Talking Torah

A student in Kitah Zayin chose to do an independent Torah study. We were learning about the Ma'ariv service in class. In our discussion of the Shema, we learned that the second line is not found in the Torah. This student wanted to know why, despite it not being in the Torah, we include this line in our daily prayers. In her study, she learned that the second line is a Talmudic commentary on the first. Therefore, it is not something that Moses recorded in the Torah. She explained to her classmates that it is not appropriate for us (even for respected rabbis and scholars) to say our opinion of the passage as loudly as the original, in order to avoid "editing" the Torah. This led to a class discussion about the ethics of primary and secondary document study in Judaism.

Visitors from Eretz Yisrael

We were so lucky in our classroom to get visitors from Israel three weeks in a row. They told us about their cities and taught us some new vocabulary. They even lit Chanukah candles with us!

Illustrating Our Personal Prayers

This fall Kitah Zayin studied the Amidah. We learned that the Amidah, also known as the Shemoneh Esrei, includes a unique opportunity to communicate with Hashem through personal prayer. As a class, we discussed personal prayers and wrote our own. After many edits, we illustrated our words in watercolor and acrylic paint. We then wrote out the actual prayer on clear contact paper that would rest on top of our paintings.

Here we are in the artistic process! 

Stay tuned for the finished products!