C. A. I. Religious School

Weekly Update 03-07-10

Dear Families,

            Todah rabbah to all the families that made the trip to Windsor for the Pesach Palooza. From what I could see your extra travel time was well-rewarded. There were beautiful Miriam’s cups and mircographs, tasty matza and charoset, and people learning about the steps of a Seder. Best of all, our CAI families met with other Jews in a community of learning and sharing.

            In the coming week, I’ll be meeting with the heads of the other synagogues’ schools to discuss the event. If anything comes to mind that you didn’t get to put on your evaluation, please email me your thoughts. Looking ahead to future Family Education events – is there a topic you’d like us to explore?

Lastly, you can now find the Religious School Weekly Update on the Religious School page of the synagogue's website. No more looking through old emails to check what your child did in class or what they need to bring to the next class. To access it go to adathisraelct.org and click on the Religious School tab at the top of the page.

            Kol tuv (All the best),

Joanna Schnurman

Whole School Announcements:

1) Sat. Mar. 13 Keetah Geemel/Dalet will lead Junior Congregation. Services start at 10 AM in the Small Sanctuary. Come pray with your friends and check out our new family oriented Torah service.

2) The Education Committee will meet at 7:00 PM in the Nester Center. Any member is welcome. For more information, please contact Diana Lane at ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

3) Fri, Mar. 19 Pray, Eat, Sing dinner and service starting at 5:30 PM. Can’t make it to the service?  Then join us for dinner. Shabbat dinner with friends is the best.

4) Sun., Mar. 21 at 9:30 AM Keetah Vav, the Oleem, and Bogreem (6^th Grade through Confirmation) will participate in the World Wide Wrap sponsored by the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs. Anyone who would like to learn (or brush up on) how to fulfill the mitzvah of tefillin is welcome to join Rabbi Haaz, Joanna Schnurman, and members of our minyan in the Small Sanctuary.

T’ameem (Torah Cantillation): Great progress is being made as we move from learning just the melodies of the T’ameem to combining Torah phrases with them. Students have been working in chevroota (small study groups) helping each other. They are learning Jewish content in a Jewish model of learning.

Pesach Palooza: The morning officially began with Rabbi Alan Lefkowitz welcoming us to Congregation Beth Ahm. We sang songs together and then went to our centers. Options included learning about and making a Miriam’s cup, matza, charoset, or a micrograph, playing a game that reenacted a Seder, or participating in a parenting roundtable. All that learning and creating helped us work up an appetite which we satisfied with a wonderful brunch that included sampling the various charosets made in the center. The food and fellowship were wonderful.

Keetah Geemel/Dalet (3^rd & 4^th grade) From Morah Patresha:  On Wednesday, our class worked with Morah Joanna planning the Junior Congregation Service the students will lead on March 13. The girls have decided to lead as much of the service as possible. They are also going to put on a play as part of the Torah service.

Homework: Please use the CD to review prayers for our service next Shabbat.

Keetah Hei (5^th Grade) On Wednesday we continued our study of the prophet Samuel. We looked at the influence early in Samuel’s life of people around him who abused their power, namely the sons of the High Priest Eli, with whom Samuel was apprenticing. The chapters then relay stories of several battles between Israel and the Philistines, where a lack of devotion to God caused a substantial defeat for Israel, but their return to God, at Samuel’s insistence, was the deciding factor in their later victory. As the separate tribes of Israel decide to increase their strength by uniting and ask Samuel to appoint a king over all of them, he warns them against having a king as a ruler rather than God because of his concern that a king would abuse his authority over the people. We are heading into the tales of King Saul, the first king of Israel, and the subsequent succession to the throne by King David. We also studied T’ameem with Rabbi Haaz in small groups of two or three.

Keetah Vav(6^th grade)  After finding the date on the Hebrew calendar, the class and Mrs. Waldman reviewed previous material with a matching game. Then it was on to new material, discussing Rabbi Haaz’s message comparing and contrasting Purim and Pesah. The class explored those ideas further using a handout on the origin and main themes of Purim. The class finished the day by reading A Big Quiet House during Keheela.

Oleem (7^th grade) The Oleem have finished their section on the history of anti-Semitism. Purim coming in the middle of the unit made it more poignant. Discussing Haman and his ilk while making Hamantaschen make the history come to life. While Wesleyan is on break, Moreh Rich (Rich Lawson) and I will work with the class as we move into the rise of Hitler and Kristallnacht. The emphases in the unit on the Holocaust are on how it happened, how people responded to it, and how it affected Jews’ relationship with God.