Now that we are past the High Holidays, we are happy to be back to our regularly-scheduled weekly newsletter!
Last Sunday at CBHCS, Rabbi G led family minyan and introduced the middah of Shalom. She went over what it means to have peace, and discussed how prayer/meditation can be used as a way to ground oneself in peace. Rabbi G used the analogy (as presented by Alan Morinis in Everyday Holiness) of riding the waves of the ocean on a surfboard: The waves are unpredictable, but peace and equanimity help us to stay balanced as we ride out whatever comes our way, just as a surfer does, rather than being tossed around by the waves of life.
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 all about Sukkot and Simchat Torah! We...
Practiced saying the blessing for eating inside of the sukkah, and saw where Sukkot and Simchat Torah fall on the Hebrew calendar.
Saw pictures of different sukkahs, learned the rules for building a sukkah, and designed our own sukkahs.
Saw pictures of a lulav and etrog, learned what they are, and practiced shaking them in the traditional way.
Played Simchat Torah Freeze Dance, learned how to say “Torah tziva lanu Moshe” and what it means, and made “Why I’m happy for the Torah” pages.
See you this Sunday!
2nd/3rd Grade
This past Sunday, our two 2nd/3rd Grade classes combined and did a lesson on Sukkot. For Judaics, we did a really impactful lesson on where does food come from, what does food mean to different families around the world, and how that relates to Sukkot.
For Hebrew we read through the prayer for God commanding us to dwell in the sukkah.
We have a lot of fun planned for next Sunday--see you this weekend!
4th Grade
Last Sunday, we went over a few different themes:
We learned that...
God is a major character in the Torah.
Sukkot is a Jewish harvest holiday during which we thank God for food.
Each year we re-read the Torah and there is always something new to learn.
Simchat Torah is the holiday on which we celebrate the completion of reading the Torah and starting over again.
Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday!
5th Grade
Last Sunday, we learned about the important mitzvah "Lo l’vayeish," which means "do not embarrass." This is a fundamental Jewish value that teaches us not to embarrass others and teaches us how we can avoid doing so. We discussed that it is also important to apologize when we have embarrassed others.
For Hebrew, we introduced a new system in which we combined with the 6th Grade class: This gives us more flexibility in separating students into groups that match their level of Hebrew experience, so we can better tailor to each student's needs and "divide and conquer." With this system, we will have two teachers and two madrichim available--meaning that each group will have more individualized attention, so that we are able to work with them at their level and pace. This intro week was mostly about evaluating and placing students in groups. We look forward to continue this new system, and we have high hopes for its efficiency!
6th Grade
Last weekend, we went over the Parshiyot Toldot, Vayeitzei, and Vayishlach. We learned that in these parshot, Jacob and Esau are twin brothers who have an intense rivalry. We discussed that this rivalry is present amongst Jacob’s twelve sons as well.
For Hebrew, we introduced a new system in which we combined with the 5th Grade class: This gives us more flexibility in separating students into groups that match their level of Hebrew experience, so we can better tailor to each student's needs and "divide and conquer." With this system, we will have two teachers and two madrichim available--meaning that each group will have more individualized attention, so that we are able to work with them at their level and pace. This intro week was mostly about evaluating and placing students in groups. We look forward to continue this new system, and we have high hopes for its efficiency!
7th Grade
Last week, we learned about Samson from Tanakh. We discussed that each of us has strengths, strengths can be used positively and negatively, and justice and revenge are different. We learned that Samson, the judge, was occasionally motivated by revenge.
In Hebrew, we practiced the Kedushah prayer.
Looking forward to seeing you all again this coming Sunday.
Upcoming Events at CBHCS
10/25 - Rise Up Teens: Shabbat Dinner & A Movie with Rabbi Josh
10/27 - Guest child-of-a-Holocaust-survivor speaker event (open to the community/continuation of the 5th grade Holocaust unit*)
*This will be in lieu of regular classes for the 5th grade class.
10/27 - CBH Parent n' Me: Sensory Shabbat
11/3 - Rabbi Josh leads family minyan
11/3 - Rise Up Teens: Social Activism Class with Rabbi Josh
11/10 - Chana Rothman visits and leads family minyan/parent workshop