G. 6 Trop

Dear 6th grade families,

         I am excited to begin meeting with our 6th graders for Trope Class that will meet Tuesday OR Wednesday afternoons throughout the year, 4:30-5:00.  This class will help students learn synagogue skills that should serve them well for bar or bat mitzvah and beyond.  By laying the groundwork this year, in our class and in practice at home, each of your individual preparations for your bar or bat mitzvah will be made much easier.  All recordings and electronic versions of the packet are here: https://www.tiofnatick.org/sing/torah-chanting/

        Our goals for the class are for the 6th graders to:

1)  master the blessings before and after the Torah (“an aliya”) and the blessings before and after the Haftarah. Tracks 12, 14, and 16-21 at the link above.

2)  know the names of each of the trope symbols and what tunes they signify for both the Torah and Haftarah, enabling you to, with practice, chant any Torah or Haftarah portion. Torah is tracks 1-11, and Haftarah is tracks 22-32, at the same link.

3)  join the community of Temple Israel’s Torah readers.  We’ll conclude this year with our annual celebration on the first day of Shavuot, which this year falls on Monday, May 17.  Please mark your calendars in advance to save this date and plan to take at least part of the day off from school, work, and other usual commitments (the Torah service is 10:00 AM-noon).  There may be opportunities to read Torah before then, as well as during your  bar or bat mitzvah year and beyond.

The expectations for the class are as follows:

1)  Students should practice daily and complete each weekly assignment.  The recommended amount of practice is 10 minutes several times a week, increasing to 20-30 minutes a day when individual lessons begin.  I will tell the students the assignment at the end of each class and will sometimes email it as a reminder.  In general, they should review the trope and the blessings at the website above.  We’ll plan to learn all the Torah trope by early December, spend a couple months practicing applying the trope to Torah portions, and then spend some time learning haftarah trope and blessings and then preparing for the end-of-year celebration on Shavuot.

2)  Parents, please check in briefly with your child each week on their progress so they can show you what they’ve been working on.  Let me know if you need help from my end to help your children or to learn to chant Torah yourself!

3)  Bring your trope packet to class each week and also with the highlighters (pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, & purple) you received with your school supplies.

On the next page are the bar and bat mitzvah dates for the class, along with “sneak preview” dates when you can hear your Torah and/or Haftarah portions a year ahead of time. On Shabbat morning that day, you can follow along with the portions and hear the d’var Torah. You’re all invited to join us for services anytime, online for the time being, and eventually in person again.

 B. Mitzvah Date  Name and Torah/Haftarah Portion               Sneak Preview Date

6/12/21Maya Allen   Korach

8/28/21Trevor Howitt  Ki Tavo

9/18/21Shira Katzman     Ha’azinu

10/2/21 Penelope Goldenblatt     B’reisheet 10/17/20

10/9/21 Sammy Rochwerger: Noach 10/24/20

10/16/21 Reese Plofsky   Lech L’cha 10/31/20

10/23/21 Mae Pearlstein   Vayeira 11/7/20

11/6/21 Ryan Edelson  Toldot 11/21/20

11/13/21 Jordyn Missle   Vayeitzei   11/28/20

12/11/21 Seth Elterman    Vayigash 12/26/20

4/30/22 Sam Fishman    Acharei Mot 4/24/21 (double portion)

5/7/22 Elias Duckworth   Kedoshim    4/24/21

5/14/22 Ezra Dolgoff   Emor    5/1/21

5/21/22 Max Retik   Behar    5/8/21 (double portion)

5/28/22 Hannah Zwelling   Bechukotai    5/8/21

6/11/22 Abigail and Sarah Singer   Naso    5/22/21

6/18/22 Elijah Klawans  Beha’alotecha    5/29/21

9/10/22 Eliza Stein  Ki Teitzei    8/21/21

In addition to our group class each Tuesday or Wednesday, we’ll begin individual lessons at least 6 months before your Bar or Bat Mitzvah, and at least 8 months if there is an intervening summer. (for the fall through early spring b’nai mitzvah)

Also, please note that we’ll have some Family Bar/Bat Mitzvah programs for parents with children, and an occasional parent meeting or discussion.  Day school students and families are invited to these family programs and often join the trope class later in the spring when we are working on Haftarah.

Questions? Email cantor@tiofnatick.org any time.

I’m looking forward to our studies together this year and beyond!

                                                                        —        Cantor Ken Richmond