Dear Ulpanon Bet Families,
This week we continued with our Sukkot activities as we joined our Ulpanon Aleph friends in the Sukkah on Monday for snack, where we were joined by Rabbi Sari. Rabbi Sari sang the Sukkot blessings with the children and each child had an opportunity to shake the Lulav and Etrog to symbolize that God is all around us. Because Sukkot is an agricultural/harvest holiday, the families brought in fruit for the children to prepare a fruit salad. The children had a wonderful time on Tuesday, chopping and eating the delicious fruit. On Wednesday, we made fruit smoothies with the remaining fruit; the children were very excited to add the smoothies to their snacks. Also on Wednesday, we had the honor of visiting the 3rd grade Sukkah exhibit, where we admired and compared the individual and unique Sukkot on display. The Ulpanon Bet class had a special visit from the Israeli delegation of 6th graders and teachers who are here as part of the Wise School-El Harizi School Partnership. The children were eager to share their knowledge of the Hebrew calendar and singing of the months, dates and days. We even invited the Israeli children to dance an Israeli Dance with us, and the children were so proud as they danced Adamah and Shamayim (Earth and Sky) with them! This week, the children also had a blast learning Shubi Dubi Dubi, a new Israeli dance about a Dubi(Teddy Bear). 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 theyad (hand) from the Torah scroll. They were very proud to connect with the words and recognize Hebrew letters! Upon our return to class, we had a wonderful discussion about the how the Hebrew words in the Torah looked different from other Hebrew books that the children know; the children noted and compared the size and shapes of the letters, the lack of ‘dots’ (vowels) in the Torah and that there were no pictures in the Torah scrolls. We talked about the keter (crown) on top of the Torah scrolls and how the Torah had a festive ‘dress’ or covering. The children suggested that theketer was because the Torah is “really important” just like a queen or king. The children created beautiful flags with watercolors and Hebrew letter stickers which they peeled. They then decorated them with a Torah and sequins. The flags also have a picture of the children experiencing Torah with Rabbi Josh. On Friday, after holding Shabbat in the Sukkah and singing songs with Cantor Emma and Maestro Kates, the children joined the EC Shabbat and Simchat Torah celebration in the Sanctuary, where they marched and danced with their special flags. Thank you to Rabbi Josh for his guidance, patience and generosity, as he dedicated time to our class and to each child individually. Thank you so much to all of you for sending the fruit for our amazing fruit salad. Please note that in addition to the Sukkot and Simchat Torah pictures that are included herewith, our Weebly page will be back up and running with more pictures and updates next week. Reminders: · Next Friday, October 20th, is the Beit Issie Farmer’s Market Shabbat Shalom! B'vracha, Shoshi and Meirav
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Shoshi Persellin Archives
March 2020
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