During the last few classes we have learned so much in trope. We discussed how trope functions in three ways:
What a fantastic first week of school at TBI. It was great to meet you and your students, I hope you all enjoyed our picnic, bake sale and official opening of school last Sunday.
On Sunday we had a great discussion about tzedakah and how it comes from the Hebrew shoresh (root) [צדק]. Another important Hebrew word which comes from this root is tzedek or justice. Continue reading
My name is Marla Aviva Bentley and I am thrilled to welcome you to 6th grade at Temple Beth Israel. This is my 6th year teaching at TBI. In addition to being your teacher, I am also the temple Music Director. I have two children, Hannah Jane (2nd grade) and Jaret (Kindergarten), and my husband of twelve years is Newell. We live in Deerfield with our dogs, Duke and King. Continue reading
Throughout the year on Wednesdays we have focused on the T’filah Project – your students teaching the class the prayers of Seder Kriyat HaTorah through the concluding prayers of Aleinu and the Mourner’s Kaddish. On Sundays for the last month or so, we have approached prayer from a different angle, examining traditional prayers on the right-hand pages of the Siddur and then comparing and contrasting to the alternative prayers on the left-hand pages of the prayer book. The students have also had a chance to write their own prayers based on a given theme such as Hodaah (Thanksgiving), Ahavat Olam (G-d’s Everlasting Love), T’filat HaLev (Prayers of the Heart), and Mi Shebeirach (Prayers of Healing). Continue reading
We have had quite a year, and it is amazing to me that we are almost at the end of it. Our final T’filah (prayer) Project group presented the Mourner’s Kaddish today. I am exceedingly proud of the effort, work and presentations of this class. Your projects really inspired me! Kol HaKavod.
Another major accomplishment, is our Tzedakah collection. Thus far, this class has raised $290.90 to benefit the Wright-Way Animal Rescue in Morton Grove. I am sure by the end of the year, we will be able to give them a check for $300. Feel proud of your efforts – we are going to help a lot of animals. Continue reading
This past week I announced to the class the details of the upcoming Haftarah Trope Challenge. Unlike the Torah Challenge, the Haftarah Trope Challenge is 3 parts and therefore requires effort and practice at home. The HTC will take place on:
Sunday, May 1 and Sunday, May 8 (if needed), during Hebrew School (11:10-12:10 pm)
The students are required to: Continue reading
In case you or your student has been absent on a Sunday, I wanted to post the schedule of learning Haftarah Trope through the end of the year. If a student is going to miss Trope on Sundays, they are responsible for learning what they missed. See the Trope blog page for resources for at home learning. Continue reading
We are about 2/3 of the way through our student taught T’filah Project. We began in early November with Ein Kamocha at the start of the Torah service, and as of last Wednesday, we are are through Y’hal’lu, at the start of the 2nd hakafah. I am so very proud of the students and their endless creativity in approaching this project. Students have created games, made posters and art projects, used music and songs and this last week, skits to help their peers learn and gain understanding. Kol Hakavod, 6th grade! Keep up the great work. Continue reading
Over the last two weeks we have learned and completed the 5th clause of trope, R’vi-i. As we begin working on the 6th clause, Segol, and learning a few of the rarer tropes, it is now time for the 5776 Torah Trope Challenge. The Torah Trope Challenge is one of the ways I assess our students’ knowledge, comprehension and readiness to complete this segment of our learning and move on to Haftarah. The challenge is simple, each student must chant the prayer V’ahavta in Trope. Torah Trope Challenge will take place on Sunday, January 31, 2016. Continue reading
Welcome back from Winter Break!
On Sunday, January 3, we began learning the fourth clause of Torah Trope: T’vir. T’vir is a relatively simple clause because there are only 2 new trope symbols, Darga and T’vir. This clause utilizes a few other tropes such as Mercha and Kadma, but these all already well known to our students. In our color coding system, this clause is blue. With only two new symbols to process, we were able to learn the entire clause in one day. Continue reading
On Sunday, November 18th, the students and I took time to look at their next Torah trope assignment. Now that we have fully covered the first three trope clauses: Etnachtah, Sof-Pasuk and Katon, the students are ready to chant their second portion: Genesis 32 4-7. Continue reading
On Wednesday, Jessica Kimmel-Choldin was the first student to present her T’filah Project on Ein Kamocha. Jessie’s lesson was thoughtful, well-planned and extremely well executed. Continue reading
Today in Hebrew, our class is going on a field trip. Using these simple words in a place like Hebrew school usually elicits great excitement in the students and I anticipate it will again today. We will begin by reading part of article from a blog by Jewish Educator, Lisa Rappaport, entitled Continue reading
It was wonderful meeting all of you today! Ask your student to show you their spark. Better yet, have them tell you the midrash about God’s divine light, and they can show you how to make your own spark. In addition to getting to know one another, we passed out textbooks, folders and notebooks. Continue reading
If you would like to brush up on your Hebrew before the start of the school year, check out this fun activity that vamps up your vowel recognition skills, vowelcircus.