Last Sunday we kvelled during the Kitah Dalet (4th-grade) Family Program entitled “An Attitude of Gratitude,” which was masterfully led by two of our remarkable faculty, Niza Schear and Noa Rosenzweig. Our students and their families explored a multitude of things in their lives for which they are grateful, and discovered Jewish ways, both verbal and written, to express their thanks. The morning’s online program culminated in each student creating a work of art – a personal Birkat HaBayit (Home Blessing) that reflected the beauty and affirmation for each family of the many blessings in their collective life.
During the course of the program, when our students were asked to reflect and identify which kind of occurrences in the world are more important for a person to offer thanks—the huge, spectacular ones or the unassuming, simple ones—one of our Kitah Dalet students wisely suggested that we should always notice and be more grateful for the small, recurring things in our lives—those daily miracles that one could easily miss—because without each one of these little acts, we would never be able to fully appreciate the rare and spectacular things when they happen!
I am grateful that our Talmud Torah community has continued to flourish throughout this most unusual year—a year that has been filled with a host of challenges as well as many opportunities and blessings. I know that we continue to be blessed by a creative and dedicated faculty and staff, hard-working and caring lay leadership, supportive and collaborative synagogue and community partners, generous and passionate donors, and committed families like YOURS, that together make Talmud Torah the dynamic place for our students to grow Jewishly and gain the tools to live intentionally Jewish lives. It is our shared vision and mission that will prepare us for our spectacular future blessings, when we will be able to give thanks for the opportunity to learn with each other while standing side-by-side!
L’shalom,
Hazzan Jeremy Lipton, Head of School