October 11, 2024 |

Grade 5 Kitah hey April 11, 2016

Posted on April 12, 2016

And yesterday was another whirlwind day!

( I mean that in the best possible way!)
So busy, and it went sooooo quickly by!
For our class breakfast cereal, rather than choosing one that could be connected to Torah, we finished all the leftovers before Passover.  No more chamaytz!
I suggested to my Tuesday boys if they have a kosher snack to share from home…….we could have a 
Last “chamaytz sharing”  before our final pre-Passover clean up!  They seemed pretty enthusiastic.
I just love when my boys get excited ……….as long as it is in a happy way!
I introduced the Torah portion briefly, and we headed to the sanctuary for our tefillah session.
This week our community tefillah included many Passover songs too!
Back in the classroom, I asked what IS the Torah portion?

Tazria.  Formerly one of my least favorite………
But no more.
Tazria has now become quite fascinating! 
Leprosy……..a type of very serious skin disease.  One would be cast out from the community……..
Why?     Leprosy was considered to be highly contagious.  
Besides which, in biblical days, disease was considered to be punishment for wrong behaviors.  
A skin disease……..that everyone can see?!    Oy.
We talked about how that would feel to be isolated from the community.  Why was it necessary?
What else can be contagious?  Flu, strep, ……..etc………also yawning, laughter, ……..
Then bullying……..and gossip, and peer pressure…….and fashion……   And sneakers, charities….just an endless list.  
All that from tazria!, one of my new favorites!
The topics raised were phenomenal.    Ask your children at home and continue the conversation with them around your tables.
We continued with our own retelling of OUR days as slaves, (in every generation………..)
Thank you to Sam!, who remembered the Hebrew!
And we were all so mad at Moses.  We just didn’t know if we could trust him…….or if our lives would be even worse!  Many students shared their “own” stories of the original Passover!   We have quite the dramatic group sometimes.  Great learning and great fun can go together!
Chag Pesach sameach

Cindy Nelson