Yom Sha'arim!

(Click to enlarge)

What a day! Yesterday, 7th graders got a taste of our Sha'arim (Gateways) high school program. From Rosh Hodesh (for girls) and Mensches (for boys), to music, art, wilderness and cooking, we got to try it all! For more information about Sha'arim for next year, click here.

Cooking: Purim Edition!

Last night at cooking we made Hamantaschen!! We reviewed the story of Purim and why we make Hamantaschen, and then we began to experiment! We added a mixture of strawberry jam, chocolate chips, and M&Ms in our Hamantaschen. And then just like the delivery of mishloach manot baskets to the less fortunate at Purim, we shared our goodies with the other Sha'arim classes!

-Alison

Challah Plates

Sha'arim's Creative Canvas class has been busy adding to our original Shabbat creations. Tonight we worked on challah plates to match our kiddush cups. I can't wait to see how these turn out!

Cooking Sha'arim!

This week in our Cooking Sha'arim, we continued our study on the differences between Ashkenazi and Sepharic cooking. This week we made a sweet Ashkenazi bread known as toffee cake. Next class we are hoping to tackle a Sephardic recipe to see which one we prefer!

-Alison

Kiddush Goblets!

In Creative Canvas last week, we learned about the mitzvah of saying kiddush over wine or juice on Shabbat. Then we created our very own kiddush cups (maybe better described as goblets!) with the help of Mod Podge, tissue paper, and glitter. This craft is so easy but leads to beautiful results, as modeled by our 8th graders below. To try it at home, take a look at similar projects here and here.

Rosh Chodesh-Good for the Soul

This week in Rosh Chodesh we focused on the idea of refuah shlemah, or the renewal of ourselves. We talked for a bit, and then temporarily dyed our hair, and made our own facemasks! The facemasks were super fun to make, but didn't taste so great! Ending the calendar year on a focus of ourselves and what we need as humans was great. Can't wait to see everyone after the new year!

-Alison

Framed!

For the last several week, Creative Canvas has been working on amazing painted silk challah covers! Above, Maddy and Amber show off the frame they used to stretch their silk. Stay tuned to the blog for their final products!

Cooking goes Syrian!

The Tuesday night Cooking Sha'ar explored our first recipe with meat: Syrian meatballs, or Keftes! We talked about where Syria was located and what we associate when we hear Syria, and then we made our own meatballs and sauce! We like to make extra so that we can share and Rachel loved them!!

-Alison

Illustrated Texts

Creative Canvas spent two weeks creating illustrated texts. Each teen was told to choose a favorite text, prayer, or song, and they came up with four very different but wonderful pieces of art!

 

Amber C.

 

Maddy G.

 

Beatrice B.

 

Carly P.

These beautiful creations will be on display around the building soon, so be on the lookout!

Creative Canvas!

This year, TBS's Sha'arim program is offering a brand new art course called "Creative Canvas." We met for the first time last week, and talked about why memory and history are so important for our identities as Jews. We're going to continue thinking about that theme this year as we create beautiful Judaica objects, experiment with different media, and even go on a museum field trip! During our first class, 8th graders Carly, Amber, and Maddy (above) practiced their sketching skills by drawing several items from around the synagogue. I can't wait to see what they come up with next!

Cooking Sha'arim!!

Tonight was the first time the Cooking Sha'arim met for the year, and boy was it colorful! We got to unwrap brand new knives, chopped some veggies, and made, or attempted to make, omelets! We each got to cut up different vegetables so we could get the feel of different veggies. Then we each took a spin on the stove trying to make our own omelet, knowing that if we messed up the flip we would just get veggie-filled scrambled eggs. At the end of the class, we made sure we left the kitchen as spotless as it was before we got there. One participant even said it was an okay equivalent to a team practice! Woohoo Cooking!!!!!

-Alison