36
DECEMBER 9, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
An Exciting Month at CAHAL
M
rs. Shoshana Ayzin’s 3-4 grade CAHAL class at Shulamith has been very busy this month. In honor of Thanksgiving, the students read the book Balloons Over Broadway and then designed their own balloons for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The balloons were accompanied by a persuasive paragraph about why Macy’s should use their balloon designs in the parade. The class also made Thanksgiving turkey cookies. In honor of Chanukah, the girls made dreidels out of candy. Mrs. Ayzin gifted each girl with a watch as a Chanukah present, since they
recently began working on telling time. As part of their clock studies, the class made clocks out of paper to practice telling time, played “Clock Bingo,” and did a cutting and matching clocks activity. Students also began learning keyboarding this month. They made colored keyboards to show where the fingers should go and which letters each finger is responsible for typing. The class just got Chromebooks, and everyone is looking forward to learning how to type on actual computers. Students in the Shulamith 3-4 class are excited to learn and grow.
Aryeh Smith brought doughnuts to the local police department on Chanukah in appreciation for all that the NYPD does for the community
Rabbi Moshe Shonek of Yeshiva of South Shore with some alumni on Chanukah
Makor Men Make Magical Memphis Memories What does it feel like to hold a sefer Torah for the first time? You might notice the tactile sensation: smooth velvet starkly contrasting with the weave of thick gold braid. Perhaps the earthy smell of parchment, or the light dancing across the keter as you turn around and around. Maybe you experience that transcendent awareness that the scroll you are holding connects you with something cosmic and divine. Maybe you notice none of these things, or you have never even held a sefer Torah before.
F
or individuals with developmental disabilities, dancing with the Torah is a rare occurrence that many may never get to experience. But in a small shul, nestled in the heart of blues country and rock ‘n roll, five residents aged 15-52 from Makor’s residential homes did just that. It was an unforgettable experience that they will cherish for a lifetime. The innovative and exciting road trip from Brooklyn to Memphis was the brainchild of Mark Gersten, a native of Memphis and the very
able manager at the East 5th Makor Home. “Traveling and seeing new interesting places is such a ‘normal’ part of life that we all take for granted,” explains Mark. “But if you can’t travel on your own, it’s hard to have those experiences. At Makor, we want our guys to have the same experiences as any neurotypical person would.” The idea occurred to Mark when he realized that bringing his beloved residents along with him to his hometown local shul for yom tov would be mutually beneficial: the
additional guests would enhance the small community’s simchas yom tov, while exposing the Makor men to a very different venue and culture than their Brooklyn hometown. Mark and two additional staff members – Sruli Teitelbaum and Pinchas Schwarzbaum – made the 16-hour road trip from Brooklyn to Memphis, driving through the night. They arranged for a spacious AirBnb located close enough to his parents’ shul in Memphis, while also providing the space to enjoy the full travel experience like any other tourist. “I am so grateful to Makor for backing my idea in the first place and allowing for this kind of creativity,” says Mark. “When you’re encouraged as a staff member to share ideas and solutions, you become more of a co-creator of the bigger mission, rather than just going to work and following orders. It’s empowering.” Although Simchas Torah was
unarguably the climactic highlight of the trip, the group enjoyed several days of touring and enjoying the many interesting and exciting sights that the city has to offer including the Memphis Zoo and the Mississippi Mid-South Fair. The trip culminated in the twoday celebration of Simchat Torah, where the residents brought along their buoyant spirit and smiles to this small community. Here, each of the residents was integral to making the minyan in Memphis, and they felt that importance: they knew they were needed and valued by the families they celebrated with. As the trip co-leader, Sruli Teitelbaum, shares, “This was the most exciting part of the trip for our guys. They loved knowing they were bringing joy to other people and being such a big part of the celebration. They are still talking about it over a month later!”
