HSRS Announcements (Hodaahot הוֹדָוֹת) New Information We had the opportunity to celebrate all of our students who are new to Har Shalom's Religious School over the last year. Rabbi Finestone explained Consecration: A Ceremony that marks the beginning of a child's formal Jewish study; often a synagogue- or community-wide celebration for children and families held as part of Simchat Torah celebrations. Our newest students each received a certificate and their own mini torah.
Previous Sent Information
Shuk Donations Extra Halloween Candy? Party Favors laying around? We can use all of these for our shuk! We also have an Amazon wish list full of items that your children have suggested be available for purchase. Take a look!
Tzedakah for Jewish Book Month Jewish Book Month is here! Tzedakah money collected this month will be used to help buy books for 2 libraries in Israel. The first is at Neve Hanna, a residential children's home with an after school care program in Kiryat Gat, serving children from underprivileged and unsafe home environments. They recently built a library and we are helping them buy books. The other library is on a moshav called Mitzpeh Netofa west of Tiverya (Tiberius) in the Lower Galilee. They also are in need of books, which they say provide learning opportunities and fun activities and are a great source of comfort for families in these difficult times. Thank you so much for its support!
Attending Services It was absolutely wonderful seeing so many students at High Holiday services. Don't forget that we have "Service Attendance Recommendations". One of the best ways to feel confident and prepared for leading Saturday morning services is by watching others lead. It is suggested that our Kinder/1st graders attend 1 service over the course of the year, 2nd grade attends 2 services, 3rd grade attends 3 services, and so on. These can be attended virtually, at other synagogues, at a classmate's bar/bat mitzvah, at one of our grade level Shabbats, etc. High Holiday services count towards this goal!
Har Shalom's Phones! Har Shalom has a new phone system. To call the religious school, please dial 970-223-5191, ext. 103.
November 16- 6th grade-led Shabbat Service at 10:15am, oneg to follow November 17- NO HSRS for 6th grade November 17- Beresheet Day 2 from 10:30am-12pm
November 24, 27, and December 1- NO HSRS December 13- Shabbat Jr at 5:30pm December 15- Hanukkah Celebration at HSRS, Community Hanukkah event to follow! December 18- 3rd, 4th, 5th grade Hanukkah plays from 6:30-7:30pm, all families are invited to watch December 22-January 7- NO HSRS
BBYO & Teen Things Teen of the Week! Each week, we will be recognizing one of our amazing teen volunteers who went above and beyond to help. Lila is our madricha of the week! She is one of our incredible kindergarten helpers and is always engaged with the students. She makes them feel welcome and is able to help students one on one when they need extra support. We love having Lila on our team!
Synagogue & Community News
From Our Teachers Beresheet (Preschool) from Morah Kyla and Morah Joanie Looking forward to seeing you on November 17 for Day 2 of creation
Kitah Gan (Kindergarten) from Morah JoJo In class, we had a wonderful time learning about how everything in the universe is just right for life to exist. We talked about the Sun, and how it gives us warmth and light so that we can live, grow, and play. We learned that the Sun is the perfect distance from Earth, how the Earth has water and air to help all of us live, just like the plants, animals, and even the bugs! Then, we learned a special Hebrew phrase called Tikkun Olam. This means “repairing the world,” and it’s about taking care of the Earth and helping others. The children practiced the motions for Tikkun Olam, cupping their hands like they were holding a small animal and making big circles with their arms to show how we can help take care of the world. After that, we made suncatchers! We decorated colorful, shiny suncatchers to remind us of the beautiful light the Sun gives us. We talked about how the Sun’s light helps everything grow, and how we can shine our own light on the world by being kind, caring for nature, and helping others. Then, we had a very special visitor, Rabbi Finestone! She stopped by to share some thoughts with us about how we can take care of the Earth, just like the Sun helps us every day. The children had great questions for Rabbi Finestone, and she reminded us that each of us can help repair the world in our own way. Next, we had our very own Shuk (market)! The children got to "shop" for all kinds of toys with their Shuk money. After the Shuk, everyone made a Tikkun Olam pledge to think about ways they can help take care of the Earth. Some of the class said they would pick up trash, help water plants, or be kind to their friends. Everyone did a great job sharing how they can make the world a better place! We wrapped up by reminding ourselves that just like the Sun makes the world bright and warm, we can also make the world brighter with our kind actions. They left with their suncatchers, ready to hang them in the windows at home and think about how they can help take care of the Earth. Everyone did amazing, see you next week.
Kitah Alef (First Grade) from Morah Laura Another busy day in Kita Aleph. The students did a great job participating in shirah. They were then excited to celebrate the consecration of two of our students who received their mini Torahs and certificates. Many also received rewards from Judy for reading and returning their library books. If you’re student reads a Jewish book at home, please write down the title and send a note with them on Sundays or text me.
Back in our classroom, Judy came and played book bingo with our class and a few students won Jewish books and others won shekels. We then read the story of Joseph and discussed all of the mistakes that were made by his family. At centers, the students painted technic colored coats for Joseph, put the story in sequential order and learned the letter Kaf. We also had a visit today from the Rabbi where the children had time to ask her questions. Some of the best questions were:
Why are there so few Jewish people in the world?
How long was Joseph in prison for?
Why did Noah build an ark?
Why are some letters in the Torah stretched out?
We then went to the shuk and spent our shekels on great prizes. The students should have brought home an invitation for a class potluck. It should be a great night for the families and I will try to make it too.
Kitah Bet (Second Grade) from Morah Anne Hello Kita Bet! Welcome to a new week. Religious school flew by as we were busy with so many different activities. After morning shira, kids had an opportunity to spend their shekles at the shuk. The kids were delighted to spend their hard earned (and well deserved) shekels on candy, treats, and toys. After snack and break, we settled in to practice Hebrew. We did several different centers, focusing on letters, sounds, and reading short words in Hebrew. One of our centers was making Hebrew flashcards, which the kids will be able to bring home and study if they want. Safranit Judy came in during the last bit of class to play some book bingo. The kids had a great time learning about a variety of Jewish themed books. Have a great week and I will see you again on Sunday!
Kitah Gimmel (Third Grade) from Morah Robin Wednesday- Wednesday evening was a day of catch-up. For the most part, students work in their Hebrew workbooks (with the help of teacher or madrichim) at their own pace. However, some students are already halfway through the workbook, so they paused while the other students worked to catch-up. The students that paused, worked on other activities like Hebrew word seach puzzles or Hebrew alphabet games. In the midst of all this, break was indoors, so the whole class took turns and played a fun game of Hebrew twister!
Sunday from Morah Brenna, subbing for Morah Robin- Sunday was shuk day! We started the morning with discussing holiness and specifically holy eating. We learned about keeping Kosher and watched a video about Kosher foods. We then read a book about keeping Kosher. We went and shopped at the shuk. We spent the rest of the morning working on our drama. Thank you madrichim for your help.
Kitah Dalet (Fourth Grade) from Morah Merav Wednesday- We practiced our Hebrew skills. We worked on the Am Yisrael Chai song. You can find it on YouTube or Spotify if your student wants to practice at home or simply can’t get it out of their head and wants to hear it. We also read a story, “Joshua’s Dream, A Journey to the Land of Israel” by Sheila F. Segal and illustrated by Joel Iskowitz.
Sunday- Wow, what a full morning we had! It was a shuk day! Oh what fun we had shopping with all our earned shekels. Some talmidim (students) combined their shekels and shopped together. As if that wasn’t enough, we also had Judy visit our class for an awesome Book Bingo. Two students won books and we started collecting shekels again! Thank you Judy, we appreciate you! Judy also filled our kitah with many new books to check out. We also read through our Hanukkah script and worked on our set for the show. Thank you to the Madrichim (Zelda, Zia and Ryan) for your help! We even squeezed ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ into our busy day! See you all Wednesday!
Kitah Hay (Fifth Grade) Wednesday from Morah Lauren- Kita Hay started with Tefillah Deb. Students read Hebrew sentences and did a really nice job with phonetics and gaining fluency with prayer word sentences.
Wednesday and Sunday from Morah Sophie- Both Sunday and Wednesday we worked on our writing skills and developed sentences to describe Joshua and Deborah. These will be used during our service in front of the congregation. We also worked on backdrops for our Chanukah play today.
Sunday from Morah Melanie, subbing for Morah Lauren- This week we continued practicing our Shabbat blessings and our Hebrew reading in our workbooks. Rabbi visited our class for the students to ask general questions. A couple questions were “What made you want to be a rabbi?” and “What is a religion that is most similar to Judaism?” The kids made a goal of stumping the Rabbi with a tricky question, but no surprise, she was able to answer them all with efficiency! Then we read a story adapted from the Misnah, teaching the principle of Lo L’vayesh (not embarrassing). The story is of a family without enough money to make challah for Shabbat, who lights the cooking fire one week to give the appearance that they are not struggling. A nasty neighbor who knows that the family isn’t cooking challah busts into their house to catch them in a lie. Much to the neighbors surprise, God has provided the family with two challahs to save them from embarrassment. The class discussed ways in their own life that they may save others from an embarrassing situation. At the end of class we started working on props for the Hanukkah play. It was a busy day!
Kitah Vav (Sixth Grade) from Morah Aviva Wednesday and Sunday- This week in Hebrew, the students collaborated on a worksheet translating english sentences into hebrew using posessive pronouns, as well as learning four new pronouns. We started and finished learning the melody for the Avot prayer, which will be recited on Shabbat. The students worked on their dvar torah, as well as learning about the different parts of the shabbat service in Chai. The students matched synogogue vocabulary to its definitions, then acted out the various actions and parts of a shabbat service.
Kitah Zayin (Seventh Grade) Wednesday from Rabbi Finestone- At the beginning of class, we counted up our tzedakah funds, and discovered that we had enough to purchase almost 2 sleeping bags (at $50.00 each.) I added a little to the total from my discretionary fund, so that the students of Kitah Zayin will now be able to purchase THREE sleeping bags for those in need.
We next worked on the Hebrew of the opening prayers of the Torah services, reviewing the parts already learned, and looking at several new passages. Each student was assigned two lines to study and then read alone. We then read the new passages as a class.
After break, we looked at an ethical dilemma regarding animals. The example was a family who had already sat down to Shabbat dinner, was about to say the blessings, and then realized that no one had fed the family dog. Some members of the family said that the dog can wait a little, others said he could wait a lot, and one student said that the dog has to be fed first, before the dinner and even before the blessings. That child was correct - in Jewish law, one must always feed your animals first before yourself. We talked about two stories from the Torah that illustrate this point (Rebecca and Moses at the well), and we also learned the concept of Tzar Ba'al Chayim - the pain of living creatures. We are forbidden to take any action that might cause the suffering of another living animal. The students then shared examples from their own experiences with pets and rescued animals.
Sunday Hebrew from Rabbi Finestone- We continued to work on the prayers of the Torah service, focusing on those prayers that are recited once the ark is open. We practiced the melodies, and then had a discussion about the meaning of these prayers.
Sunday from Morah Michelle- Sunday was a busy day! After shira, students had Hebrew. Then Judy came and played Book Bingo with the students. We then had a few minutes to count all of our shekels for the shuk. After snack, we learned about our last antisemitic trope: Jews are disloyal. Antisemites frequently suspect Jews of holding allegiance only to fellow Jews and to a uniquely Jewish agenda. Jews are accordingly seen as untrustworthy neighbors and citizens, as if they are inherently disloyal — or have inherently dual loyalties.We discussed the conspiracy theory that Jews perpetrated 9/11 and that Jewish members of congress hold Israeli citizenship (false). We then went to the shuk and students spent their hard-earned shekels. See everyone next week!
From our Specials (chuggim חגים) News from Drama! Our third, fourth, and fifth graders continued working on their Hanukkah plays. Morah Lana was sick so we spent the morning working on props and set design. Please save the evening of Wednesday, December 18 in your calendars for our performances.
News from the Sifriyah (Library) Jewish Book Month: We celebrated Jewish Book Month and played Book Bingo in Kitas Alef, Zayin, Dalet and Bet. Here are the students who won books to keep and the title of the book they chose: Alef: James: Beautiful Yetta Zev: The Chameleon that Saved Noah's Ark Zayin: Miriam: Linked Elliot: The Genius Under the Table Dalet: Abi: Shield of the Maccabees Bryce: Rabbi Harvey Rides Again Bet: Hannah: Found Avi: A Synagogue Just Like Home Reuben: The Suitcase Also for Jewish Book Month, all tzedakah collected goes to support 2 libraries in Israel to help them buy books. One library is on Moshav Mitzpe Netofa in the Galilee, and the other is Neve Hanna, a children's residential home in Kiryat Gat in central Israel. Thank you so much for your support!!
Reading Challenge: 14 students received prizes for reading. WOW!! Kol Hakavod!! (Great job!!)
News from Shira (Sunday Morning Song Session) We started our morning with wonderful energy as we gathered together and sang. Shira Josh sang an energetic song called "Ameh Yisrael Chai". Take a listen!
News from Small Group with Deb Small group Hebrew went great! We learned the regular and final versions of the consonants Mem and Nun.
