Getting used to kids back in school and parents working from home or the office is a huge adjustment for all our families right now! Makom Community is so glad to be a part of the support system holding your family through this transition. This week, Center City and South Philly families met with Beverly, Amanda, and Leah to hear…
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Makom Community News & Blog
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Upcoming PJDS Camp Days
Join us for PJDS Camp! Camp will run from 8:30am-4:00pm at our South Philadelphia location and include many opportunities for hands-on learning, making, and exploring! Click here to enroll. Friday, December 3rd: We will be learning about the Hebrew month of Tevet with winter walks and intuitive art projects. Wednesday December 8th: We will continue exploring Tevet with collaborative making…
If I Am Not For Myself, Then Who Is For Me?
This week, our learners looked at the Pirkei Avot 1:14 text: “Rabbi Hillel used to say, If I am not for myself, who is for me?” As well as the story from Shabbat 31a:6, “Another time a non-Jew came before Shammai and said, ‘I will convert if you can teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot.’…
If Not Now…When?
With fall in the air and the High Holidays behind us, we were excited to experience this joyful five-day week with students! We explored Jewish wisdom around boundary setting, independence, communication, and the importance of treating others with kindness. I was blown away by how much these kiddos already know about themselves and their needs. During shulchanot avodah students had…
We Are All Created Betzelem Elohim, In the Image Of God
This week we celebrated Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday where we finish reading the Torah and go all the way back to the beginning! It’s a time where we can sing, dance, and laugh, as we celebrate the Torah and new beginnings! Many kiddos have expressed that it is their favorite Jewish holiday. This week, Garinim answered big questions like:…
Support and Connection
This week as we considered how loving our neighbors shapes our relationships with ourselves, each other, and our world. Student’s displayed true examples of introspection, collaboration, and chesed (kindness). We sat together in the yard taking in the crisp fall air as we discussed different support systems. Learners talked about bridges and other physical support systems. Olivia and I made…
The Whole Torah On One Foot
Our Makom @ Home learners have been working hard and playing hard all month long! We have set out on “Textsploration” expeditions journeying through all the Fall Jewish holidays and singing songs about them too, including this one by Billy Jonas. Our last text for Simchat Torah, the holiday where we finish reading the end of the torah and start over…
BMitzvah Update!
We are getting into the swing of things in BMitzvah class! During Sukkot, we were ate snack and had Tefillah in the sukkah, incorporating shaking the lulav and etrog into Tefillah. That was super fun! In text study each day, our learners are asking rich questions and creating their own commentary. Everyone decorated a binder…
Welcoming Sukkot in Our Sukkah!
Sukkot is here! Our sukkah is up! Makom Community is ready celebrate with our neighbors and strangers! Last week, we explored the commandment to love our neighbors and this week, we unpacked it’s equally important counterpart: to love the stranger and treat them as one of our own people (Leviticus 19:33-34). The Garinim pondered questions like: Who is a stranger?…
Neighbors and Strangers in the Sukkah
This week we gathered in celebration of Sukkot and discussed pieces of the Torah related to concepts of neighbors, strangers, and welcoming. Learners shared wisdom with one another as we dug into questions which helped us unpack the relationship between ourselves and the world around us. As we sat around tables underneath the sunshine inside the Sukkah, kiddos grappled with…
Monday, October 11th School’s Out Camp
We are super excited for our first “School’s Out” camp day of the new year! On Monday, October 11, when schools are closed for Indigenous People’s Day/Columbus Day, we will have camp from 8:30-4:00, filled with crafts, music, learning, movement games, outdoor time, and lots of fun. We will weave in activities in honor of Indigenous People’s Day, and also…
Love & Forgiveness: How Can We Be Better Neighbors In The New Year?
This week, we reflected on how the torah may guide our emotions and practiced fixing our mistakes by going over the steps on how to ask forgiveness and how to be thoughtful as we tell people about what upset us. On Monday we read this set of rules from the torah: “ You will not hate your sibling in your heart. Gently…
High Holidays and Beyond!
As we closed our learning about Rosh Hashanah last week, we began reflecting on ideas about Yom Kippur. Although September is full of short weeks, we are packing in all kinds of creative and engaging opportunities for joy and growth. During these two weeks we have been discussing community, neighbors, how we treat one another, how we understand and rectify…
BMitzvah Beginnings!
BMitzvah has been off to a great start this year. I have been delighted to find the learners all know each other quite well across the grades, enjoy talking, being silly, and learning together. We have been spending snack time these first few days out on Sansom Street playing some games to get to know each other more. Our first…
What Makes A Community?
During this short week of Jewish Enrichment in Center City, we shared our own Rosh Hashanah celebrations and gave thought to the question: what makes up a community? Some kiddos in Garinim thought that a community was: A school or afterschool A group of people, plants, and animals A school inside of a school How do we make a community?…
Jewish Enrichment Opens In South Philly
Our first week of Jewish Enrichment has come and gone and what a week it has been. We are so lucky to have this special group of students in our very first year of Jewish Enrichment at Makom Community South Philly. Thank you for being part of our community and trusting us with your kiddos! This week our youngest learners…
Welcome Back to Jewish Enrichment in Center City!
Welcome back to Jewish Enrichment at Makom Community! What a fabulous (and also semi crazy) 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. We also started learning about the upcoming holiday, Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year)….
South Philly’s Last Week of School’s Out Camp
This week we were so thrilled to welcome you, our Makom South Philly Community, into our space for the second week of camp! We started off the week with placemaking activities. The Nitzinim examined placemaking as they considered what their space needed. Then they created an environment that met their needs including a leggo corner and a cozy Pinat Shalom…
Science Is Cool! | Center City’s Last Week of School’s Out Camp
This past week our kiddos were dived into the fascinating world of science and explored Judaism’s connection to environment through Baal Tashchit (the commandment to not destroy). We started this week by learning what a bracha (blessing) is and why we might say a bracha? We concluded that we usually say a bracha when we are grateful, when something makes us…
What Are We Made Of? August School’s Out Camp Center City Week 2
What an energetic week! This week, our campers were filled to the brim with ruach, spirit! We explored concepts such as pioneering, diversity, and culture with a variety of cooking, movement, art, and observation activities. We started the week with a tour of Israel! We then created salt dough and made 3D replicas of Israel. This week was ultra special…
Camp Begins at Makom Community South Philly!
WOW! What a wonderful week of camp it’s been. This week we welcomed kids to Makom Community South Philly for the very first time! What a joy it was to consider community and pioneering with our very own community of Makom pioneers. Kiddos decided what to name the classrooms: The Rainbow Room, and The Alef-Bet Room, and came up with…
Makom @ Home Fall 2021
Last year, we wanted to bring our FABULOUS Makom Community learning to kids across the country, so we launched Makom @ Home. This year, we are offering it in an even more flexible way. Ages We will have upper and lower elementary school cohorts for kids 4-6, and 7-10 years old. If you think your child is on the border…
Music & Movement: Week 1 of August School’s Out Camp
Why is music an essential part in Jewish traditions and experiences? During our first few days of August School’s Out Camp, our learners explored this very question. In between ice breakers and movement activities, we asked our learners to help us define music, how it makes us feel, and explore how it makes us move our bodies. Led by our…
Fall 2021 COVID-19 Safety Plan
Makom Community Fall 2021 COVID-19 Safety Plan What an unimaginably challenging last year and a half we’ve had! We know more than ever before about COVID-19, and we are prepared to leverage all that learning to do everything we can to keep each other safe. We are pleased to share that all of our staff members and all of our…
Get Excited for August School’s Out Camp!
Makom Community has three, awesome, fun-filled weeks of August School’s Out camp planned for your kiddos in both Center City and South Philly! Kids ages 4-10 are invited to join us the weeks of August 9, 16, and 23 for week-long, full camp days (8:30am-5:30pm) complete with arts and crafts, cooking projects, afternoons at the playground or splash pad, singing,…
Makom Community Jewish Placemaking Conference Schedule Overview
Join Makom Community to prepare yourself for a fabulous 21-22 school year! You’ll get to reflect on your vision and goals for this year of teaching as we emerge from the pandemic and learn about how Makom Community’s framework for Jewish Placemaking could delight and enrich your community. You’ll gain new tools, have time to try them out, and meet…
June Camp: A Recap
We just finished two fabulous weeks of June camp! We had a blast doing art projects, scavenger hunts, moving our bodies, reading books, and so much more. During our first week of camp, we focused on theatre and our Avot v’Imahot (ancestors). We played improv games, learned all about the elements of a narrative, and even wrote and performed a…
Nitzanim Unit 4 Showcase: Holy Moments
The Nitzanim (3rd and 4th graders) presented their fourth and final showcase for the year! This unit’s big idea was holy moments, viewed through the text of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes). We focused on creating a Pinat Shalom (peace corner) for the Nitzanim classroom. We noticed that we needed a space to rest and relax, and a space to be in if…
Adventures with the Shabbackpack
In pre-pandemic times, we welcomed Shabbat in what felt like the most natural way. Families would come together every Friday afternoon. We would sing songs, reflect on our week, and bring in Shabbat together. Importantly, this gave families the opportunity to truly connect with one another. Not just as parents of kids in the same class, but as valued members…
A Time for Learning, and a Time for Reviewing
Wow! The end of Unit 4 already! We can hardly believe how quickly this school year is rushing to a close. Last week we reviewed everything we learned from chapter 3 of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) and the associated commentaries. Here’s what each kvutzah (group) did to recap. Garanim The Garinim (preK and K kiddos) had so much fun reviewing and recapping…
Makom @ Home Makes Meaning of Time
Throughout Judaism, we have many traditions that bring markers to the points throughout our year. The seasons of the year are marked by holidays and festivals, the months are marked by each Rosh Hodesh or new month, and the moments of our day are broken down to morning and evening through times of day we have the opportunity to pray….
Taking a Holy Break with Shabbat
Jewish tradition is one that marks holiness in time. One of the clearest examples of this is Shabbat. There are a myriad of ways we could approach and unpack Shabbat. Last week, our text guided us to, first and foremost, look at Shabbat as a way of keeping track of time. What does time feel like? Time feels faster when…
I Am as Important as the Whole World
I am the single most important entity in the universe. Also I am as significant as a speck of dust. Jewish tradition invites us to hold both these ideas about ourselves as simultaneously true. How can we manage that? And why would we want to? Two weeks ago, the text of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) invited us to wonder whether people were…
A Rosh Pinah Showcase to Remember
How good it is when we come together. What greater joy is there to mark a new point in this strange year than with a moment where we can come together in person for some learning? It brings a smile to every one of our cohort’s faces when they get to share what they’ve learned and created with others. …
Summer Camp Here We Come! June 14-25 & August 9-27
We hope you are getting ready for a fabulous summer! We’re gearing up for 5 awesome weeks of School’s Out Camp with your kiddos, two weeks in June and 3 weeks in August. Join us to write a play, create , and party! See more details below, or click here to enroll by the week. Our summer camps are weekly. …
On the Nature of People
What even are people? Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) argues that Earthlings should stop trying to associate themselves with God and just realize that they’re only as good as animals. Both end up the same: coming from dust and returning to dust (Kohelet 3:18-20). What do you think happens after people and animals die? Nothing. We become dirt and then plants. We will…
Leadership under scrutiny: When we make mistakes.
What is the difference between someone is chosen for a role or when they take on the role themselves? We are working to understand leadership. When it comes to Beha’alotcha , our current parsha, we have ample opportunities to do so. Leadership makes mistakes, changes, and shows emotions in this parsha. Those emotions get in the way of idealized…
Who Controls Meaningful Moments?
The section of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) that we explored last week gave us a lot to unpack. The text makes a few big claims: 1. The stuff people earn as doers doesn’t have any value; the only things that are worthwhile are enjoying ourselves and doing good. 2. People have a vague idea of what “forever” means, but can’t actually grasp…
Seasons for a Reason!
What opportunities does having students on the east coast and west coast offer for our observation of and appreciation for nature? The nature around us is always changing with the seasons from Philly to California. With it, our experiences as a class have changed- the days have gotten shorter and longer, our class traditions have been created- from Shalom Chaverim…
Transitioning Between Holy Moments
“Every time and every thing has a season and a moment set for it under the sun” (Kohelet 3:1). Chapter 3 of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) opens with a well-known list of opposites – being born and dying, sewing and tearing, killing and healing etc. The Nitzanim (3rd and 4th graders) brainstormed a list of opposite times in our own lives. Like…
Looking ahead, looking back.
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…
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…
Return to In Person Jewish Enrichment
We are so excited to share that we are returning to five days a week in-person at Makom Community! All our staff will be fully vaccinated. As of Monday, April 19, we will resume Jewish Enrichment 5 days a week for all our kiddos. Jewish Enrichment will take place from 3:00-5:00pm. Drop off at Makom Community or to the walking…
Updated Safety Plan for In Person Jewish Enrichment – April 2021
Thank you for continuing on this journey with us this year! We are excited to return to daily programming with indoor and outdoor spaces. Now that our whole team is fully vaccinated, we are prepared to have everyone in the space together again each day. This plan is set to take effect Monday April 19, 2021. (The last educators on…
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. …
Updated Makom Community COVID-19 Safety Plan 2021
Thank you for continuing on this journey with us this year! We are excited to welcome back kiddos inside Makom Community. We stand in solidarity with our public school teachers and their union working hard not to return to unsafe classrooms. This safety plan represents our privilege in teaching from a recently updated building as a space where we can…
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…
Noticing Feelings in Conflict
So many feelings! So little time! Last week we spent a lot of time decoding characters’ feelings, through dramatic interpretation, visual aids, and empathy practice. Eisav returns from his hunt only to find out that Yaakov had just received the blessing meant for him. He is incredibly distressed, and vows to kill his brother Yaakov. At first, the Garinim (preK…
Tricky Feelings and a Blessing for Peace
Finally Yaakov has received his special brachah (blessing), but at what cost? We spent several days unpacking the situation around the giving of this brachah and then we analyzed the content of the brachah itself. We discovered there was lots of room for mixed feelings and mixed messages amid the trickery and tension. Rivkah had a plan to make sure…
New Year, New Start!
Our first week together as a class in 2021! The day marked a variety of new beginnings for the cohort: the new year was freshly upon us, winter break had just ended, they were getting a new teacher. In ways we were all looking forward to what lay ahead of us. “I want each of us to repeat the word…
Commentaries and Questions on Conflict
Commentary was the name of the game last week in our learning at Makom Community. Unsurprisingly, our inquisitive students have many of the same questions as some pretty big deal medieval rabbis. We unpacked the answers that some of those rabbis had to the questions and added our own insights. One story that we discussed was from 15th century Torah…
Winter Camp: Full of Fun and Light
Last week, Makom Community had our first entirely outdoor Winter Break Camp! We met on Ionic Street to learn about Jewish traditions around the world through art projects, games, obstacle courses, and lots of running around. Monday was all about Jewish traditions and holidays that emphasize light. We talked about lighting Chanukah candles and how that brings light and warmth…
New Year, Same Resolutions: Revisiting our Brit
Happy New Year! We’re so excited to be adventuring into 2021 with all of you. As we return from winter break, we want to remind ourselves about the britot (two-way promises) that we made back in November. Here’s a refresher on our britot, which are completely painted and waiting for us on our classroom walls at Makom Community. At Makom…
Learners Creativity Continues to Amaze
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 story…
Rivkah’s Trick: Is It a Mistake?
Things are getting complicated on our journey to understanding conflict and peace through stories of Yitzchak, Rivkah, Yaakov, and Eisav. Favoritism and unequal love are fueling some increasingly morally questionable decisions on the part of some of the characters. Are their choices justified? Let’s find out. In our story from last week, Yitzchak is getting old and going blind. He…
Big Feelings in the Birthright Trade
What’s a birthright? Who gets it? How does our tone and feelings affect our interactions and ability to manage conflict? We explored these questions and more last week as our adventures with Yaakov and Eisav continued. In this story (Genesis 25: 29-34), Yaakov is home cooking lentil stew and Eisav comes in famished from outside. He demands some of Yaakov’s…
Nitzanim Unit 1 Showcase: Justice and Animal Rights
Our first unit this year at Makom Community was all about working for tzedek (justice). In Nitzanim (3rd and 4th grade), we worked on a unit long project about how we can use Torah to work for tzedek in our daily lives. At the beginning of the unit we looked at three different issues we could help: voting rights, homelessness,…
On Playing Favorites and Choosing Sides
In our story last week, Rivkah’s difficult pregnancy ends with the birth of twins! Continuing from their prenatal conflict, the text’s descriptions of Rivkah’s sons focuses on their differences and incompatibilities. The first born, Eisav, is born covered in red hair. The second born, Yaakov, comes out holding onto Eisav’s heel. When they grow up, Eisav becomes a skilled hunter,…
BMitzvah Wrestles With Racial Justice
“What is a criminal?” I asked the class. “Someone who’s in prison,” Nathan said. “Who a lot of people agree has done something bad.” “I don’t know if I agree,” Zoey said. “There are a lot of people in prison who haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t think you can just say that because they’re in prison that makes them…
Helping Ourselves and Others through Conflict
How do we navigate conflict peacefully and productively? Over the next few months, we’ll explore some of the resources available in Torah to help us answer this question. To start off our second curriculum unit of the school year, we jumped back in the Torah text timeline to Bereshit (Genesis) 25. There, we meet Yitzchak and Rivkah, who desperately want…
Torah Together, Inside and Out(side)!
Living much of life online has been a challenging side-effect of the coronavirus pandemic for many of us. This reality made our Family Learning Experience of building an ark with the BMitzvah families so much more sweet! We gathered on Sunday outside Makom Community to study and create together, despite the chilly weather. The BMitzvah cohort shared some of the…
Working for Tzedek with the Makom Community Brit
At the end of our first unit of learning at Makom Community, we conclude with painting our brit (two-way promise) on the wall. Kiddos always have so much fun painting directly on the wall, but it’s also a good time to reflect on how we conduct ourselves while at Makom Community, and in the world as a whole. This year,…
Fostering Connections in Our Virtual Promised Land
This past summer, as we rejoined each other in person and began reaching out to our community, we realized that quite a few of our families wanted to participate but were not ready to return in person. In response, we launched Makom at Home, a fully online version of our Jewish Enrichment program. Students from coast to coast gather virtually…
Chasing After Justice to Discern Between Right and Wrong
Jewish tradition has lots to say about tzedek (justice). How do Jewish texts guide us towards fairness, being good leaders, and working together to make a more just world? Last week, we grappled with some big and difficult ideas surrounding justice and leadership. We started out unpacking “Tzedek tzedek tirdof – Justice, justice you will chase after it, so that…
Creating Justice through Meeting Needs
Big feelings can lead to bad choices! But they can also guide us towards great moments of compassion. Let’s see how Moshe responded to some emotional experiences, and what we can learn from him about being a good, compassionate leader. Here’s the background story we unpacked last week: Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish people) are in the desert, and Miriam dies….
Making Change in Our Communities
Finally we got to hear God’s response to Bnot Zelophechad’s (Zelophechad’s daughters) request to be able to inherit their father’s land! Spoiler: God agrees with them and thinks their request is completely just. We dove deeper into the situation of women in the Torah and discovered that men had autonomy in the Torah but that women, children, and slaves did…
Everyone Counts – Justice and the Census
Who counts? We all do! Or at least, we think we all should. Last week we began looking at the story of Bnot Zelophechad (the daughters of Zelophechad). In this story, a man named Zelophechad died, leaving behind 5 daughters and no sons. At this point, women could not own land or property. With no men in the family to…
Physical Reminders and Making Good Choices
How do we remember things? What kinds of reminders do we use to help us? Last week we unpacked the text of the third paragraph of the Shema prayer that we say every day during tefilah. “That shall be your tzitzit (fringe); look at it and recall all the mitzvot (commandments) of God and observe them, so that you do…
Criticize 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!
“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…
Consequences and Punishments and Justice – Oh My!
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Is this justice in general? Is it how we do justice at Makom Community? What kind of justice system do we want reflected in our brit (two-way promise) for this year? Keep reading to find out! Garinim What’s a punishment? How is it different from a consequence? Which should…
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 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!
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…