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…
Tag: justice
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…
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,…
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…
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…