10/27/10

This week in class we continued studying the Birkat Shalom, or the "final blessings" of the Amidah. We talked about the translation activities on pages 5, 6, and 7, and discussed the overall meaning of parts of Sim Shalom, Shalom Rav, and Oseh Shalom.

Then we went over more root analysis with flashcards covering three major roots:
Shin/Sin-Lamed-Mem
Aleph-Mem-Nun
Ayin-Shin/Sin-Heh

And the other root we have been discussing as well:
Bet/Vet-Resh-Chaf

This week we started learning some of the vocabulary associated with the Birkat Shalom, and will continue to do some vocab each week. The words we are currently studying are:

good
peace
kindness/compassion
bless
on/about
Israel
nation/people
because

In addition to studying these words next week, we will continue to add more and more vocab words paralleling our studies of the prayers.

Then, on page 9 of the packet, we looked at the choreography associated with Oseh Shalom when it is said at the end of the Amidah (usually in silent prayer). Remember to practice!

We talked about different interpretations of why we take 3 steps back, bow to the left, then to the right, then to the front, then walk forward again.

- One interpretation is that G-d is our master and we are the servants so we are humbling ourselves before G-d.
- Another is after Moses received the Torah at Mt. Sinai, he had to step down from the mountain. When we say the Amidah, it is a holy prayer, so we need to 'step down' and unwind.
- We could be describing a scene; the angel Mikha'el stands to the right of G-d, and the angel Gavri'el stands to the left of G-d.

Homework for this week:
- Practice the choreography on page 9 of the packet (remember it is still a prayer and to be respectful!)
- Root analysis activity, page 8
- Translation activity of Oseh Shalom, page 9
Reading Homework:
- Shalom Rav, page 2
- Sim Shalom, page 3
- Amidah (worksheet)

B'shalom,
Arielle

10/19/10

Tuesday in class we finished up talking about Ein Keloheinu and Adon Olam and moved onto Birkat Shalom. Just like with the last 2 prayers, Birkat Shalom has 3 key themes or ideas:

1. It is considered the last of the prayers, and is the last prayer of the Amidah.
2. It includes the priestly blessings.
3. It has 2 different versions; Ashkenazic and Sephardic.

We spent some time talking about the priestly blessings and how the Cohanim (priests) were in charge of blessing the rest of the Jewish people. But when the Temple fell, they could no longer give the blessing, so the Amidah was created, along with the Birkat Shalom, as a substitute. We also discussed that Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews are distinguished by where they come from.

The 2 prayers that make the Birkat Shalom are Shalom Rav and Sim Shalom. We read Shalom Rav, and sang it, and will read Sim Shalom next week in class. We talked a lot about roots and how to find words that have the same root, such as Baruch, B'racha, Birkat, and Barcheinu.

Some questions to think about:

- Why are the Birkat Shalom a substitute for the priestly blessings?
- What are the 2 main roots we discussed that are found in the Birkat Shalom?
- In what prayer are the Birkat Shalom located? When do we say this prayer?

The homework sheet is attached. There are only 2 changes:
1. In addition to the translation activities listed, please finish the translation activity on page 6 that we started in class.
2. We will get to the vocabulary words next week, so don't worry about them yet.

Remember to fill out your reading raffle cards after reading every night!

Also, Mitzvah Day is THIS SUNDAY! Stop by and help out your community!

B'shalom,
Arielle

10/13/10

This week, we reviewed Ein Keloheinu, and started learning about Adon Olam. We had three main themes associated with Adon Olam:

1. Adon Olam is a song with many melodies used by many different traditions, which creates unique customs all over the world.
2. Adon Olam is the name Abraham called G-d.
3. Adon Olam started as a nighttime prayer.

We discussed some morning prayers (Sh'ma, Modeh Ani, Yotzer Or) and some nighttime prayers (Sh'ma, Adon Olam). Then we read the first 7 lines of the prayer (in Hebrew) and read the entire translation. Some interesting things we concluded from the translation are:

- G-d rules
- G-d is always there for us
- G-d is the only G-d (also seen in Sh'ma)
- G-d will take care of us
- G-d will protect us while we're sleeping (this is why it originated as a nighttime prayer)

After discussing the translation and the meaning behind Adon Olam, we read the story on the back page of the packet and talked about the discussion questions on the bottom of the page.

Homework for next week:
- Translation activity of Ein Keloheinu on page 4 of the packet
- "Talk About G-d" activity on top of page 7 of the packet (underline what the numbers you agree with)
- Start learning the vocabulary in the "words" box on page 7

Reading Homework:
- Adon Olam (page 6)
- Mizmor Shir (Handout)
- Ein Keloheinu (page 2)

Remember to fill out your reading raffle cards and to actually write in the activities, if needed! We will be finishing these 2 prayers next week and starting Birkat Shalom.

For those of you who came to Back to School Night, it was so nice meeting you!

Please feel free to email me with any questions!

B'shalom,
Arielle Solomon
solomon4@bu.edu

Weekly Newsletter 10/5/10

n class on Tuesday, we started talking about Ein Keloheinu. We noticed some key patterns that make Ein Keloheinu a very unique prayer in terms of its setup:
- There are groups of 4, and in each group the first word is the same
- The second word of each line ends in "eynu" meaning "our"
- The melody changes with the groups of 4
- The last 2 lines are very different and do not follow the pattern

Using these patterns, we talked about the 3 main themes of Ein Keloheinu (this is a great thing to ask your student for review):
1. It is a song.
2. It includes 20 of the 100 blessings we say on Shabbat.
3. It ends by talking about the incense and spices used in the Temple.

Some questions the students should be able to answer:
- Where and when do we use incense? Why are they mentioned in this prayer?
- When do we say Ein Keloheinu?
- What are the patterns of this prayer?
- What is the common ending of each second word in each line? What does it mean?

We also learned a vocabulary word relating to Ein Keloheinu: C'mo (Caf mem vav) meaning "like/as", used in comparisons.


Homework for next week: Complete the translation activity on page 4 of the packet. For reading homework, read Ein Keloheinu as well as Mizmor Shir (there was one Mizmor Shir sheet left in class - if your student is missing theirs, please let me know!). Don't forget to fill out the reading raffle cards!

Also, next Tuesday at 5:30 pm will be a Pizza Dinner and Back to School Night. I'd love to meet you!

B'shalom,
Arielle

Opening Classes!

For the last few weeks, we have been reviewing what we learned last year. We've talked a lot about confusing letters that are often mixed up, such as bet/caf, peh/caf, and dalet/resh. We have also discussed the various vowel sounds and rules associated with vowels. Some key things to remember that we have pointed out are that the letter "yood" is often included in the vowel sound itself, such as "ee" and "eh/ey", and that the "ah" vowel (just the horizontal line) followed by a "yood" makes an "ay" sound. Besides reading exercises and some singing of "Row Your Boat" to Hebrew words, we briefly discussed the "Sh'ma", how to read each word, and what each word means.