Tag: community

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…

Meeting Needs, Increasing JoyMeeting Needs, Increasing Joy

Around Purim at Makom Community you’re likely to notice us jumping and dancing while singing MisheNichnas Adar marbin besimchah – in the Jewish month of Adar, our joy increases. What can we do to help ourselves feel joyful? One avenue to joy that we explored was getting our needs met. We differentiated between two types of needs: surviving needs and…

Learning to LeadLearning to Lead

“I never thought a third grader could change my perspective on Jonah…” One of the most powerful things we can learn is that we can learn from anyone! At the end of our study of the Book of Jonah, the BMitzvah cohort shared some of what we learned with the Nitzanim (2nd-4th grade) class. The BMitzvah students designed and taught…

Mishe Mishe Mishe Mishe (Adar is Here!)Mishe Mishe Mishe Mishe (Adar is Here!)

The time has come: MisheNichnas Adar Marbin Besimchah–when we enter the Jewish month of Adar, our joy is increased! Last week was full of extra silliness in honor of Adar. Ice cream for snack, an afternoon of playing and chalking in the fountain in Rittenhouse, tongue twisters, joke telling, spinning and marching our way through Tefilah: prayer, music, and movement,…

Our Communities Need UsOur Communities Need Us

Naomi’s family starts off their story living in Beitlechem. Because of famine, they move to Moav. Do you think they stop being a part of the Beitlechem community when they go? Do you think they fully integrate into a community in Moav while they’re there? Last week we took a deep dive into communities, which ones we’re a part of,…

Are you there God? It’s BMitzvah!Are you there God? It’s BMitzvah!

Sometimes we spend too much time thinking about something and not enough time experiencing it. In BMitzvah, we’ve been working on a new Rosh Pinah project about God: creating art pieces that express our personal theologies. We’ve been learning about how Jewish texts show different ideas of God: God as the authority, God as everything, God as all-good and all-powerful, God…

Our American Jewish StoriesOur American Jewish Stories

“Emma Lazarus! The New Colossus!” Drew pointed at the quote on the wall as we rounded the corner to the next gallery.  “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” read the famous quote. Drew told us about the quote’s position on the Statue of Liberty and Lazarus’ history as a writer, as Lazarous was…

I Believe in a Thing Called LoveI Believe in a Thing Called Love

Things really go south in the Jewish kingdom after Shlomo. People don’t like the next king, so the kingdom splits in two. And then, generations later, King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians come and take over. Many of the Jewish elite are exiled to Babylon, including these four young men: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Let’s see what their experiences and…

South Philly FAQSouth Philly FAQ

Makom Community is growing! We’re opening a second location in the fall of 2020 in South Philly. Here are the answers to some of your frequently asked questions. Are we missing info that you’re looking for? Let us know!   Q: Where will Makom Community’s second location in South Philadelphia be? A: 1733 E Passyunk Ave. We will be sharing…

Those Who Learn From History…Those Who Learn From History…

We all know that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But what about those who do learn from history? My experience with our last Rosh Pinah unit on American Jewish History tells me that they are doomed to ask provocative questions.  How can we re-balance the record and put women’s voices to the front? Can I design an…

David Commentaries Walk and TalkDavid Commentaries Walk and Talk

Do you remember what a midrash is? It’s a commentary, a story made up to answer a question about a text. Midrash isn’t just for Torah text! This week we’re learning a few commentaries about David. Check out what we’re exploring below! Two of the midrashim we’re looking at this week explain to us that David couldn’t understand why God…

Choosing Family with Unconditional LoveChoosing Family with Unconditional Love

Our story this week zooms in on the unique relationship between Shaul’s son Yehonatan and David. They meet after David defeats Goliath, and the text tells us that Yehonatan’s soul becomes bound up with David’s soul. Yehonatan loves David like himself. The two of them make a brit (two-way promise) together. Yehonatan gifts his cloak, sword, belt, and bow to…

Dear David: 3000 Year-Old Relationship AdviceDear David: 3000 Year-Old Relationship Advice

Our story this week is a tumultuous one. Shaul is convinced that David is trying to steal the throne from him, so he sets out with 3000 men to hunt David down. Shaul coincidentally wanders into the cave where David is hiding, and David has an opportunity to kill him. Instead, he cuts off the corner of Shaul’s cloak. David…

Putting People First: The Makom Community BritPutting People First: The Makom Community Brit

Way back in September, our learners started exploring the text of Migdal Bavel (the Tower of Babel). Over the course of the last three months we really dug into that text and pulled it apart. We looked to the people in the story for examples of some great ways to treat each other and some not-so-great ways to treat each…

Bein Adam LeChavero: Loving the Godliness in EveryoneBein Adam LeChavero: Loving the Godliness in Everyone

Some actions affect our relationship with God. In Hebrew we call those bein adam lamakom (“between a person and God”*). Some actions affect our relationships with other people. Those are called bein adam lechavero (“between a person and their friend”).  We looked at some of the actions we do at Makom Community and thought about whether they affect our relationships…

Peace, Love, and Makom CommunityPeace, Love, and Makom Community

There’s a midrash (commentary) that the people who built the Tower of Babel weren’t punished as harshly as the people who lived during the Flood. Those people were destroyed entirely – totally wiped out. The people who built the tower, though, they stayed alive, but had to spread out and speak lots of languages. Why were the consequences for their…

People First: What do we value?People First: What do we value?

What’s more valuable: a person or a brick? The answer, according to this week’s text, might surprise you. Do we value people? What actions and choices can we make to show it? This week we explored a midrash (rabbinic exploration of a textual question) that tried to answer the question: what was so bad about the people building the Tower…

Welcoming and Resilience: A Sukkot StoryWelcoming and Resilience: A Sukkot Story

This Sukkot has been an adventure! We were so excited to spend our afternoons in the fabulous Center City Kehilah community sukkah in Julian Abele park. And then Wednesday it rained. No worries, though; we regrouped and changed the plan. We met up at Makom Community and spent the afternoon practicing our welcoming skills for future days in the sukkah….

Walk and Talk: A New Year BlessingWalk and Talk: A New Year Blessing

Tekiiiiyaaaaa! Do you hear the sound of the shofar? We’ve already been hearing it for a week at Makom Community. Rosh Hashanah is coming up this Monday and Tuesday, and we’ve got some special plans at Makom Community to celebrate. We’ll be enjoying some extra sweet apples-and-honey themed snacks as well as some extra sweet projects and activities. In the…

On God and MisunderstandingsOn God and Misunderstandings

What do we know about God? How does the description of God in the story of Migdal Bavel (the Tower of Babel) add to or challenge our pre-existing understanding? Why does God make people unable to understand each other in this story? How did they respond to their misunderstandings? How do we respond to ours? Read on to find out…

A School’s Out Camp StoryA School’s Out Camp Story

Let me tell you a story. Once, there was a community. It was full of some of the loveliest humans. Every day they came together and did their best to be kind, inclusive, and helpful. Sometimes they made mistakes—someone would take a toy without asking; someone would walk away from a mess; someone would use an unfriendly word—but they always…