Going back in time...over 2,000 years!

 The K-2 classes went back in time as they enacted the story of Chanukah!

King Antiochus desired to unify his Kingdom under one religion and culture. He was callous and wicked and decreed that no one in his empire would be allowed to practice another religion or believe in another G-d. If they would, they would face the fatal consequences. 

Then Land of Israel was part of King Antiochus's Greek Empire at that point in time and so the Jews were faced with a decision of sacrificing their lives to continue in their Jewish faith and keep the Torah.

Many Jews would not give up their religion and therefore studied Torah and did Mitzvot in hiding. When a Greek solider would come to their tent, they would quickly hide their Jewish books or items and pretend to be playing Dreidel.

There were a group of Jews led by Judah the Maccabee, (and his father Matisyahu) who decided to try to fight the Greeks. Although by nature it seemed impossible that they would win since they were such a small army with minimal ammunition and the Greek Army was tremendous and powerful,they trusted Hashem and went forward. 

{Looking at the map of Israel and discussing how the Maccabees fought the war against the Greeks.}

  G-d made a great miracle and the Maccabees won the war against the Greeks! The Jews now went to the Holy temple to find it completely disarrayed after the Greek soldiers had ransacked it placing a pig in it, defacing the Holiness of the Temple. The Jewish people were horrified by the sight before their eyes. They began cleaning up, and decided that the High Priest should light the Menorah as was done daily in the Holy Temple. However, they could only find one small flask of oil which had the seal of the High Priest. That would only be enough oil for one day of lighting the Menorah. It would take eight days until they could get a new batch of proper oil. G-d made a miracle, and the oil that should have only lasted int he Menorah for one day, lasted for eight!

 Because of these great miracles which Hashem performed for the Jewish people at that time, the Rabbi's declared these eight days as days of celebration. This is how the Holiday of Chanukah came to be. 

 On Chanukah it is a Mitzvah to light the menorah. Each night we add another light using olive oil or candles. We also have a custom to eat latkes or donuts- oily foods to remind us of the miracle. We play dreidel and thank G-d for the great miracles He performed for us then!

So, lets celebrate that we can be proud Jews and continue to practice our faith!!

 HAPPY CHANUKAH!!!!!

Aleph Champ in action!

Learning to read and write in Hebrew takes hard work and persistence. But, the children in Chabad Hebrew School are engaged in a fun learning experience that helps build their fluency in the language while also boosting their confidence in their Hebrew reading capabilities. With our interactive Hebrew learning program, Aleph Champ, the children are moving up level by level, improving in their reading abilities with all the practice and effort that they invest. Below you will see some of the various activities that the children engage in during the Aleph Champ program each week. 

 Here the students in the red level are putting the Aleph Bet cards in order.

 These Purple Aleph Champs are playing a game of Aleph Bet Dreidel. Each letter on the dreidel not only represents a move to make regarding the coins, but also dictates what Aleph Bet review method is required. Whether it is reading a flashcard, two flashcards, or reading a line in the reader book, the children get a thorough review of Hebrew reading as well as lots of Chanukah fun!

 Using these colorful wooden sticks, these students formed the Hebrew letters that they are currently learning. 

 The children enjoyed shaping Hebrew letters with playdough. This will help them in both reading and writing skills.

The K-1 class is preparing to join the Aleph Champ program by learning the Aleph Bet letters as well as Hebrew words beginning with each letter. In addition, the children learn about the holidays and Jewish concepts together with the Aleph Bet letters that relate to them.

As you can see below, the children squeezed olives and spoke about the process of creating olive oil while learning about both Chanukah and the Hebrew letter Zayin which begins the word 'Zayit' (olive)

A Jewish Wedding- Mazel Tov!

The fifth and sixth graders learnt about our Matriarchs, Rochel and Leah. We discussed the amazing story of their marriage to Yaakov, as he was tricked by his father inlaw Lavan and therefore first married Leah instead of Rochel. The concept of a vail was introduced when learning about Yaakov's mother, Rivka, and then again brought up with this story. So, we were all interested to know...What other things happen at a Jewish wedding? This week in Hebrew school we all found this out with a Jewish Mock Wedding!

 We went through the many steps that are followed in a traditional Jewish wedding, beginning with the 'Badeken' when the Groom covers the Bride's face with a vail. This custom is derived from our Matriarch Rivka, who covered her face when she first saw Yitzchak, her future husband. 

The mothers of the Bride and groom customarily break a plate, to signify the concept that this plate should be the only thing broken and not G-d forbid anything in the marriage of these two individuals.

 The 'Chuppa' is where the main ceremony occurs. The Chuppa represents the Jewish home which the Bride and Groom are now creating. Before the Chuppa, the Bride and Groom untie their shoes, neckties, or bows  in order that At the moment when they "tie the ultimate knot," there should not be anything else binding them. At the Chuppa the Bride circles the Groom seven times, and then seven blessings are  recited over wine. This is a special time of blessing for the Bride and Groom to pray for their future together.

 The Groom places a ring on the Brides finger. The ring is pure gold with nothing inscribed on it. Two witnesses are present at this point. 

 "Baruch Ata Adonai Elohienu Melech Haolam, Borei Perei Hagafen!"

 At any time of Joy, we must remember that our joy is not be complete until the holy temple is rebuilt. So, the Groom breaks a glass cup to remind us of the Holy Temple which was destroyed. 

Let the celebrations begin! Lets dance and eat good food!

Mazel Tov!!

Our Hero, Our Patriarch Yaakov.

Yaakov (Jacob) had a very eventful life which we explored through creative writing and art. The story came alive through our projects! 

Yaakov was born as a twin, and while he was a good person with fine qualities, his brother Eisav was not. He preferred to hunt and kill and did not have a very refined personality. After selling the birthright, and Yaakov receiving the blessings from their father instead of Eisav, Eisav desired to kill Yaakov. Yaakov ran away to the land of Aram where his uncle Lavan lived. Once there he wished to marry Rachel, Lavan's younger daughter, and worked for years for Lavan to be granted that request. However,  Lavan really proffered for his older daughter Leah to marry first, and so with his sly personality, he tricked Yaakov into marrying Leah. Eventually Yaakov also marries Rachel and then leaves Aram and travels back with his family. Although Yaakov spent many years in Lavan's house, Yaakov never picked up any of his negative traits or wrongdoings. He stayed faithful to G-d and remained the very same righteous person that he was when he arrived. We can learn from Yaakov to remain strong in whatever situation we find ourselves in, and do the right thing. 

 Nicki created identification cards for Yaakov and Eisav, portraying their difference in looks and personality. 

 Simone made a wedding invitation for Yaakov and Rachel's wedding. 

 Gaby wrote out a contract with Eisav selling the birthright to Yaakov. 

 Jessica drew a birth announcement card for the birth of Yitzchak (Issac) and Rivka's twin boys, Yaakov and Eisav.

 Ashley wrote a letter from Eisav to Yaakov warning him that he was out to kill him. 

 Brianna made a model picture of the dream that Yaakov had as he traveled. She depicted a latter with angels climbing up and down, signifying Yaakov leaving and coming to the land of Israel. 

It was a great learning experience, lots of fun, and now we have beautiful keepsakes to remind us of our Hero and Patriarch Yaakov. 

A sign we will always remember....

 The second portion in the the Torah- Parshat Noach teaches us of the story of Noach and the flood. The lessons from the Torah forever live on, but  there is a practical, physical part of this story that remains until today. 

 After the flood, G‑d promised Noach that He would never again bring a flood that would destroy the world. A rainbow is a reminder of this covenant that G‑d made with Noach, his descendants, and all living creatures. It is a covenant that G-d is constantly loyal to as he orchestrates the world. From this we see how kind G-d is to His creations. G-d created the world and everything in it, and like a parent to a child, he loves us and cares for us. He wants us to succeed. No matter what choices we make, G-d always has our back! 
Of course we should try to make the right choices and create a home for G-d which He not only 'wont destroy', but one which he will be proud of. Whether making the right choice is easy or hard,  It is up to each of us. When we do make good choices, we are showing G-d our father that we, in turn, remember this covenant and the lessons learned from Parhat Noach. 

In light of it's great significance, upon seeing a rainbow in the sky, we recite the following blessing:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית וְנֶאֱמָן בִּבְרִיתוֹ וְקַיָם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ

Baruch ata Ado-nai Elo-heinu melech ha'olam zocher ha'brit v'ne'eman bivrito v'kayam b'ma'amaro.

Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His promise.

Noah and the Ark

In the Second Portion of Parshat Bereishit, the Torah tells us the story of Noah and the Ark. G-d tells Noah to build an ark, for G-d would be destroying the world except for those who were inside the boat. Noah worked for 120 years to build it. He wanted people to see him working and ask about it. He would then have the opportunity to tell them G-d's plan to destroy the world. Through this, Noah would try to get the people to return from their sins.

 The Ark had three levels. The top for the people, middle for the animals, and bottom for the trash. The children played pin Noah on the Ark to place him in the correct spot on the Ark.

 Creating an edible version of Noah's Ark was fun, but also helped review the concepts learnt about the Ark.

Learning from Noah, the children discussed different scenarios of times we see friends doing something that is not the correct thing to do. It is important to stand up for whats right and in a kind way, show others how to do things in a proper way.

A trip to the Scribe

The 7th grade class headed out Sunday morning on a trip to see someone who usually sits alone, diligently working on his holy endeavor. On this day however, he was to welcome the kids who had come to visit from Franklin Lakes Chabad Hebrew School into this workplace. 

 The students listened to the scribe as he explained the requirements for a Kosher Torah, Mezuzah, Tefillin etc. The metirial used to write these articles is parchement. The parchement must be made from the skin of a kosher animal; Usually the skin of a calf or a lamb is used. The skin goes through a long process before being completely ready as parchment to be written on. 

A special ink made from gall nuts is used to write. The pen used is generally a quill from a kosher bird, a goose or a turkey. The point is carefully cut so that by turning the pen and varying the pressure, the scribe can write thick as well as very thin lines with one stroke.

 Each letter must be written according to the exact guidelines as explained in the Code of Jewish Law. Even one tiny defect to a letter, will make the entire piece non-Kosher. This task takes much effort and precision. 

 Using his many unique materials, the Scribe gave the students an understanding into the complexity of writing these holy works.

What a wonderful experience it was to meet the scribe, hear from him, and see his work!