For the past few classes we have been discussing the topic of Holiness. The word holy in Hebrew comes from the shoresh or root [קדש]. We began by exploring our siddur or prayer book to find words that share the root. We found an abundance of words throughout the siddur that stem from the root [קדש]. We then translated those words by decoding the prefix or suffix, and adding the remaining root word. The class discovered that many words dealt with sanctification. We defined ‘to sanctify’ as to be made holy.
We continued this discussion by talking about what holiness is. How something could be made holy through sanctification. The Hebrew words that signal when we bless or sanctify: “Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Haolam…”. As well as the difference between a prayer and a blessing. The class ultimately determined that all blessings are prayers, but not all prayers are blessings.
We also talked about how an object can become holy and we used the example of a cup. A regular cup is not holy, but when we use it for Kiddush, and recite the blessing over wine/juice, the cup becomes a holy object. I asked the students to walk around the synagogue in search of objects they considered to be holy. Each student shared the pictures of their holy objects with the class, and we have combined some of them here in a picture collage:
Today we recalled the ‘formula’ for a blessing “Baruch Atah Adonai…” and used it to identify two specific phrases within the Blessing Before the Reading of Torah. We practiced reading and chanting the blessing in a variety of ways. I have told the students that they are now responsible for continuing to practice this blessing on their own. I have recorded it here for aural learners: https://soundcloud.com/marla-aviva-bentley/sets/blessings-for-the-reading-of and it is here for visual learners: http://www.reformjudaism.org/practice/prayers-blessings/shabbat-morning-worship-services-blessings-reading-torah
Last Sunday we had an opportunity to work on a fun project as well – creating unique and beautiful globes to decorate the TBI Sukkah. A special thank you to our art teacher, Becky McFall, who came up with this great project!
I hope you will have a chance to stop by our Sukkah to see your student’s work.
Chag Sameach, חג שמח
Marla Aviva