November 2011

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Building a community

November 23, 2011 in Education by Laurence | No comments

The Early Childhood Center at JFC
by Jane Weil Emmer,  Director

Building a community is my “big picture” goal at the JFC ECC this year.

I hope that you will consider helping me achieve this goal.

The children are getting to know each other; the parents are getting to know each other. The teachers are getting to know the children, and the children are learning about their teachers.  We are becoming a community, a neighborhood of learners.
 
Mister Rogers (Mr. Community himself) wrote:  “As human beings our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has – or ever will have- something inside that is unique …”

Fred Rogers defines our goal at JFC ECC, to celebrate each individual child.  At the same time, we strive to incorporate each student into our bigger community.  These are the building blocks of building our larger community of JFC, and our more global community of Jewish Leaders.

Okay, you might think that I am getting away from myself here…. but I will continue.
The first three to five years of life are a time of extraordinary brain development.  Jewish experiences lay the groundwork for a lifelong Jewish identity and create the basis upon which all future learning is built. Jewish early childhood education is about building the foundation of a strong, vibrant, joyful Jewish identity for each child.  Each child is a vibrant and important member of the larger Jewish community.   A child who lights the candles and eats challah in his classroom each week in preparation for Shabbat begins to understand the rhythm of Jewish time.
The Jewish calendar gives us a framework for our year, beginning with Rosh Hashanah.  The holidays and festivals help us to appreciate and celebrate our heritage.  Shabbat gives us a structure for our week.  Each week we celebrate Shabbat as an entire school community.  Our first Shabbat was filled with Ruach (spirit).  If you are ever in town on Friday morning, please join us at 11:15 in the sanctuary for our Ruach-filled Shabbat, and maybe you can be a special guest for our Shabbat snack.

 

Todah Rabbah:
Dinah, Lynn, Ellen, Alison, Debra & Laura for a great beginning!
Rabbi Carla and Cantor Kerry for helping us to celebrate Shabbat.
Jolie and Kathleen for all that they do for the ECC.
Rachel Clott and Dara Marceau for agreeing to lead our ECC Committee.
Gillian Margolin, Marjorie Schiff, Jennifer Carter, Cassie Hollander and Marina Fried for agreeing to be our class parents.
Meredith Rudin for running our Scholastic fundraiser.

Chayei Sarah – a d’var torah

November 20, 2011 in Education, Torah by Laurence | 1 comment

During our Youth Group led Shabbat service, Sierra shared a lesson on the parshah that she had prepared. Sierra is a 9th grader, and a religious school student in the confirmation class. Here is her d’var torah:

This week’s Torah portion is called Chayei Sarah from the book of Genesis. I have written a d’var torah, or teaching of the Torah. Chayei Sarah means “the life of Sarah” and is about her death at age 127. She is buried in the Machpelah Cave in Hebron and is accompanied by her husband Abraham and their two eldest children about 50 years later after paying the price of four hundred shekels of silver for the graves. This happens even though Abraham remarried to a woman named Keturah. He gains 6 boys from that short-lived marriage, though his heir to all his belongings is still Isaac. Sarah misses the marriage of her child, Isaac to Rebecca. Issac and Rebecca come together when Eliezer is sent with gifts to Charan. Eliezer is given a sign from G­-d when Rebecca appears with water for his camel and as a result passes the test. Then Eliezer is invited to Rebecca’s home where he tells his story and later brings Rebecca back to Canaan to meet Isaac during his daily rituals. This is important because they marry after falling in love and he eventually forgets the grief of losing his mother, Sarah.

 

Looking further into the text, Chayei Sarah expands on what makes you happy in life.“Sarah lived to be 127 years old. These were the years of Sarah’s life,” (23:1). Could this mean that she lived life to the fullest. Was it simply an enjoyable life or simply a long and full life– or is it both? All we can do in our own lives is to define the meaning of happiness and hope to see it come to fruition. “To be happy does not mean that you have everything you want or everything you were promised. It means, simply, to have done what you were called on to do, to have made a beginning, and then to have passed on the baton to the next generation.” I think the most important thing to be learned here is that we need to fulfill our duties to education and career—but we also must do our work of continuing to teach the generations to come. And maybe, if possible, we will make a lasting impression. After all, we are only human– just like Sarah and Abraham.

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When Shabbat rocks the house

November 20, 2011 in Events, Shabbat by Laurence | No comments

Last Shabbat, the service was led by the Temple’s Youth Group. It was a huge successs and this was the sentiment shared by all who expressed something about it after the service  (including the Rabbi and Cantor).

This is what Leslie, our Religious School Director wrote in particular:

People had the nicest things to say.  I especially want to thank Sierra for preparing a d’var Torah, Andrew for helping to coordinate the service, and Jeremy for organizing the music.

Everyone else involved made the service inclusive for all to see what great things can happen when teenagers put their efforts together!  This was a presentation comprising close to 15 members and that is not an easy thing to pull off.  I think the use of the stage was wonderful, too.  Our three guitarists rocked the house! Maybe next time we can plug in (electric guitars) and use some funky lighting.

For those who could not make it to JFC that night, we missed you and hope you can be there to help plan and execute the next Rock Shabbat (which is scheduled for Friday February 10th, 2012 mark your calendar!).

It was such a special night for JFC and I was happy that long-time members with no children in tow made it out to join us, too.  That is an additional sign that this kind of thing is exciting for one and all.  Actually, there was not an empty seat in the sanctuary.  And thanks, too, for those who came out in pajamas.

The grade 4-6 pizza/game board event was also so much fun.  The kids were wild with excitement.  Thanks for your help with that, as well.  With over 30 participants and parent volunteers… the whole building came alive.  I very much enjoyed playing circle games with these kids on the floor of the garden room while the Youth Group had their final rehearsal.  It felt like summer camp all over again.

Thanks again and shavua tov (a good week to all)!!!!

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