Shalom U'Brachah,
Welcome to a brand new year of Hebrew School! I am so excited to be teaching Grade Four this year and I am filled with new ideas to make our Torah, Hebrew and Judaism learning exciting and rememberable.
I do expect every Student to arrive on time daily, 9:30am, and ready to learn. Readiness entails having all Homework completed and having a backpack with the following necessities inside:
1) A 2-3 inch Binder with subject dividers
2) A Pencil case with:
a) Pencils (and a sharpener)
b) Pens (black or blue)
c) Colouring utensils (markers, crayons, etc.)
d) Glue Stick
e) Scissors
3) Any materials or books given out during the year
In addition, each boy is expected to wear a Kippah the entire time at Hebrew School.
This year we will be covering the following subjects: Jewish Holidays (Traditions, Laws and History), Hebrew Handwriting, Hebrew Reading, Hebrew Vocabulary and the Weekly Torah Portion. Every week will include a special activity and/or art project. Please visit this blog regularly to keep track of what was done in school, as there will be no notes sent home.
Today, being that Rosh Hashanah is close to two weeks away (I know, sorry for reminding you!), we learned about the special foods we are to eat and why. I will attach pictures and the pdf. of the project soon.
In review: We eat Apples dipped in Honey to signify our want of a sweet new year, Pomegranates to signify our desire to be full of good deeds like a Pomegranate is filled with seeds and Fish (specifically the head of a fish) to signify a) our desire to produce mitzvos as fish produce babies, b)to signify our desire to be leaders and not followers, c) to signify how Hashem's eyes are always open like that of a fish and d) to signify how important Torah is to us, like water is to a fish.
We repeated the special prayers we say before eating each item. Please consult with your child and review it with them. They should have the poster in their bag.
As well, we discussed why we are careful about what we do on Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah literally means the HEAD of the year. Just like a head controls and gives life to the body, so too does Rosh Hashanah control and give life to rest of the year. If our Rosh is weak or sending bad signals it can effect the body negatively, if it is healthy and positive, the our bodies will be healthy and good.
I hope you all have an easy and joyous preparation for Rosh Hashanah, and if you can't take the heat..... get invited to the Rabbis!
Rabbi B
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