We read the creation story as told in Being Torah, a children’s text (inspired by a translation by Everett Fox, which “reproduces the literary forms, linguistic features, and rhythm of the original Hebrew”), and a selection of stories from Arthur Waskow’s “Before There Was a Before.” Examining the story as a whole, students identified poetic tropes and refrains, and created their own acrostic, concrete or alliterative poems to accompany the story.
Pictured: Two students wrote a concrete poem that responds to Day 3 of the creation story.
Focusing on the first few days or moments of creation, students created their own paper collages that responded to the story and to examples from art history and contemporary art. Some students focused on one particular moment or idea in the creation story; others considered the shapes and colors from our artwork examples. I was particularly taken with one “Creation and Destruction” piece, which sprang from the idea of opposites within the story.
Pictured: Two students wrote a concrete poem that responds to Day 1 of the creation story.
They asked each other,
Pictured: Two students wrote an acrostic poem that responds to Day 4 of the creation story.
You can view all of the brachot for vaccination that we used. Some kids chose shehechiyanu, and some chose a brachah for wisdom or for good news. Some kids chose to write a brachah for something special that they’ve been waiting to do once they get vaccinated, like go on an airplane, or take a gymnastics class.
Pictured: Three students wrote an acrostic poem that responds to Day 6 of the creation story.
They learned early on in their Jewish journeys that Jews have lived around the world and practiced Jewish ritual in similar and different ways.
Pictured: Two students presenting their menorah project.
They presented their learning at the NSP community Chanukah party.
Pictured: Two students presenting their menorah project.
"They both have lions and crowns. The shamash is on top super high." (Menorahs from Iraq and Poland.)
"These menorahs are made from different types of material. Both of our menorahs are bench menorahs. They also both have branch menorahs and Hebrew writing on them." (Menorahs from Morocco and Germany.)
"They both have circles and flowers." (Menorahs from Bosnia and Tunisia.)
Two bench-lamp menorahs from Morocco. "We can't find the shamashes!"
"They are both made of metal. They also both have a very nice pattern." (Menorahs from Austria and southern France.)
"Bird Menorahs: They all have birds!" (Menorahs from Austria and Mexico.)
"They both have fruit on them. They both have oil lamps. They are both made of metal." (Menorahs from the Netherlands and Germany.)
We see "Flowers, accidental turtle hands, branch menorahs, deer, peacocks." (Menorahs from Spain, Iraq and Persia.)
"Put together cup menorahs. Both share circles, triangles, and Hebrew writing. Both are also bench menorahs. One doesn't have a shamash." (Menorahs from France and Bukhara, Uzbekistan.)
"Both of these menorahs are made of limestone, and they were crafted at the same time, in the 1800s. Although menorah 2 has more motifs than menorah 1. They are from the same place." (Menorahs from Yemen.)
"Both are made of metal and have glass oil cups." (Menorahs from Italy, and India or Pakistan.)
Children took inspiration from local plants, murals, buildings, and their schools. They used an embossing technique based the common repousse technique found in metal menorahs from around the world.
Pictured: A child's embossed menorah.
Students were invited to submit a question or topic for Zoom class during the Omicron spike.
The older cohort discussed the question, “Why did God create Covid-19?” We explored a variety of sources from Tanakh and Talmud. We had a lively conversation about the premises of the question and the nature of reality.
The younger cohort discussed the question, “What is the hidden (or sinister) truth of a Jewish holiday?” in relation to Tu B’shvat. First, we talked about early origins of the holiday and some of the Kabbalistic interpretations. Then, we discussed the concepts of balanced ecosystems, invasive species, and greenwashing as it relates to modern Tu B'shvat practices.
For Tu B’shvat, Kollel gathered with other NSP members at the National Arboretum for a tree-themed scavenger hunt and to present self-directed, environmentally-themed skits to honor the birthday of the trees. Children performed skits based on folktales and midrash, including stories from Rabbi Marc Gellman’s “Does God Have a Big Toe?” and “A Child’s Book of Midrash” by Barbara Diamond Goldin.
In class, they used maps to explore environmental equity as an intersectional topic connected to Jewish values.
Kollel learned the brachot for besamim (spices used to mark the end of Shabbat in the havdalah ritual), chose spices to take home (and crush), and wrote poetry about it. You can read a few sample poems below!
I smell my rose
With my nose
I smell my cinnamon stick
And lick
I wonder why they smell
The way they smell
Why the trees grow
What they’re supposed to grow.
“The Cinnamon Stick” (a haiku)
The cinnamon stick
Has a smell so beautiful
Two look like a Torah
We read stories from Rabbi Marc Gellman’s “Does God Have a Big Toe?” and “A Child’s Book of Midrash” by Barbara Diamond Goldin about Shabbat as a time of rest for all living creatures. We circled back to the word “Eden,” and discussed what “paradise” or a “perfect place” might look like. One child suggested that in a perfect place, “There would be no money - you would get things by just saying please.”
Many of the kids suggested that a perfect place would be “beautiful,” or full of flowers and gardens.
Pictured: A student's drawing, inspired by stories and artwork about Gan Eden.
Then we looked at some depictions of Gan Eden, including contemporary and historical artworks, paintings, weavings, and a Menorah, and Jewish, Islamic and Christian depictions. Several kids in the younger cohort described their perfect place as containing unicorns or dragons, and lo and behold, some of the artists who created these images also imagined unicorns or dragons!
Pictured: A student's drawing, inspired by stories and artwork about Gan Eden.
Taking inspiration from both historic challah covers and a short story, “The Rest of Creation,” by Arthur Waskow, students created their own glue-resist challah covers.
Pictured: A student's drawing, inspired by stories and artwork about Gan Eden.
Kollel learned the Purim story through improv games and puppetry. The older cohort re-wrote the story using the surrealist “Exquisite Corpse” writing technique. Everybody collaborated on “Exquisite Corpse” puppets, which we displayed proudly at NSP’s Purim family-friendly party.
Some common themes were: being with family, playing with pets, reading before bed with a parent and spending time at school. Looking at these historic amulets for inspiration, the children made their own amulets, and chose specific things that made them feel safe, such as “love” and “friendship”.
Students learned about the symbolic significance of traditional items on the seder plate, and some modern seder supplements. They connected the seder plate items to three values as described in Jewish tradition: freedom, gratitude, and remembering. We turned to the subject of current events and big changes from the past year. Students split into groups according to the topic that interested them most. In their small groups, they read an abbreviated news article about their topic and discussed it. They talked about how the story made them feel, how people are helping, and what people should know or remember about the story. Then, they proposed a new seder supplement and action items to commemorate the big changes or issues of their topic.
Some students were quick to differentiate between the freedom discussed in the Exodus story - freedom from slavery - and personal freedoms, or how generally “free” people can be. Many argued that because we live inside of bodies, we cannot be free from human needs or limits - and real “freedom” would mean being limitless. The older students listened to two poems: “Maror” by Marge Piercy which discusses a personal exodus, and “Red Sea” by Aurora Levins Morales which discusses freedom as a mutual obligation.
Two groups read about vaccines for kids. The older group proposed a mask on the seder plate. Their action items included maintaining our regular pandemic protocols like masking and distancing, and encouraging people to get vaccinated.
The younger group proposed both a sharpened carrot and a flower on the seder plate. They wrote, “The carrot represents the shot. The covid vaccine is sharp and pointy and the carrot is sharp and pointy.” To explain the flower, one child wrote: “Everything is byoodifle (sic) in its own way/ Even the virus/ It looks like a ball with a crown on top/ I want everyone to realize that there is good in the weird.”
One group read about the rise in PPE pollution and its effect on the environment, and proposed a tomato on the seder plate. They wrote, “The tomato symbolizes the connection between humans and animals.” Their action item is to pick up trash!
Two groups chose the topic of schools and activities re-opening, and read about schools re-opening in Uganda after two whole years! The first proposed “recess at the seder.” I think that speaks for itself.
The second group proposed paper hearts, scissors, glue sticks, and pencils on the seder plate, both to celebrate schools and to show love for teachers. Their post-seder action item is to tell your teacher “thank you!”
Two groups read about the war in Ukraine. The older group proposed both an Egyptian symbol of peace and a stop sign on the seder plate, and tore off a corner of the poster that said “war” and crumpled it up.
The younger group proposed an apple with a worm in it on the seder plate. They wrote that it represents “Helping people,” and that “red is the color of a heart,” and “worms poop owt fertol soyol [poop out fertile soil].” (You might say, “wait, what does a worm in an apple have to do with war in Ukraine?” To which I would respond that this group of kids did a pretty good job making their proposal as abstract and baffling as the traditional items on the seder plate.)
One group read about the “Parental Rights in Education” (or “Don’t Say Gay”) bill, and proposed a rose on the seder plate. They wrote, “The rose represents the LGBTQ community,” and proposed pricking oneself with a thorn to “remind ourselves of how cruel” the bill is.
One group read about the first Amazon workers’ union and other low-wage workers’ efforts to unionize. They proposed banging a wrench on the seder plate and wrote, “The wrench represents work. When you bang it on the table it represents uprising and protesting.”
Coming soon! This unit hasn't happened yet.
Coming soon! This unit hasn't happened yet.
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