ZAYIN 1 (Mon/Wed)
Dear Zayin 1 (7th-grade) Parents,
This has been a busy past month for all of us with the celebration of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. I hope that you and your families enjoyed all the festivities.
Here is a recap of what we have been learning:
Mitzvot
We have completed our study of the mitzvah of tzedakah. One of the interesting points we discussed was the fact that even the poor are required to give tzedakah. Please ask your student why they think this is so.
Rodef Shalom, pursuing peace, is the mitzvah we are now learning. We are discussing famous “peacemakers” and why being one who pursues peace is so important in Judaism.
American Jewish History
After completing our chapter on “Battling for Rights”, we moved on to “The Power of Religion”.
We discussed what makes our Jewish community in Minneapolis Jewish, what we could do without, and what role our synagogues, schools, and youth groups play in our lives.
It was a pleasure getting to meet with some of you at our recent conferences.
I wish all of you a wonderful winter break with your families.
L’hitraot,
Mary
ZAYIN 2 - Mon only
Dear Zayin (7th-grade) Parents,
This month, we’ve continued in our curriculum of Morality, Faith, and Peoplehood. We’ve discussed Climate Change and its impacts, the food we eat, consumerism, the importance of a name, and abortion. I am pleased to see the connections the students are making between some of these lessons. One student referenced the climate change discussion during our lesson on food. Between bites of popcorn and jelly beans, she tied the packaging and waste of different foods to our lesson on tikkun olam (repairing the world) and climate change.
M גברת Moremi started on the Monday that lined up with our lesson on naming which worked out wonderfully. She was able to introduce herself, meet kitah zayin, and explain the history behind a name she chose for her child. Discussing the names of different organizations set us up well to move into the lesson on Abortion where we discussed the meaning of Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. I was extremely impressed with everyone’s maturity and respect during this class especially.
Some students in the extended Monday class have signed up to lead a section in the weeks after break. I’m excited to provide these opportunities for students to bring up topics that interest them and for them to have a chance to lead class themselves. Please reach out to me if your student wants to talk through their lesson or needs resources (Jewish or otherwise) to help plan.
I will add the lesson topics for the second semester to RenWeb over break. Please reach out if you have any questions. Looking forward to the days becoming longer and our classes being filled with sunlight in the coming semester.
B’Shalom,
Avi Baron
Madricha: Leah Spencer
Zoom teacher: Elana Warren