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PROGRAM Welcome & Remarks Rabbi Hammerman Reflections Grade 7 students
Presentation of Class Gift Grade 7 Students Presentation of Certificates & Gifts Lisa Gittelman Udi and Carl Weinberg Blessing on Completion of 7th Grade Rabbi Hammerman and Grade 7 Graduates Special Remarks & Closing Blessing Rabbi Hammerman
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REFLECTIONS Here are some reflections on our time in religious school at Temple Beth El: The Early Years: In the third grade, we started to come to school two days a week and we learned how to read and write Hebrew. In the fourth grade, we had a very fun and eventful trip to Fairfield Farm. We learned about farming and taking care of the land in Jewish tradition. It was a great day until we were crossing the street and just missed being hit by a bus. We led a Friday evening service with a Star Wars theme. We got to have a light saber duel and sing Adon Olam to the tune of the Star Wars theme. In the fifth grade we had a total of 4 teachers. The highlight of the year was getting a lot of candy! For our Shabbat service, we created our own superheroes. For Mitzvah Day, we held a Tzedakah fair and got to choose the charities that received the school’s tzedakah money. In sixth grade, we really learned a lot of stuff with Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Kapchan. We learned a lot of different stuff: the Hebrew prayers of the Torah service, some Jewish philosophy, and how to be a mensch through the “Mensch on a bench” project. We also had a food drive at Stop and Shop for Jewish Family Services. It was very cold.
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Seventh Grade Seventh grade Hebrew school was probably the best year of Hebrew school. No, it WAS the best year of Hebrew school. We did so many things that we can hardly remember some of them. One of the first big events we had was the mock brit milah and baby naming. This was when we performed a circumcision and named two baby twins. The next event that we had was the sleepover at the Hammerman’s house. This was when we really connected with the boys. At the sleepover we had made ice cream sundaes, played with the puppies and woke up real early. Over the period of seventh grade, we watched three movies: Keeping Up with The Steins, The Devil’s Arithmetic, and The Zookeeper’s Wife. Those movies helped us learn more about Judaism and get even more closer with the class. In the middle of the year, we got to welcome Ben Herrera. He fit in so well that we couldn’t imagine Hebrew school without him. After that we had the mock wedding. That was a fun experience that made the parents proud and us proud because we got to see all our hard work finally done. Next, we had the New York trip. This was a fun experience where we got to walk around the Lower East Side to learn about Jewish Immigration to New York. We couldn’t imagine this year without all the food we got to eat. We even made an edible wedding. Every week, Mrs. Hammerman went food shopping to get us little bites and pringles from Stop & Shop. Our favorite flavors of little bites were crumb cake, brownie, and party. Overall, Mrs. Hammerman made all of these events a fun learning experience. We went to so many Bar Mitzvah’s this year that became better friends with the people in our Hebrew school class then any of the other years. We have enjoyed this year so much and will miss it.
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OUR CLASS GIFT THE FOODS OF JUDAISM This year, the seventh grade class chose to depict foods that are traditionally associated with Judaism. This art project was particularly relevant to this year’s class, as food was a major theme of our year! Apples and Honey, by Liav Vadel: For my art piece, I decided to draw apples and honey, which symbolize Rosh Hashanah. On Rosh Hashanah, we eat apples dipped in honey as we hope for a sweet new year. I also drew a shofar, another symbol of Rosh Hashanah. Soufganiyot, by Sydney Marks: In my artwork, I drew jelly donuts, also known as soufganiyot, and a dreidel. I drew these because Hanukkah is one of my most favorite holidays. Soufganiyot are fried in oil. We eat foods fried in oil at Hanukkah because of the story of the oil that was found after the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple. There was only enough oil for the eternal light for one day, but it lasted for 8 days, which was enough time to send for more oil, so by miracle, the light did not go out. Potato Latkes, by Adam Kindnerman: I chose potato latkes. These are connected to the holiday of Hanukkah. We eat latkes because they are fried in oil and oil is one of the important parts of the story of Hanukkah. The background is a menorah. This is also connected to Hanukkah because we light the menorah every night during this holiday. Black and White Cookies, by Lexi Handel: I chose to draw black and white cookies because they represent Jewish immigration to New York. We studies this during class this year and we even went to the Lower East Side on a trip during Hebrew school this year, which is one of the many reasons I wanted to draw it. To symbolize immigration, I drew a scene of Canal Street, where we walked during our Lower East Side trip.
Schnitzel, by Ben Hererra: I chose an image of schnitzel with an Israeli flag. Schnitzel, or breaded chicken cutlets, is a very common Israeli food. I drew this because I had schnitzel in Israel and I love Israel, so it’s very important to me. 5
Matzoh Ball Soup, by Matthew Goodman: The matzoh ball soup, Seder plate and Four Questions are all part of Passover. We eat matzoh ball soup because we can’t eat leavened bread and only matzoh. The Seder plate is part of the Seder and is a symbol of the Jewish people’s exodus from Egypt. We ask the Four Questions during the Seder both nights. I am the youngest so I always get to ask them Matzoh, by Kyle Nadel: I drew a matzah on a Seder plate with the four cups of wine. Matzah is an important symbol of the holiday of Passover. The matzah represents how the Jews didn’t have time to wait for the bread to rise when they were fleeing Egypt. The Seder plate and the 4 cups of wine are fundamental parts of the Passover Seder. Challah, by Jesse Kalt: The Jewish food that I chose is challah. While there are many holidays connected with this food, the main holiday is Shabbat. We eat challah on Shabbat to celebrate that on the Sabbath day, we would get a double portion of bread to celebrate. Other symbols connected to Shabbat are Shabbat candles and the kiddush cup. Bagels, by Michael Luther: My drawing includes a picture of bagels and the Statue of Liberty. The bagels are a traditional Jewish food, and the statue of Liberty symbolizes immigration. Early in the 1900’s, many waves of Jews from eastern Europe came to New York. With little money, and little space, the bagel was easy and cheap for Jewish immigrants to produce in their tenements. They became a symbol of New York Jews. Hamantaschen, by Zachary Lew: I chose to draw hamantaschen. These three-cornered cookies are a symbol of Purim. They are supposed to remind us of Haman’s hat. In Hebrew, they are called “osnay Haman.” This means Haman’s ears, which were said to be very large and triangular. The filling in the cookie is supposed to represent the dirt in Haman’s ears. Kiddush Wine, by Yael Everett: My art piece is a picture of a cup of wine, and Shabbat candles, inside of a Jewish Star. It shows what is traditionally done on Shabbat, and I chose it because it is representative of the Jewish traditions, and our holidays.
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BLESSING UPON COMPLETION OF SEVENTH GRADE Blessed are You, God, source of life, who gives us the ability to learn, interpret and teach others; even though our traditions are very old, there is always something new to be discovered. The process of learning never ends and we have just reached the beginning of a lifetime of discovery. Praised are You, who helps us to gain wisdom. THE SHEHECHIYANU A traditional blessing recognizing significant moments in a Jewish life
מֶ לְֶך הָּ ע ֹולָּם,בָּ רּוְך אַ ָּתה ה' אֱ ֹלהֵ ינּו .ֶשהֶ חֱ יָּנּו וְ ִקיְ מָּ נּו וְ ִהגִ יעָּ נּו לַזְ מַ ן הַ זֶ ה Baruch ata Adonai Eloheynu melech ha-olam She-he-chey-a-nu v’kiy-e-ma-nu v’hi-gi-an-u laz-man ha-zeh Blessed art Thou Adonai our God who has blessed us with life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this moment in time. OUR TALLIT Our beautiful Tallit was created a number of years ago by the entire student body of our Religious School. Each student, given a 6 inch square of fabric with a Hebrew letter stenciled in the center, created a unique individual piece of art. We combined these small masterpieces to create a beautiful tapestry, which symbolizes our love for the Hebrew language and the unity of our school community. The Tallit measures a little more than 9 by 15 feet. The Tallit, a gift to the congregation, is used at the seventh grade Aliyah (moving up) Ceremony, and on other special occasions.
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TBE Professional Staff Rabbi Joshua Hammerman Cantor Magda Fishman Mr. Steven Lander—Executive Director Lisa Gittelman Udi—Director of Congregational Learning Beth Silver—Religious School Office Administrator
TBE Board of Education Arthur Laichtman—Chair Carin Kalt Naomi Sobel Marks Cindy Parker Galit Roloff Julie Rose Danielle Wahren Stephanie Zelazny
TBE Religious School Faculty Darren Bahar Rachel Bahar Mara Hammerman Juli Harris, Nancy Herz Nancy Kapchan Katie Kaplan Aviva Lederman Marcy Nirschel Dayna Patashnik Lisa Grove Raider Galit Roloff
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Temple Beth El Seventh Grade Class of 2019/5779
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