As we get ready for December Break, here are the highlights of what we have learned in December:

R’vii Clause Part 1 and 2
The 5th clause of trope is the רביע R’vii clause. רביע R’vii is the Hebrew word for 4th, like יום רביע Yom R’vii (the 4th day of the week), and is called that because of the 4 sided diamond that is the symbol of רביע R’vii. רביע R’vii is served by its own unique sounding מנח Munach. Sometimes, it is also paired with גרשיים Gershayim, a separator, as in the 3rd line of the first and second paragraphs of the prayer ואהבתה V’ahavta.

We color code this clause orange. You can hear this clause and learn the hand signs by practicing with this video: https://youtu.be/SYN2N2rN2yI.

 

 

 

 

 

Segol Clause
Segol is the 6th and final clause of trope. The segol and zarka symbols each have their own munach. This clause is not found in the V’ahavta, but you can see examples of it in our B’reshit example. You can practice this clause and the hand signs here: https://youtu.be/cR3a9G0whac

 

 

 

 

Chanting the complete ואהבתה V’ahavta in Trope
With this first part of the רביע R’vii clause complete, the students now have color-coded the complete V’ahavta prayer. I have asked them to practice chanting the ואהבתה V’ahavta using the trope names and hand signs. Chanting from clause to clause will give the learners a sense of what chanting their Torah portion will be like. There are resources to help them, including this video with hand signs:

and an audio recording of a 6th grade class from years past. Please encourage your student to practice, as chanting the ואהבתה V’ahavta in trope will be a part of the Torah Trope Challenge, their final assessment for Torah on Wednesday, January 19.

Blessings Before and After the Reading of Torah
We continue to work on reading (decoding and understanding/meaning-making) of the blessings before and after the reading of Torah. Our students will be asked to chant each of these blessings as a part of the Torah Trope Challenge on 1/19. Resources to help practice over break can be found on the Trope page, including audio and video recordings.

Religious School
On Sundays, we are continuing to explore the concepts of Holiness [קדש], Prayer [פפל] and Blessing [ברכ]. We will explore various traditional and non-traditional prayer settings from the siddur/prayer book, and together we will uncover themes and meaning. Students have been contemplating what we appreciate and what we are grateful for, and will be working toward authoring their own prayers.