Dear Ulpanon Bet Families, This week we continued our Sukkot holiday exploration by introducing the significance of the Sukkah in giving shelter to the Israelites in the desert and in celebrating the harvest. We discussed how the Sukkah is built and sang Sukkot songs. We read the book, S'chach La’Sukkah, about a little boy who built and decorated his sukkah, and who needed a s’chach (the covering for the roof that is made from branches and leaves) to complete it. The boy asked different trees for help (Cypress, Olive, Fig and Pomegranate), without success, until the Date tree provided him with the s’chach and Lulav. The children learned that the s’chach should provide shade, but also enable the dwellers of the Sukkah to see the sky - the sun during the day and the stars at night. We looked at the different branches in class and discussed the similarities and differences between the branches and the fruits that the trees provide us. The children were also invited to sample fruits in class; the figs, olives, pomegranate seeds and dates were a big hit! The children learned about the traditional Lulav and Etrog (date palm, willow and myrtle branches and leaves), and about the Four Species and their symbolism: Etrog symbolizes the heart with which we love and feel for others, Palm refers to the spine/backbone, uprightness, Myrtle symbolizes the eyes with which we see and observe all around us, Willow represents the lips, the sweet words and saying the prayers. During our visit with Rabbi Sari in the big Sukkah, we sang Sukkot blessings and had a chance to hold the Etrog and shake the Lulav to symbolize that God is all around us. The children had fun creating kishutim (decorations) and hanging them up in the Sukkah; they also fulfilled one of the mitzvot of Sukkot by eating snack in the Sukkah. We introduced the holiday of Simchat Torah (the Rejoicing of/with the Torah), where we celebrate completion of the end of the yearly cycle of reading the Torah, the story of the Jewish people, and the beginning of the new cycle. We visited with Rabbi Josh in the Sanctuary, where he showed the children the Torah scrolls and explained how we roll them again from the beginning. Rabbi Josh also told the children about the Mitzvot (commandments) from the Torah that guide us in our daily lives, and that each letter and word in the Torah is written carefully by a special scribe. Each child then had the honor to standing with Rabbi Josh on the bimah and read with the yad (hand) from the Torah scroll. They felt proud to connect with the Hebrew letters and words! Upon our return to class, we had an insightful discussion about the how the Hebrew words in the Torah scrolls appear different from other Hebrew books that the children know. The children took time to Compare and Contrast; they noted and compared the size and shapes of the letters, the lack of ‘dots’ (vowels) in the Torah and that the Torah did not have any pictures. Some additional observations were:
In preparation for our school Simchat Torah celebration next week, the children created beautiful flags with watercolors and Hebrew letters and decorated them with a Torah and sequins. The flags also have a picture of each child experiencing the Torah with Rabbi Josh in the Sanctuary. Thank you to Rabbi Josh for his guidance, patience and Nedivut Lev, as he dedicated time to our class and to each child individually. During P.E. with Coach Danny, the children rotated between three different activities to practice and strengthen their hand/eye coordination, locomotor and fine motor skills: A Velcro paddle toss and catch, a soft foam Frisbee game where the children aimed, threw and chased the Frisbee, and balancing/catching/returning the ball on the hand-held trampoline Boundaloons. Ditza came to sing Sukkot songs with us, including Shlomit Bonah Sukkah (Shlomit Builds a Sukkah), Yesh Li Yom Chag (I Have a Holiday) and BaSukkah Shelanu (In Our Sukkah). We sang with bells and tambourines, starting and stopping on yarok (green) and adom (red). Reminder:
Chag Simchat Torah Sameach! B'vracha, Shoshi and Meirav
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March 2020
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