, that doesn't mean that one is better or worse than the other. We also discussed how everyone has traits that they can work on bettering in themselves and how the only way to do that is through practice. The children all enjoyed a fun game of slides and ladders in which they made their way up to Mt. Sinai while working on their character every one of the 50 steps that they took. The children understood that sometimes we slip up and slide down and other times we leap up and climb up ladders when we work on ourselves and become better people. We learned about making goals for ourselves and working together to achieve these goals through a fun-filled ball game called ‘G-O-A-L’. The purpose of the game was to keep the ball up for 10, then 20, then 30 hits, without ever having two people touching the ball at the same time. We discussed the concept of setting attainable goals. Just the same way we started by hitting up the ball 10 times and then as we got better, we worked up to hitting it 30 times, so too goes for our character traits that we want to improve upon. The children realized that starting small is key and will give them the strength to work up to something bigger. Lastly, the children heard an empowering story of Rabbi Akiva, a great Jewish leader who started out from practically nothing and through hard work and support from his wife, achieved greatness by the end of his life. Parshat Bhar-Bechukosai This week’s parsha speaks of many different topics including Shemita (sabbatical year), Yovel (Jubilee), and Ma'aser (giving a tenth of your earnings to charity). The parsha then goes on to discuss the many blessings that will be bestowed upon the Jewish people provided they follow the laws in the Torah, and the curses that will follow should we choose to disregard the Torah completely. The children were shown a variety of optical illusions which they really enjoyed looking at to see what they were able to see. We then spoke about how optical illusions are a perfect example of the fact that things are not always as they may seem at first glance. Sometimes things may happen to us or to people we care about, and at first glance it may seem like something bad. Truth is, however, that everything God does is good, we just don't always see it. The children enjoyed playing a funny game called 'it's not always like it seems' wherein the players each got a chance to act out a scenario while the audience thinks they are acting out something entirely different. The children were giggling and smiling throughout the entire time as they tried to guess what their friends were really acting out. We also played a silly game of headbands. We discussed how everything is for the best, it just may be hidden- just like the children's identity is hidden in this game. This game was a fun way to wrap up and review the Parsha while giving the children a chance to guess what may be on their heads.