DALET 1 & 2
Dear Dalet 1 and Dalet 2 (4th-grade) Families,
It has been another great month together in Kitah Dalet!
Hebrew:
We continue to enrich our Hebrew vocabularies and strengthen our Hebrew reading. We finished our topic about shorashim (word roots), and we will continue to revisit this topic as the year continues.
Etgar:
Before focusing on the stories of our immediate families in later lessons, students gained familiarity with the stories of our common ancestors—the אָבוֹת (avot -- patriarchs) and אִמָהוֹת (imahot -- matriarchs). We studied stories of the אָבוֹת (avot) and אִמָהוֹת (imahot) from בְּרֵאשׁית (bereishit -- Genesis), applied the stories’ lessons to our lives, and share them with one another. We focused on בִּרְכַּת בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת (birkat banim uvanot -- blessings of sons and daughters) as one way that their families can remember their ancient ancestors on a weekly basis. Avraham and Lot, Yitzhak in Gerar, Yaakov and Esav, our Patriarchs from biblical times have all joined us in our learning.
We had a wonderful discussion and shared readings regarding the conflict of The Wells dug by Abraham. Yitzhak in Gerar needed to work through the conflict with the Plishtim who had plugged up the wells after Abraham's death. We watched a video that took us to the land that Abraham and Isaac walked and visited the wells virtually.
Reminders:
We would like to remind everyone that students should be fully prepared with their textbook and any other materials necessary prior to class beginning, and it is crucial that they stay online for our entire class time to ensure they’re able to fully participate and benefit from the curriculum.
Multi-Generations Day
It was great to be able to meet all of our Kitah Dalet families during our Multi-Generational Day! We learned about our family trees, shared stories of Hebrew school learning of the past. It was lovely going to Israel virtually with our passports in hand for those that traveled with us. We really enjoyed it and we hope you all did, tool! We’re looking forward to our future travels together!
We wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!
Shalom and Blessings, Noa and Morah Schear
nschear@talmudtorahmpls.org
DALET 3
Dear Dalet 3 (4th grade) Parents,
I hope that this communication finds you all well. Here is an update about what we have been learning:
Holidays/Life Cycle
We began our discussion about Shabbat talking about “menucha,” rest, and its benefits. This very much captured the interest of my students since we spoke about menucha at camp. We learned that Shabbat is a special day, separate from all other days. It is an opportunity to reflect, to do things we can’t do during the week. It is also a “holy” day, which led us to a discussion of what is holy and what is not. I asked what it would be like to disconnect from devices on Shabbat (when possible, of course), and we discussed the pros and cons of doing this.
Some of the material we used for the study of Shabbat can be found in their text, Make, Create, Celebrate. The kids really like the activities in this book as well as the opportunities to use their creativity in expressing themselves through art.
Torah
We learned about the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve. Human beings were created as God’s partners and it is our job to care for the world. We also spoke about making choices and the fact that making the wrong choice can have serious consequences. In the story of Cain and Abel we spoke about Cain’s response to God: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” We explored why the answer to that question must be: “Yes, I am my brother’s keeper.” It has been a joy working with your children and I so appreciate your partnering with us!
As Jews, we are reminded that gratitude, Hakarat Hatov, is one of our most important values. I wish all of you a wonderful, albeit different, Thanksgiving. May we all realize how much we have for which to be grateful, even in these tumultuous times.
L’hitraot, Mary
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