This week we started the unit for Hakarat HaTov, the 5^th unit in the ShalomLearning curriculum.  As we looked at the value of Hakarat Hatov, we wanted our students to find specific quirks or character traits that wouldn’t necessarily be noticed as “good” unless we call them out.

Recap:

·        Students learned the value of Hakarat HaTov, translated as “recognizing the good.”

·        Students connected the past value of Achrayut to our current value, using the power of meditation to calm their minds and focus on what is good around them right now.

·        Students discovered that as God created the world, “God saw that it was Good.” This is a good foundation for text study.

Table Talk: How does recognizing the good in others help us to learn more about ourselves?  How can meditation help us to recognize the good around us? 

MyShalomLearning Activity: 3.5.2 for next week Hakarat Hatov Week 2

Time to meditate: Some people share what they are thinking either in poems, stories, songs, or conversations. Try to meditate now and share what you are grateful for in any kind of form you prefer. You can record yourself in a video and upload it, you can write a poem, a song, or even a short story. Upload your work to My.ShalomLearning.org!

Ivrit:

This week the Gimel class focused their attention on the V’ahavta (the first paragraph of the Shema).  The yeladim also engaged in Hebrew letter – yoga, shaping their bodies into our Hebrew letters!

Next week:

We will talk about Jewish rituals and texts that discuss showing gratitude for ourselves and for our families. We will start with the ritual of saying a bracha or blessing after reaching a special event – the Shehecheyanu. 

Have a great week!

B’Shalom,

Mrs. Sender and Morah Myra

Dear Parents,

This week we focused on the idea that humans have an innate sense of possession.  The Jewish people do not attempt to deny this natural tendency but uses ritual to help moderate the default setting that, unbridled, leads to greed and jealousy.  The Jewish idea is that while we have the right to own and derive benefit from our possessions, we are responsible to share what we have to help others.  This is a fundamental idea to grasp prior to being able to fully understand the importance of giving tzedakah. 

Recap:

•        Students recognized how wealthy they are in comparison to the rest of the world.

•        Students should now view tzedakah as an obligation, not as charity.

•        Students should now consider their responsibility to give to others.

•        Students learned from their peers about why they give.

Table Talk: Discuss with the responses in Rabbi Manis Friedman’s video “Why Do You Give?” and in your own video.  Which answers did you find the most interesting?  Has this project changed why or how much you would give?  In your opinion, which charities should we give to?  Do you believe in the idea that everything in the world belongs to God, and that it is our responsibility, therefore, to share what we have with others?

My.ShalomLearning.org Activity for next week: 4.4.4 Achrayut Week 4  

Next week:

Next week we fill focus on how we are fortunate to have our needs met.  This creates a responsibility to help those people who do not have their needs met.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Marc Sender          

In a break from our usual curriculum, the Dalet class spent much of our time developing ideas for our Purim carnival booths. Students brainstormed options for the three booths, then put them to a plural vote with each student allowed to vote as many as three times. Once our choices were confirmed, we divided up to plan and create posters, a process that began in out class and continued in the art studio during the following period. -Hazzan Szenes-Strauss (Mr. S.)

Dear Parents,

This week we continued our work in our unit of Achrayut, we focused on: How can the value of achrayut come to life in a community?

Recap:

•      Students learned about various models of achrayut in communities

•      Students applied what they have learned about achrayut to a “sim city” model community (a kibbutz/communal living arrangement of their creative design) and their own class.

•      Students created their own model community and presented them to the class

Table Talk: Discuss what you would have in your model community.  What would the jobs be?  Who would make more/less?  How would needs be met

MyShalomLearning:

For Next Week:

·         Week 4 Questions for Achrayut 

Next Week: We wrap up our unit on Achrayut

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Marc Sender

We reviewed what we had learned during the previous lesson when we read through a play based on the book of Ruth. Students began to address the questions of how this story treats food insecurity, both from the perspective of people experiencing it and people interacting with them. We also explored some of the Torah-based rules that form the background of “Ruth,” including which parts of a cultivated field must be left for the poor.-Hazzan Szenes-Strauss (Mr. S.)

This past week, the Heh students continued to work on Torah Trope and the Torah reading for the next SFP which will be taking place on Saturday April 22. -Mr. Lerner

The students worked on “Mi Chamocha,” “Hashkiveinu” and the “V’sham’ru” prayers. We practice reading and discussed the meaning of the prayers. We talked about praying with kavanah (intention), when “Mi Chamoha” was said first time and why “the children of Israel shall guard the Shabbat.  For the easiest access to review the Hebrew letters and sounds, please go to the Hebrew Step-By-Step page of our website: https://www.amyisrael.org/hebrew-step-by-step.html  Thank you, Morah Anna & Ms. Rosenfeld