Bet – Second Year – Wednesday (Eilian)

1/28: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. We had an all school t’fillah led by Rabbi Prass.  He asked us what does it show when we bow.  The learners had some interesting answers.  He then pointed out how in the Aleinu, we bow showing many of the things they said earlier. 
  2. Back in class we, practiced our letters and vowels.
  3. Learned the blessings over different kinds of food
  4. We learned about prefixes:
  5. In English, “pre-” is a prefix. A prefix is something that comes at the beginning of a word and adds to its meaning. “Pre-” means “before.”
  6. In Hebrew, ה־ (ha-) is a prefix that means “the.” When you add ה־ to מוציא (motzi), it becomes המוציא (ha-motzi), which means “the one who brings out.” When you add ה־ to עץ (etz), it becomes העץ (ha-etz), which means “the tree.”
  7. We finished our session with an all school assembly.  Instead of our normal Hebrew thru Movement, Rabbi Prass explained to the students the great significance of what happened over the weekend in Israel, when soldiers from the IDF returned the last deceased hostage being held in Gaza by Hamas, Ran Givili z’l.  For the first time in 12 years, there are no Israeli hostages being held in Gaza. The students had the opportunity to ask questions which were both interesting, and showed they grasped the bittersweet importance of this moment.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please practice reading the blessings we learned today.

1/21: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. All students met in the sanctuary with Rabbi Prass for t’fillah.  Rabbi Prass asked the group, “What are things that we have to do?” He then pointed out that the new (new to Hebrew school t’fillah) prayer Aleinu, says that we need to praise and focus on good things like praising or complimenting. Please, ask your student if they remember which the new prayer was.
  2. We practiced Hebrew letters and vowels.
  3. We read and translated the story בקיבוץ (Chapter 6 – pp 36 – 39)
  4. We read and translated the story on pages 34-35, worked on the exercises on 36 -37 & 38 – 39. 
  5. The day ended with all school Hebrew Through Movement led by Rabbi Prass. We reviewed all the words we have worked on this year, especially the Tu B’Shevat themed Hebrew Through Movement words. The students had a lot of fun.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice your alef-bet flashcards
  2. Practice reading/decoding the story we read in class pp. 36-37

1/14: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with all school Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass. Rabbi Prass has been sharing about one of CBA’s college students who has been traveling thru Israel on an interfaith trip with other students from her campus.  So many of the students have been asking for updates.  He asked us why we should care about Israel or her people.  The learners had really lovely answers.  Rabbi Prass pointed out that our connections to Israel are like t’fillah, perhaps it feels far away, perhaps it changes, and perhaps it is difficult, but it is part of our Jewish language.
  2. Then we checked our homework to see what had been done.
  3. Today in Hebrew class, we continued the story בקיבוץ.
  4. We read and translated it, learned new words, and had fun creating our own sentences.
  5. The children did an amazing job — so proud of them! 🌈✨
  6. The whole school met for Hebrew Thru Movement led by Rabbi Prass.  He reviewed past words and kept adding on more Tu Bishvat Hebrew words.  Rabbi Prass introduced more trees in Eretz Yisrael, to get ready for Tu B’Shevat (the 15th of Shevat) which falls on February 2 this year. Ask your student if they remember which fruit, in Hebrew, sounds very close to English?

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice your alef-bet flashcards
  2. Practice reading/decoding the story we read in class

1/7: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with an all school Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass. He asked us to share, whether a staycation or a trip, what is something you did with a family member over winter break that created a positive memory?  He then pointed out how these experiences are blessings.  He then reminded us that our bracha, Avot v’imahot is about blessing our relationships that God was with our ancestors, and that we have with one another.
  2. Back in class We reviewed the Hebrew letters and vowel .
  3. We read the story “At the Kibbutz.” בקיבוץ
  4. We learned new words from the story.
  5. We matched the words to the correct pictures.
  6. We did a word search
  7. His, Hers,or ours. We learned how to use it in a sentence. 
  8. We ended the session for an all school Hebrew thru Movement led by Rabbi Prass.  He introduced new words for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat.  Rabbi Prass started to introduce some of the trees in Eretz Yisrael, which are now starting to bloom. The next Holiday is Tu B’Shevat (the 15th of Shevat) which falls on February 2 this year. Ask your student if they remember which tree usually blooms first in Israel?

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please keep reviewing the alef-bet
  2. Practice reading OUT LOUD 😊 Fun work: read the story we learned today.

12/17: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with an all school Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass. Rabbi Prass asked the learners when they felt they were in front of someone/something special. He then related this topic to our kedusha prayer, when we stand on our toes saying “kadosh, kadosh, kadosh” and the Chanukah story. Rabbi Prass passed out the Chanukah candle blessings. We then lit the Chanukiah candles for the 4th night of Chanukah before going off to class.
  2. Today in Hebrew class, we learned the Hanukkah blessings.
  3. We reviewed the Hebrew letters and vowel sounds.
  4. We practiced matching sentences to pictures using the vocabulary from the chapters we have covered this semester.
  5. We did word search.
  6. Have a great winter break! And happy Hanukkah 🕎
  7. During the last twenty minutes, we had an all-school “surprise” pizza party.  It was lovely to see all sit and chat and build community together.  On the way out, we gave each learner a dreidel.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice your letters and vowels.  It is very important so you feel confident reading.

12/10: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with an all school Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass. Rabbi Prass began with asking the students how the Maccabees felt as they fought and worked to overcome the Greek-Assyrians.  Rabbi Prass then pointed out that the prayer in our Amidah, Gevurot, means brave/strong, which might be how the Maccabees felt. Ask your student what Judah Maccabee’s last name means in English.
  2. Today in Hebrew class, we practiced the Hebrew letters and vowels.
  3. We read the chapter/story “להתראות בתל אביב”.
  4. We circled the English meanings for Hebrew words.
  5. We also mixed and matched sentences to reinforce our understanding.
  6. We circled the correct form of the verb in sentences.
  7. Lastly, all of the classes joined in Hebrew Thru Movement led by Rabbi Prass and some of our students as well. We reviewed all of our words, including the Chanukah vocabulary.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice/reading the story we learned.

12/3: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with Tefillah lead by Rabbi Prass. Rabbi Prass invited each of us to share something we did that was helpful over the Thanksgiving Holiday. This brought us to analyzing, the Gevurot, the prayer which literally means strength.  It points out that God uses strength to help others.  By our helping over Thanksgiving, we showed our strength.
  2. We reviewed the Hebrew letters and vowels.
  3. We practiced the words we’ve learned so far.
  4. We began the story “See You in Tel Aviv.”
  5. We took an alef-bet & vowel quiz.
  6. Lastly, all of the classes joined in Hebrew Thru Movement led by Rabbi Prass and some of our students as well. We layered in new words around Hebrew Chanukah vocabulary. Rabbi Prass also showed some of the congregation’s Chanukiyot, and explained the difference between an everyday menorah, and one used for Chanukah. Ask your student what the difference is. The students did some fun Hebrew through movement, as well.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Please go over the new words we learned today. 

11/19: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with an all school Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass. He asked us about a situation where you didn’t know what to say. He then explained that prayer can be one of those times where we don’t know what to say.  And so the first words of the t’fillah ask God to open our lips to help us pray, and to say positive words.  Or in other words we learned that the Amidah has a spot to help us find the words to pray.
  2. Today in Hebrew class, the students practiced their letters and vowels.
  3. They circled the correct form of the verb in each sentence and then read the sentences aloud, adding the Hebrew vocabulary word shown in the picture at the end.
  4. Students also matched words that were opposites or natural pairs.
  5. We continued reviewing all the Hebrew words we learned so far.
  6. The day finished with Rabbi Prass leading everyone in Hebrew through Movement. We layered on new words.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Students should continue practicing their letters and vowels.

11/12: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with an all school Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass. We talked about who the students consider to be an impressive person and why it is important to let that person know that is how we feel about them. Rabbi Prass pointed out that the Avot v’imahot prayer, talks about God as impressive, and uses language of complimenting God.
  2. Today in Hebrew class:
  3. We reviewed the words we learned last week and used them to create our own sentences — great teamwork!
  4. We read and translated the story מי רוצה לאכול? (“Who Wants to Eat?”) and practiced our reading skills together.
  5. We ended the class with a game of Hebrew Bingo — lots of excitement and smiles!
  6.    Lastly, all of the classes joined in a game of Hebrew Thru Movement, led by Rabbi Prass.  We introduced several new words to our already existing vocabulary.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Read the story we learned today.

11/5: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with an all school Tefillah lead by Rabbi Prass. He asked us who has your back? And how does it feel when that person has your back? He then showed us that the Avot v’imahot prayer is about our ancestors, and by extension us, being in relationship with God.  Or in other words God having our back. 
  2. Today in Hebrew class, we practiced the names and sounds of the Hebrew letters and vowels.
  3. We read and translated new words from the story “מי רוצה לאכול?” (Who Wants to Eat?).
  4. For fun, we practiced using our new words in different ways — everyone did a great job!
  5. The day was finished with Rabbi Prass leading Hebrew through Movement. We reviewed the new words we learned last week.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1.  Practice the new words we learned.

10/29: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our school day began with an all-school Tefillah led by Rabbi Prass. He led a discussion about what makes them feel safe and why it is important to feel safe.  He then pointed out that the end of the Avot v’imahot prayer talks about God being the Magen (or shield of our ancestors).
  2. Today in Hebrew class, we practiced the letters and vowels.
  3. We read and translated the story מה בתיק? (What’s in the bag?).
  4. We created sentences using the new words we learned.
  5. We also worked on a word search.
  6. Aleph & Bet then went outside for a rousing round of Hebrew Thru Movement led by Rabbi Prass. Several students led this session, and we had a fun time.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1.  Practice the new words we learned.

10/22: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. The entire school gathered in the sanctuary for t’fillah led by Rabbi Pras, and this week three of our 7th graders/hey students helped lead. Rabbi Prass talked about the end of this month of Tishrei, and how on Thursday night we begin the new month of Cheshvan, and how that brings new opportunities.
  2. Today in Hebrew class, we practiced the letters and vowels.
  3. Next week, we are going to start reading the story “What Is in the Bag?” (מה בתיק).
  4. Today, we reviewed all the words in the story and their meanings.
  5. We did different kinds of exercises with those words.
  6. It was fun work!
  7. Aleph thru daled kitot Participated in Hebrew through Movement with Rabbi Prass.  At the conclusion of that, those who wanted were able to taste the etrog from sukkot this year.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1.  Practice the new words we learned.

10/15: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. What a busy day!
  2. We joined the rest of the school and Rabbi Prass for tefillot.  We reviewed the recent holidays thru by looking at the symbols of the shofar, white Torah mantel, lulav, and etrog. We heard how the dried lulav sounds like rain, since the rainy season in Israel has now begun and some of the prayers we say ask for bountiful rain. We also spoke of the recent release of several hostages from Hamas and answered students’ questions.  We concluded with singing Hatikvah.
  3. Today in Hebrew class, we focused on perfecting our letter and vowel skills. 
  4. We also continued reading the engaging story נוסעים לישראל and explored the meanings of new vocabulary words. 
  5. We took a quiz of all letters and vowels. 
  6. Alef & Bet kitot joined Rabbi Prass to look at the Torah as part of Simchat Torah and students got a chance to find letters they have learned and learned how a Torah is made.
  7. It was a fun and productive day of learning.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1.  Go over the letters and vowels.

10/8: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Today was a busy day!
  2. The entire school started our session with tefillah led by Rabbi Prass.  We had a short ceremony to mark the 2nd anniversary of the October 7th attack.  We lit a yartzheit candle, observed a moment of silence.  Then Rabbi Prass asked what we knew about October 7th and what questions we had.  We concluded joining in singing Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem.  
  3. Celebrated Sukkot outside in the sukkah. Alef & Bet classes went with Rabbi Prass to the Sukkah.  We reviewed what makes the sukkah unique building and what makes up the lulav/etrog.  Then we each got to shake the lulav and etrog.  We of course said the bracha in Hebrew.
  4. We practiced our letters and vowels.
  5. We read and translated the story: “Flying to Israel (נוסעים לישראל). “
  6. We learned new words and used them in sentences that we created.

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice the new words we learned.
  2.  Go over the letters and vowels.

9/17: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Our session began with Tefillah where Rabbi Prass reviewed how our services are structured. We discussed why we are wearing kippot during Hebrew School t’fillot. We then prayed the avot v’imahot and sang the Israeli National Anthem.
  2. In class, we practiced our letters and vowels.
  3. We read and translate the story we learned last week “shalom”.‏‏
  4. We learned new words : אני, את,אתה,כן,לא,מי.
  5. We practiced our writing in Hebrew.
  6. Bet students went outside to have a lesson in how to blow the shofar with Rabbi Prass. It was fun to listen to the students try their best. I heard some impressive sounds!

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice the Hebrew letters and vowels.

9/10: Today in class, we worked on:

  1. Had a welcome assembly
  2. Today we had a wonderful first day of ב Hebrew class.
  3. We started the class with asking each other in Hebrew do we feel ?
    • שלום. מה שלומך? טוב, לא טוב, ככה ככה, סבבה.
  4. We read and translated the story shalom.
  5. We learned new words from the story.
  6. We practiced our letters and vowels.
  7. We did a word search from the story.
  8. We matched the right word in Hebrew to the matching word in English.
  9. The whole school participated in Hebrew through movement with Rabbi Prass
  10. And from there the parents came back to our room so we could meet and discuss our classroom. It was lovely to see so many parents.
  11. We had a really fun first day, and I’m looking forward to a terrific year!

Homework to be completed by next class:

  1. Practice your letters and Hebrew vowels.