Category: Learning this Week

Criticize Torah, but Make it JusticeCriticize Torah, but Make it Justice

Last week we explored a story in Torah which dealt with some pretty challenging themes of punishment and justice. Some people in Bnei Yisrael had relationships with people in another community that weren’t healthy and that God didn’t like. Those relationships led people in Bnei Yisrael to pray to idols instead of God. God, in a fury, sent a plague…

BMitzvah Builds for the Chaggim!BMitzvah Builds for the Chaggim!

“It takes a village!”  This was the refrain the day BMitzvah headed to Makom Community to build our sukkah.  “There’s a catch,” I told them. “There are no instructions.” Nathan and Leo were thrilled! Nathan reminded me that he’s been building from Legos without instructions for years and Leo said that building without instructions is his favorite way to build…

Getting to Know Makom @ Home

We’re having a great time getting to know each other on Makom @ Home, as our learners from across the country get together three afternoons a week for Jewish Enrichment! This week, we opened the story of the Scouts checking out Canaan for Bnai Yisrael before they go into the land.  The story of the scouts immediately follows Miriam’s experience…

On Mistakes, Punishment, and ForgivenessOn Mistakes, Punishment, and Forgiveness

‘Tis the season for reflection and reparation. Last week at Makom Community we approached our learning from deep within the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (ten days of repentance/returning) which occur between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These ten days are prime time on the Jewish calendar for us to think about our mistakes from this past year and how we can…

The BMitzvah cohort become Rodfei Tzedek!The BMitzvah cohort become Rodfei Tzedek!

What motivates you to pursue justice? “Anti-anti-semitism,” Zoey says. “I know Jewish people have experienced oppression in the past and that makes me want to fight oppression now.” “My friend who has a different identity than me,” Remi says. “She is amazing and has gone through so much.”   Our BMitzvah cohort are true rodfei tzedek, seekers of justice, and our…

Interpreting Our Text, Our Choices, and OurselvesInterpreting Our Text, Our Choices, and Ourselves

What an exciting week we’ve had at Makom Community! Our oldest learners practiced flexing their muscles as translators and interpreters of text. Our younger learners dug deep into self-image, leadership, and justifiable lying. Let’s see what meaningful insights we discovered along the way! Nitzanim – Interpreting Text for Ourselves Often when we present text to our kiddos, we do a…

BMitzvah Makes a PilgrimageBMitzvah Makes a Pilgrimage

In the days of the ancient temple in Jerusalem, Jews would travel to the temple for the three pilgrimage holidays, Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. While today, we often think of pilgrimage as being more present in other religious traditions, the act of walking towards a holy place is a part of Jewish tradition. Whether knowing that makes it easier to…

Leading into the UnknownLeading into the Unknown

Last week it was time for a journey into the proverbial unknown (cue music). Well, not us so much, but Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish people). They’ve journeyed from slavery in Egypt to the boarder of the land of Canaan. God wants them to have at it and go into their new home, but they’re not quite ready for that. Instead…

Tzedek (Justice) and UpstandingTzedek (Justice) and Upstanding

Welcome back to Jewish Enrichment at Makom Community! What a fabulous first week of learning and playing with your kiddos. We started off our week with some name games, get-to-know-you-ing, and conversations about how to keep ourselves and each other safe and happy. Other than practicing our Covid-19 safety plans and procedures, we also spent time envisioning how Makom Community…

Making Magic at School’s Out CampMaking Magic at School’s Out Camp

August camp is off to a fabulous start! We are so happy to be back with kiddos, and have had so much fun this week. Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to: This week’s theme was Fantasy and Magic. Every day we’ve taken a deep dive into a different form of magic and looked at it from a…

BMitzvah Blessings

It’s hard to believe that we’ve finished our first year of the BMitzvah program at Makom Community! There’s plenty more learning to come next year, including our first few BMitzvah ceremonies, but for now we’re reflecting on the past year. In our last week, the cohort members wrote each other yearbook quotes that showed the depth of collaboration and respect…

End-of-School-Year Brachot (Blessings)End-of-School-Year Brachot (Blessings)

What a year it’s been! We are eternally grateful to you all for powering, learning, and growing through it with us. Your kiddos brighten our days and bring us to tears with their empathy and wisdom. It’s a privilege and an honor to have you all in our community. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Here are some favorite Makom…

May We Move from Strength to StrengthMay We Move from Strength to Strength

Garinim Here we are, gathered together at the end of a long and harrowing journey, looking over a river into a new land. By “we” I really mean “Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish people).” They’ve traveled for 40 years in the desert from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Canaan, and now they’ve learned that they have to take their next…

On Leadership and Strength in Torah On Leadership and Strength in Torah 

Garinim Last week the Garinim (PreK and K kiddos) focused in on a character study of Moshe, Bnei Yisrael’s (the Jewish people’s) greatest biblical leader. We looked at snapshots of Moshe’s life and choices to discover both what made him such a good leader, and also what mistakes he made.  After growing up in Pharaoh’s palace, empathizing with the plight…

The Brachah (Blessing) of UncertaintyThe Brachah (Blessing) of Uncertainty

We made it to Egypt! Last week the Garinim (preK and K kiddos) journeyed with Yaakov’s family from their famine-ridden home in Canaan to Egypt where Yosef had saved up enough food to last the region for years. Yaakov enjoys another 17 years of an already long life, surrounded by his reunited family, including his long-lost favorite son. Shortly before…

On Families, Preciousness, and Sharing SkillsOn Families, Preciousness, and Sharing Skills

Garinim: Family dynamics and gossip Sigh. Families, am I right? Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. Last week the Garinim (preK and K kiddos) dove into a story that’s fraught with difficult family dynamics. Yaakov is married and has 13 kids – 12 sons and 1 daughter – with his four wives. Yosef, the first born son of…

Stay Safe: Brachah for Protection and AweStay Safe: Brachah for Protection and Awe

Brachot (blessings) help us articulate our hopes for our loved ones and notice amazing things in the world around us. Those brachot can look like a lot of different things – special words, art and nature, supportive actions, and more. Let’s see how our learners unwrapped text to help them articulate brachot last week. The Garinim (preK and K kiddos)…

Masterful Conversations in Tefilah WorkshopMasterful Conversations in Tefilah Workshop

Tefilah mastery check-ins have long been one of my favorite parts of teaching BMitzvah. Seeing the cohort so proud of the work they’ve put into learning to read and chant a prayer is amazing. Our one-on-one conversations are always rich with meaning and new ways to think about the prayers. This has continued even now that Tefilah Mastery means clicking…

Being, Writing, and Mastering Brachah (Blessing)Being, Writing, and Mastering Brachah (Blessing)

From being brachot (blessings), to writing them, to mastering them – Makom Community learners are becoming experts in all things brachah! Each age group is exploring this idea in their own way. Let’s start out by digging into the stories the Garinim (PreK-K kiddos) have been working through. Avraham was getting old and worried about his son Yitzchak’s future. He…

New Structures, Same Fabulous LearnersNew Structures, Same Fabulous Learners

We know that last week was full of new difficulties and stresses as you all started navigating new online learning formats for school. You did it! You made it through that first (maybe hardest) week! Thanks for sticking with us as you managed all that, especially our Garinim (PreK and K kiddos) families because we started a new schedule with…

Finding the Divine OnlineFinding the Divine Online

“And then I realized that everything I thought was infinite actually depends on something else. The only thing that’s infinite is dependence.” Ooph. Zahdi’s words definitely rang true for me, especially over our virtual Zoom classroom. Lots of things have changed over the past few months, but some have stayed constant. In February, we went as a cohort to the…

Creating New Traditions: Birthday Celebrations in IsolationCreating New Traditions: Birthday Celebrations in Isolation

We’re living through a strange moment in history, and a lot of things are weird and hard. Usually, when we’re all together at Makom Community, we get to enjoy celebrating each others’ birthdays with donuts, singing, and chocolate chips and sprinkles in challah. Birthdays provide extra tasty and enjoyable moments for our community. Not being able to gather together puts…

Chag Pesach Sameach!Chag Pesach Sameach!

Chag Pesach sameach! Happy Passover!  This week, we embarked on the adventure of Zoom Camp. Kiddos joined us on video chat from the comfiest spot in their house, some even still in their pajamas! In the morning, we did passover-themed art projects. We learned about Elijah’s cup, Miriam’s cup, The Four Children, and so much more!  After lunch and a…

Adventures in Zoom Teaching: The Kids are AlrightAdventures in Zoom Teaching: The Kids are Alright

Zoom learning continues to be an adventure! Our methods are ever evolving, and it’s a little funky to hear and see each other sometimes. But per usual our empathetic and insightful learners have empathetic and insightful things to say! Here are some of the moments when they impressed us this week. On Wednesday we unpacked the importance of family names…

Launching Makom Community on ZoomLaunching Makom Community on Zoom

We are full of gratitude for you and your families coming out of this first week of social distancing and online learning. Rather than focusing on the content of the learning that we did, I want to reflect a little on the transition to this new normal. Monday morning, your faithful Makom Community staff met on Zoom to figure out…