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…
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Makom Community News & Blog
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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…
Interpreting 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 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 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 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…
Fall 2020 Frequently Asked Questions
Looking forward to starting off this new school year with you and your families! Have a question? See if you can find the answer here on our FAQ. Otherwise, please feel free to reach out to Amanda or anyone else on the Makom Community team. What is the timing of the day for Distance Learning Days and Jewish Enrichment? We…
Makom Community Curriculum Overview for Parents
We are excited to start the 2020-2021 school year! Now, maybe more than ever, community is so important and we hope that by being back at Makom Community (whether in person or virtual), kiddos feel more grounded through community building and Jewish learning. We want to give you a brief overview of what our curriculum will look like this year. …
August Camp: A Recap
August camp has passed in the blink of an eye! We created some fabulous art, spent lots of time playing outside, studied Torah together, and made new friends. Here’s a peek into our last three weeks: Fantasy and Magic Week 1 was all about fantasy and magic. We made wands, learned about Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), and did some magical science…
Making 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…
Makom Community at Home: Virtual Jewish Enrichment Program
Your children in grades Pre-K – 4th grade are invited to join Makom Community for 3 days a week of Jewish enrichment through virtual learning! About Makom Community Located in Center City Philadelphia, Makom Community is a Jewish enrichment center that provides high quality Jewish Education as Afterschool Enrichment. We empower parents to build a Jewish life that is meaningful…
Makom Community Fall 2020 COVID-19 Safety Plan
Welcome back, we can’t wait to have you at Makom Community again! Student Arrival & Departure As learners arrive at Makom Community, they will be greeted outside Makom Community by a masked staff member who will do a temperature check. As long as each child’s temperature is below 100.4 degrees fahrenheit, they will come into Makom Community. If their temperature…