Sixth Graders Learning Torah!

The Sixth Graders have been making steady progress on their journey through the Book of Genesis (B'reishit).  We started out by looking at the TaNaKh and learning that the "T" stands for Torah, the "N" for Nevi'im (Prophets, from which the Haftarah portions come from) and the "K" for Kethuvim (Writings, like the Books of Ruth and Esther, Job, Song of Songs,  Psalms, and Proverbs).

After studying creation and a lesson that we are all created "B'tzelem Elohim" (in the image of God), we moved on to Abraham and Sarah, in the Torah Portion (Parsha in Hebrew) "Lech L'cha" - the parsha in which God first calls to Abraham and tells him to leave his father's house and to go to the land that God will show him.  In this portion, we talked about the blessings that God promises Abraham of land, wealth and children.  We studied the idea of "brit" - the covenant and shared our ideas about how a covenant is distinct from a business contract or an agreement.

The next Torah portion that we studied was "Vayera," which is packed with familiar Biblical stories.  It begins with Abraham recovering from his circumsion and he is sitting outside his tent.  It is the heat of the day and he sees three travellers approaching.  Our tradition teaches us that Abraham ran to greet them (remember, he is recovering from his minor surgery), helps his guests clean up and rest from their travels, and offers them food and drink - the finest of meat and the best cakes.   Abraham and Sarah are examples of outstanding hosts and the sixth graders were able to have a fantastic conversation about what that means.  What do you do in your homes to get ready for company or overnight guests?  Cleaning up, using the good china and fancy serving dishes, and preparing special foods were some of the things that came up.  Students also said that they might wear nicer clothes than usual and even get along better with their siblings when there are visitors.  This concept is called "Hachnasat Orchim" (welcoming the guests).

Nolan and Ethan demonstrated how friends might greet each other warmly and with hospitality:

 

 

Another concept we learned about relates to the Festival of Sukkot, which just ended in the last couple of weeks.  This is the idea of "Ushpizin" - guests whom we invite into the Sukkah each night of the holiday.  While traditionally, these are Biblical characters, such as the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Moses and David, our classroom activity was to think about whom the students would invite - historical or fictional, past or present.  They came up with some pretty interesting dinner guests, including authors, sports figures, entertainers, and relatives, such as grandparents.

Later on in the parsha (after the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah, the birth of Isaac, and the exile of Hagar and Ishmael), God calls to Abraham and instructs him to take his beloved son, Isaac, to Mount Moriah and to sacrifice him there.  This was familiar to many of the students because this is the story of the Binding of Isaac, called the Akedah, which is part of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy.  In this class, we had the students pair up and went on "trust walks" where one person had to close his eyes and follow the direction of his partner.  The sixth graders not only had great fun with this, but they also learned the importance of leadership and faith that the person guiding was going to protect and keep them safe.