Last Sunday, Rabbi G led family minyan, and spoke about the middah of “Anavah,” which means “humility.” Rabbi G talked about how this middah, like all the others, is about balance--not too much, and not too little. Too much humility leads to self-doubt and self-deprecation (which is not true humility), and too little leads to braggery and arrogance.
Rabbi G read the story about Moses, the most humble man, and the burning bush: God’s voice came to Moses from the bush, and told him to approach Pharaoh to let the Jewish people go. God told Moses about a trick he could do to show that God was with him--turning a stick into a snake. But Moses responded with humility, saying that he was not a man of great words. So God told him to get his brother Aaron to help and to speak for Moses. Rabbi G explained that part of being humble is knowing the things you are good at and can do yourself, and also knowing when you need to ask someone else for help.
After family minyan, Rabbi G and Kate led Parent n’ Me. The theme was “Be a Super Mensch!” We learned what the words “mensch” and “chesed” mean, and ways we can be kind to others. We sang a "Chesed Soup" song and played a group game that helped us come up with ideas for kind deeds we can do. We connected being a mensch to being like a superhero and did a "Super Mensch" yoga pose. We also decorated our own Super Mensch masks and our own Chesed Buckets to take home and fill with good deeds. And we heard some awesome stories about kindness and being a mensch.
To find out what fun is on the horizon, check the bottom of each blog post for our "Upcoming Events" section.
To find out what our students were up to in their classes last week, see below:
K/1st Grade:
This week at CBHCS, we…
Learned that “Hachnasat Orchim” means “welcoming guests” and is a mitzvah.
Heard the story of Abraham & Sarah’s Three Guests and talked about treating every guest as if they were as special as an angel in disguise!
Created “disguise” masks while we listened to the story, to represent the three visiting angels having been in disguise as regular people.
Practiced the mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim by working as a team to “host” our teacher.
Filled out our Hachnasat Orchim Tent pages for our journals, which included decorating our own “tents” and drawing ourselves inside of them.
Read the stories All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Be Kind by Pat Zeitlow Miller together, and discussed the ideas of welcoming everyone, especially people who are different from us, and using kindness as a way to make others feel welcome.
Practiced the first part of “Mah Nishtanah.” We are beginning to learn “Mah Nishtanah” now, so that we will be ready to sing it at our Passover seders!
2nd/3rd Grade:
Last Sunday, we learned that the Torah has many characters, and there’s something we can learn from each of them. We also learned that there are many Jewish holidays throughout the year, and that there are many mitzvot and values in the Torah, in order to enhance our lives.
In Hebrew, we read the “Mah Tovu” prayer, and learned the meaning/history behind it.
4th Grade:
On Sunday, we learned about King Solomon. We learned that he was known for his wisdom and proverbs. We also learned the story of when King Solomon oversaw the building of the First Temple.
In Hebrew, we practiced reading the “Havdalah” prayer.
5th Grade:
This past Sunday, we learned about Jewish wedding rituals. We learned that many rituals take place during a Jewish wedding, traditional Jewish weddings are different from typical American weddings (and many couples choose to combine the two), and that it’s considered a mitzvah to share in the couple’s joy.
In Hebrew, we continued to practice reading/saying the “Mi Chamomchah” prayer.
6th Grade:
Last Sunday, we discussed that the reason we review the stories in the Torah is so that we remember the details. We also looked at how there is a higher concentration of laws for the Jewish people in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy than in Genesis and Exodus.
In Hebrew, we continued to practice the Birchot HaHaftarah.
7th Grade:
Last Sunday, we learned that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the three Abrahamic religions. We also discussed that different religious traditions interpret sacred texts differently, and that Jerusalem is considered a holy city to multiple religions.
In Hebrew, we practiced the prayers we would say to lead a service.
Upcoming Events at CBHCS
1/19 - MLK Day Weekend - NO SUNDAY SCHOOL
1/25 - Saturday Afternoon Magic the Gathering & Games for Teens (at CBH on Lavista)
3pm-5pm
1/26 - PET Parent Discussion: Talking to Your Kids About Anti-Semistism & Hatred/Violence (after family minyan)
2/2 - Rabbi Josh leads family minyan
- Rabbi Josh leads Rise Up Teen Workshop
2/9 - PET Parent Discussion: Discussion on Immigration
2/16 - Presidents' Day Weekend - NO SUNDAY SCHOOL
2/23 - CBH Parent n' Me with Kate & Rabbi G
- Purim Build-a-Basket Workshop (CBH on Lavista)
2:30-4:30