Pardes Class Update 5-6-18
Please note that our final day of SJS for this school year is Sun, May 20. We hope that you will all join their us for that day when we celebrate our congregation’s 50th Anniversary. We will be having a catered Shavuot kiddush lunch. Please be sure to RSVP if you would like to join us: http://evite.me/6NP7Pm3eVY
Pardes has been assigned to bring sugar free jelly peaches and pears for the end of the year Am Yisrael SJS Food Drive to support the clients of the Ark. Please note that you are welcome to bring any item, we have just found that assigning specific items helps with the variety of foods that we receive for these food drives.
Class Update:
This past Sunday, Prozdor and Pardes students made us proud with their presentations on Jewish Heroes. Students were articulate, well-prepared and equipped with sophisticated media to enhance their presentations. This educational exercise allowed students to learn while they were doing research, hone their presentation skills and absorb valuable information from each other during the process. Thu, May 10, 2018
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 4-29-18
1. Please note that our final day of SJS for this school year is Sun, May 20. We hope that you will all join their us for that day when we celebrate our congregation’s 50th Anniversary. We will be having a catered Shavuot kiddush lunch. Please be sure to RSVP if you would like to join us: http://evite.me/6NP7Pm3eVY
2. Pardes has been assigned to bring sugar free jelly peaches and pears for the end of the year Am Yisrael SJS Food Drive to support the clients of the Ark. Please note that you are welcome to bring any item, we have just found that assigning specific items helps with the variety of foods that we receive for these food drives.
3.Prozdor and Pardes students will be presenting their Jewish Heroes presentations on Sun, May 6 in the Sanctuary. All Prozdor and Pardes students, regardless of Madrichim assignments, should report to the Sanctuary at 10:15 a.m. sharp dressed in Shabbat-type synagogue clothing to work with Cantor Simon and Mr. Arnet on the presentations. Written on Fri, May 4, 2018
Cantor Stuart Simon
Mr. Allan Arnet
To review, here is the project overview:
Jewish Heroes – May 6, 2018 – Prozdor and Pardes Students
- Amanda Alpert: Deborah Lipstadt
- David Bodansky: Elie Wiesel
- Jacob Brodsky: Nicholas Winton
- Alexis Burton: Oskar Schindler
- Joshua Doherty: Jan Zabinski
- Jayden Fogel: Chiune Sugihara
- Gabi Froum: Jonas Salk
- Daphna Gerber: Maurice Sendak
- Joshua Grossman: Chanah Senesh
- Ava Kelber: Niels Bohr
- Daniel Himmelfarb: Eli Cohen
- Sophie Himmelfarb: Irena Sendler
- Helen Lerner: Michael Levin
- Evan Lieber: Yoni Netanyahu
- Sarah Lieber: Golda Meir
- Greta Loewenthal: Albert Einstein
- Markus Tam: Hannah Arendt
- Blair Weiss: Anne Frank
- Ellie Witzel: Aly Raisman
Pardes Class Update 4-22-18
1. On Sun, April 22, students in Prozdor and Pardes (8th-10th Grade students/madrichim) spent a portion of the class with Rabbi Newman Kamin, concentrating on the Israeli Declaration of Independence, as the new piece of art in the lobby of the school building includes all of the words of this text.
2. Second, Prozdor and Pardes students continued to work on their Jewish Heroes presentations. Mr. Arnet and I reviewed many of them, and all students will practice in front of their peers next week, before their formal presentations on May 6. This is an outstanding educational exercise for the students, one which should be repeated regularly in years to come. Written by Cantor Simon on Sun, Apr 22, 2018
Cantor Stuart Simon
Mr. Allan Arnet
To review, here is the project overview:
Jewish Heroes – May 6, 2018 – Prozdor and Pardes Students
Choose your hero from these categories:
1. Biblical Heroes
2. Rabbinic Heroes
3. Modern American Heroes
4. Modern Israeli Heroes
5. Holocaust Heroes
6. Righteous Gentile Who Saved Jews
When did he or she live?
Give biography.
What heroic act(s) did he or she perform?
If lives were saved, how and how many?
Any memorials remaining in honor of this person?
Can use pictures, videos, etc.
Presentation should be 4-5 minutes.
Don’t feel limited. Be creative. A hero could be a doctor, scientist, social activist or an exemplary athlete. It can also be someone unknown to most of the world.
Ask questions of Mr. Arnet or Cantor Simon, and let them review your presentations prior to May 6.
As there are still a few students who haven’t committed to a hero, here are the heroes who have been selected for this project. We do not want any redundancy.
- Amanda Alpert: Deborah Lipstadt
- David Bodansky: Elie Wiesel
- Jacob Brodsky: Nicholas Winton
- Alexis Burton: Oskar Schindler
- Joshua Doherty: Jan Zabinski
- Jayden Fogel: Chiune Sugihara
- Gabi Froum: Jonas Salk
- Daphna Gerber: Maurice Sendak
- Joshua Grossman: Chanah Senesh
- Ava Kelber: Niels Bohr
- Daniel Himmelfarb: Eli Cohen
- Sophie Himmelfarb: Irena Sendler
- Helen Lerner: Michael Levin
- Evan Lieber: Yoni Netanyahu
- Sarah Lieber: Golda Meir
- Greta Loewenthal: Albert Einstein
- Markus Tam: Hannah Arendt
- Blair Weiss: Anne Frank
- Ellie Witzel: Aly Raisman
Pardes Class Update 4-15-18
The Yom Hashoah program commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the single most important act of Jewish physical resistance during the Holocaust and the first urban rebellion anywhere in Nazi occupied Europe. The program emphasized the motivation of the ghetto fighters and the some 50,000 civilian residents still alive in the ghetto to go to their deaths resisting-to die with dignity. Since the Prozdor and Pardes classes are engaged in a unit of study focused on Jewish heroes, the program included information about two notable ones connected with the uprising. The first was Barbara Steiner who worked making weapons and tending the wounded during the rebellion. She was captured and miraculously survived Majdanek concentration camp and two slave labor camps. Mrs. Steiner and her family ultimately came to Chicago where she and other survivors founded the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois, the forerunner of the current museum. The second hero was Mordechai Anielewicz, the Zionist leader of the uprising who sought to uphold the honor of the Jewish people but perished along with many others in the rebellion. He was the heart and soul of this act of courage. Students did a very fine job summarizing Mordechai’s short life and achievements during the commemoration, which also included a presentation by Dr. Lefkovitz, musical renditions by Cantor Simon and thoughts from Rabbi Newman Kamin. Written by Dr. Elliot Lefkovitz Thu, Apr 19, 2018
1. This past Sunday we took a one week break from the Heroes Project, since the students were at the congregational Yom HaShoah program. During our next session, this Sun, April 22, students in Prozdor and Pardes (8th-10th Grade students/madrichim) will spend a portion of the class with Rabbi Newman Kamin, concentrating on the Israeli Declaration of Independence, as the new piece of art in the lobby of the school building includes all of the words of this text.
2. Second, the Prozdor and Pardes students will continue their work on the Heroes Project with Cantor Simon and Mr. Arnet. All Prozdor and Pardes students should report to Room 6 at 10:30 a.m. with tablets or phones to class to access information about their chosen subjects.
To review, here is the project overview:
Jewish Heroes – May 6, 2018 – Prozdor and Pardes Students
Choose your hero from these categories:
1. Biblical Heroes
2. Rabbinic Heroes
3. Modern American Heroes
4. Modern Israeli Heroes
5. Holocaust Heroes
6. Righteous Gentile Who Saved Jews
When did he or she live?
Give biography.
What heroic act(s) did he or she perform?
If lives were saved, how and how many?
Any memorials remaining in honor of this person?
Can use pictures, videos, etc.
Presentation should be 4-5 minutes.
Don’t feel limited. Be creative. A hero could be a doctor, scientist, social activist or an exemplary athlete. It can also be someone unknown to most of the world.
Ask questions of Mr. Arnet or Cantor Simon, and let them review your presentations prior to May 6.
As there are still a few students who haven’t committed to a hero, here are the heroes who have been selected for this project. We do not want any redundancy.
- Amanda Alpert: Deborah Lipstadt
- David Bodansky: Elie Wiesel
- Jacob Brodsky: Nicholas Winton
- Alexis Burton: Oskar Schindler
- Joshua Doherty: Chanah Senesh
- Jayden Fogel: Chiune Sugihara
- Gabi Froum: Jonas Salk
- Daphna Gerber: Maurice Sendak
- Ava Kelber: Niels Bohr
- Daniel Himmelfarb: Eli Cohen
- Sophie Himmelfarb: Rosa Luxemburg
- Helen Lerner: Michael Levin
- Evan Lieber: Yoni Netanyahu
- Sarah Lieber: Golda Meir
- Greta Loewenthal: Albert Einstein
- Markus Tam: Hannah Arendt
- Blair Weiss: Anne Frank
- Ellie Witzel: Aly Raisman
Chag Ha’atzmaut Sameach,
Mr. Charlie Sherman
Head of School
Pardes Class Update 4-8-18
We continued working on our hero’s project. The students are really doing a nice job. Please ask your student to talk to you about the hero they choose and why. We really want the students to be inspired by their choice as they journey down the road to becoming hero’s themselves.
Mr. Allan Arnet
Pardes Class Update 3-11-18 & 3-18-18
This Week:
The students began their Heroes Project, as each student chose a Jewish Hero to research. They will be sharing their research at a special program on Sun, May 6. Stay tuned…
Last Week:
Last Sunday, Pardes students attended the JUF brunch and witnessed a very memorable presentation. The guest speaker, Izzy Ezaqui, captivated the audience with his story of bravery. He discussed how as an American, he decided to join the IDF after visiting Israel on Birthright. He lost an arm on the battlefield, and returned to active service 2 months after the tragedy. It was a story of heroism, perseverance and strength.
Cantor Stuart Simon
cantorsimon@amyisrael.org
Two Weeks Ago:
Shalom, my name is Dr. Elliot Lefkovitz and while Cantor Simon was leading a presentation for the Congregation on the prayer service, I introduced a Heroes project in the Pardes Class this week. Each student defined the word “hero,” including the qualities that a hero possesses. We then discussed “good” and “bad” heroes, Jewish heroes, Biblical heroes, Rabbinic heroes, Israeli heroes, Holocaust heroes and American Jewish heroes. We look forward to taking the next steps of this study in the upcoming weeks.
Pardes Class Update 3-4-18
Shalom, my name is Dr. Elliot Lefkovitz and while Cantor Simon was leading a presentation for the Congregation on the prayer service, I introduced a Heroes project in the Pardes Class this week. Each student defined the word “hero,” including the qualities that a hero possesses. We then discussed “good” and “bad” heroes, Jewish heroes, Biblical heroes, Rabbinic heroes, Israeli heroes, Holocaust heroes and American Jewish heroes. We look forward to taking the next steps of this study in the upcoming weeks.
Pardes Class Update 2-11-18
Shalom, my name is Mr. Michael Aberman and this week I served as the substitute teacher for Cantor Simon. We took five Jewish concepts, (a) avoiding animal cruelty, (b) striving for health, (c) freeing prisoners, (d) seeking peace and (e) taking care of the widow and orphans. It was interesting to see how the students ranked the order of importance, with very little common order aside from health being the top priority for most of the students. The laws of not embarrassing others or standing by idly led to a long conversation about bullying and things we may have done wrong in the past but have learned from and corrected for future endeavors. I hope you have a great week.
Mr. Michael Aberman
Pardes Class Update 2-4-18
Over the last 3 weeks, Pardes students watched the movie, “The Zookeeper’s Wife.” In this true story, the zookeeper and his wife who ran the Warsaw Zoo hid and saved over 300 Jews from extermination. It was one of those rare Holocaust films that had a relatively happy ending, as the protagonists survived and thrived and were ultimately honored at Yad Vashem in Israel.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 12-10-17
After President Trump’s controversial public pronouncement that Jerusalem is accepted by the United States as Israel’s capital, our Pardes students expressed their opinions. They were clear and thoughtful, and as a group weighed the benefits versus the possible dangers of the decision in a high level, intellectual discussion.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 12-3-17
Pardes students watched the movie “Nicky’s Family” the last 2 Sundays. This was the story of Sir Nicholas Winton, a remarkable man who lived to the ripe old age of 106, a man who was personally responsible for saving the lives of over 600 Jewish children during WW2 by having them transported to England by train and adopted by British families. The scenes of separation from their parents were heartbreaking, but the story as a whole was inspirational and encouraged everyone to positively impact as many lives as one can.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 11-12-17
Pardes students discussed Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass, a major catastrophic event leading up to the Holocaust. We discussed pre-Holocaust Jewish life in Europe and the sickening symbolism of the marchers in Charlottesville that rekindled the memories of Nazi Germany.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 11-5-17
Pardes students concluded watching the movie, “School Ties” on Sunday. Beyond the initial subject of anti-Semitism, the discussion evolved into how so much lying occurred in the film, what the Jewish perspective on spewing falsehoods is, and ultimately how prominent and powerful leaders of our country lie so frequently without giving it a second thought.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 10-22-17
Last week, Pardes watched the movie “School Ties,” with the conclusion being shown this week, followed by an in depth discussion. The movie shows antisemitism at a New England college preparatory school in the 1950’s. The question will be, given the recent march in Charlottesville, how much has our country and the world changed since the 1950’s.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 10-15-17
On Sunday, October 15, Pardes viewed a drama, The Writing on the Wall. The theme was that acts of apparent anti-Semitism are sometimes born of ignorance and can be eradicated through education. This topic will be discussed over the next few weeks.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 10-8-17
In light of the recent negative news in Charlotteville, S.C., I decided to show the documentary “Not in our Town,” which left Pardes students with a feeling of hope and belief in the human spirit. It told the story of Billings, Montana in the 1990’s, as the townspeople displayed solidarity with the Jewish community which was under assault by skinheads.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Pardes Class Update 9-24-17
Hi, my name is Michael Aberman and I was the substitute teacher for your students this week. While Prozdor and Pardes will typically meet as separate classes this year, we combined the classes for this one additional week. For Prozdor/Pardes we discussed the second text of the Chai Mitzvah curriculum text focused on the idea that if the Torah had not been given we may have learned lessons from animals. It took an interesting turn when one of the children said like the loyalty of a shark. We then discussed what animals are known for doing and what we can learn from specific attributes of animals.
Mr. Michael Aberman
Class Updates 9-10-17
Hi, my name is Eytan Dallal and I was the substitute teacher for your students this week. While Prozdor and Pardes will typically meet as separate classes this year, with special programming taking place, including Cantor Simon singing the national anthem at the White Sox game, we combined the classes for a part of the time. The Prozdor/Pardes class discussed aspects of Rosh Hashanah, including the main commandment of the day, the Shofar. We discussed three reasons for the shofar, three themes of the Chazzan’s (Cantor’s) service and their meaning, as well as different foods that are customarily eaten on Rosh Hashanah (including apples and honey!).
Mr. Eytan Dallal
Hi, my name is Elliot Lefkovitz and I was the substitute teacher for your students for a portion of the time this past Sunday. We spent a portion of the time discussing the recent hurricanes and relatives in harm’s way. We also reviewed basic information on the High Holidays and Siddur vocabulary. We concluded with a current event articles of Jewish interest. Since there were several articles that interested students this took some time. Finally, we discussed the important role that High Schoolers play at Am Yisrael’s School of Jewish Studies.
Dr. Elliot Lefkovitz
At its core, Pardes can be looked at as a preparatory course on a couple of levels. Too many people go through life without a sense of history. How can you analyze the present and impact the future with no knowledge of the past? In Pardes we study the history of anti-Semitism, as it existed in ancient times up to modern day. We discuss recognizing it and combating all types of prejudice, as it affects us and all people. We reach out to other ethnic groups, celebrate our commonalities and respect the traits that make us unique. Pardes will promote college-readiness and prepare students for life thereafter.
The curriculum for Pardes is very fluid. Dramatic movies and documentaries are integrated into the class, while field trips, Tikkun Olam projects and inspiring lectures are key components. If a museum exhibit, Jewish-themed movie or an opportunity for interfaith dialog occurs, a quick shift in our schedule will be likely, all in the interest of providing the highest quality educational experience.
Rabbi Newman Kamin and Cantor Simon alternate teaching the final 45 minutes of the Sunday class, as the Madrichim join in. While the Rabbi discusses Jewish values, tailored to the perspective of teenagers, the Cantor promotes worldliness through his current events discussion, incorporating Israeli, domestic and international news.
Cantor Stuart Simon
Mr. Sherman’s Blog 