When we think about it, we are often poised towards the future. What will my next school look like? Will I have fun this summer? How long until my day is over? B’nai Yisrael (The Jewish People) is all about the future as they walk through the desert. They are headed towards one goal the land of Canaan. In the…
Category: Learning this Week
Holy Moment of Transition to Unit 4
How can we experience a moment in time as holy? Do they just happen, or do we get to make them? For our fourth and final curriculum unit of this school year, we’re digging into chapter three of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) to unpack the framework Jewish tradition provides to cultivate holy and meaningful moments. “Every time and every thing has a…
Noticing a world made for able bodies
What are the ways that we perceive other people’s bodies? As BMitzvah moves further along with Beha’lotcha, we came across a piece of text that punishes the body for misdeeds. Miriam and Aharon are found at the beginning of a chapter slandering Tziporah for being darker skinned than them. As a punishment, God gives Miriam a case of tzaraat (white…
You Deserve Love
What could happen in a person’s life to make them just want to give up? “Watch a whole city NOT get destroyed” and “lose a new plant they had just received the day before” might not be the first answers you come up with. But that’s what happens for Yonah in the final chapter of his story. After watching God…
Nitzanim Unit 3 Showcase: Challenge and Resilience
Our Nitzanim (3rd and 4th graders) had a fabulous third showcase last week! Our learners created an art gallery inspired by the theme of challenge and resilience, and the texts of Megillat Esther (the story of Esther) and Sefer Yonah (the book of Jonah). Each student created two works of art on these themes. We had everything ranging from stop-motion…
Forgiveness and Second Chances
Sefer Yonah (the Book of Yonah) is all about second chances. Both Yonah and the whole city of Ninveh get a chance to try again – Yonah gets a second chance to do the prophecy work God instructs him to do; Nineveh gets a chance to fix its mistakes and survive another day. How do we view second chances at…
Giving and Getting Feedback
It’s easy to respond defensively when someone comes to you with criticism! But that’s not what the people of Ninveh did when Yonah showed up prophesying their destruction. They did an impressive job of listening to Yonah’s criticism and using it to improve themselves. What is constructive feedback? Giving feedback in a helpful way, not just being mean. Criticism is…
Leading by Example
How can our leaders help guide us through challenges resiliently? In the third chapter of Sefer Yonah (the Book of Yonah), Yonah finally goes to Ninveh and warns the people that God will flip their city upside down in 40 days. The whole city, from the king all the way down the animals, dresses in sackcloth, sits down in ashes,…
Learning through Physicality: Emotion shapes our thinking!
When we put our full bodies into something we learn better. We can remember a day of working hard on a treehouse or a game of soccer that we gave our all better than a routine day. With our Makom @ Home Class that shines through, too.For Yonah learns through the lessons he learns physically that change him as a…
Spring Break Camp: Olympics!
Spring Break Camp was so much fun this week! Our Olympics theme had us up and moving every day, learning about famous Jewish athletes, and exploring the themes of challenge and resilience in sports. On Tuesday we learned about the Maccabiah Games, a historically Jewish competition created in the 1930s. Kiddos were so excited to make the connection of Maccabiah…
Bouncing Back from the Narrow Places
Say you find yourself at the lowest point in your life, literally (or figuratively) deep under the ocean, in the belly of a big fish. How would you respond? What would you do to help you bounce back from an experience like that? This is the exact scenario Yonah finds himself in, stuck in a fish. And Yonah chooses to…
Behalotcha- Strengthening Empathy both Past and Present
Starting a new unit is a favorite process at Makom. We’re right at the beginning of taking on a whole new series of ideas- challenging our own assumptions and learning together as a group. Challenging the things we think everyday is essential to our new unit, as we explore Parshat Beha’Alotcha through the lens of perception and action. We…
Resilience through Joy: Makom @ Home Reflects on Staying Strong
What are some ways that we celebrate? When it comes to Purim there’s a lot of things for us to feel joyful about. Haman’s wicked plan fell through, Mordechai was appointed as an advisor to the king, Ester stood up for herself. We take these moments and unpack celebration and joy just as we would any other topic in our…
Does Avoidance = Resilience?
Last week, we met a new character in Jewish text, and a new perspective on resilience. Sefer Yonah (the Book of Jonah) opens with God instructing Yonah to go to the big city of Ninveh and tell the people there to shape up their act, or else. But instead, Yonah tries to run away. He ends up on a boat…
Preparing for Passover 2021 with Makom Community
This upcoming Saturday night, March 27, begins the holiday of Passover. In Jewish Enrichment, your kiddos are continuing to study The Book of Yonah. They will learn that Yonah got stuck in the belly of the whale and prayed. “He said: In my trouble I called to God, and he answered me” (Yonah 2:3). We will reflect on the similarities…
Who Saves us in Times of Crisis? Ourselves!
These students have such big opinions. It’s wonderful. When the idea of animal sacrifice in Parshat Vayikrah was first introduced, we had some big reactions to it, and I’m glad to say we haven’t dulled since. Our feelings on the ancient system of sacrifice were matched only by our feelings on the modern climate crisis. We’re always heated…
Finding Strength in Tradition and Resilience in Memories
Esther saves the day! Mordechai becomes the second most powerful person in the kingdom! The Jewish people get a new holiday to joyfully celebrate every year! Last week, we finally reached the end of Megillat Esther (The Book of Esther). We noticed that unlike most other stories we’ve learned about the Jewish people (ex: the leaving Egypt story, the Chanukah…
Makom @ Home: What makes for evil? Those that choose to accept it.
Where is God in the Purim story? Why don’t we hear God’s name even once? In the story of Purim we are left totally on the human side of things. What are we left with? A human story in all its forms- politics, emotion, and human failings. This human story is a fascinating one, but one piece especially caught our…
What Do We Want? Good Advice!
Weeks ago we learned that Esther decided she would approach Achashverosh in order to save her people. But instead, she invited him and Haman to a feast. And then she invited them to a second feast! Why did Esther feel she had to build rapport with King Achashverosh before she made her request? Because she was worried that she was…
Conquering and Challenging- The Power of Habit
We think back to a little over a week ago and think of all that has changed. Our first day in person together indoors. We had dug into the ideas of Tahor and Tameh (inherent bad and inherent good). As we look back on these as concepts it’s easy to get caught in February 2021 and think only…
Purim Power and How NOT to Be Resilient
When we last left our heroes, Mordechai had finally convinced Esther to risk her own life by approaching Achashverosh uninvited and asking him to save her people. But when Esther visits the king, she asks instead for him and Haman to join her for a feast. Huh? What’s with that? And at the feast, she asks them to come to…
Leaners Grapple With Internal Emotions
The power of class time truly astounds me. When our students have something line up, or take time for a creative project that they’re really passionate about, it always amazes me the level of insight that learners bring to class. Our newest unit for Makom @ Home’s Nitzanim cohort is a tricky one with lots of modern applications- the…
Solidarity Forever: How the Jewish people made Esther strong
Last week, our story amped up the drama. We met the text’s leading antagonist, Haman (boooo!), and learned about his plan to get rid of all the Jews in Achashverosh’s kingdom. He drew lots to choose a random date to enact his plan, and ended up with the 13th of Adar (that’s this Friday!). Interestingly, this part of the story…
BMitzvah on Vayikra: Judaism and the Environment
Title: “BMitzvah on Vayikra: Judaism and the Environment” On Monday we jumped into a world of Judaism that in many ways feels foreign to our own- a Judaism based in sacrifice and Temple centered ritual. Vayikra & Environmental Justice Where do these dynamics interplay in our lives? How did they interact with ancient lives? Each of these types…
New Unit, New You
We report to you on last week from the beginning of a brand new curriculum unit at Makom Community! To kick off this unit, we’ll unpack the story in Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther). We’ll notice the ways that challenging experiences that we and the characters in text face are temporary, but the strength we take from them impacts our…
Nitzanim Unit 2 Showcase: Peace and Conflict
The Nitzanim (3rd and 4th graders) had yet another wonderful showcase! Last week, our learners, their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles all gathered together on Zoom to take part in learning together. We started off our showcase with a brief introduction to our process and the text we used. This unit, the Nitzanim created an online book all about the…
Feelings of the Past: Yaakov and Eisav gets Emotional
What is it that connects us to the stories of the past? In this class’s view it is the emotions, and there were certainly a few to unpack in this story. We’ve continued on with the story of the brothers Yaakov and Eisav with Eisav now having just found out about his blessing having been taken by his brother. …
Aaaand That’s a Wrap: a Peaceful Conclusion to Unit 2
Can you believe we’re already halfway through this school year?! Wrapping up our second curriculum unit last week gave us ample opportunity to celebrate all the amazing learning, analyzing, and growing your kiddos have done. A particular big shout out and yasher koach (congratulations!) is due to our Nitzanim (3rd and 4th graders) upon completion of their second showcase. Stay…
BMitzvah Reads Yitro from the Source
We learned together for the first time in person this week! It was wonderful to see your amazing children in person. We practiced through our entire Torah service, and Nitzanim (3rd & 4th grade) got to see, too. Our Torah just came back from repairs with our soferet (scribe), so this was the first time it was read from after…
I See God in You
Feelings and Torah! We love this combination at Makom Community. Last week’s learning was full of both. Here are some of the things we discovered while exploring the scene of Yaakov and Eisav’s long-awaited reunification. Yaakov and Eisav reunite in an overwhelming moment. Yaakov, still consumed by guilt over stealing Eisav’s birthright and blessing, as well as fear of Eisav’s…