Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Studies Primary

Weekly Torah Portion:

Parashat Toldot Breishet 25:19 – 28:9.

The story of the Jewish people continues with a parashah filled with family intrigue, drama and sibling rivalry. A pregnant Rivkah feels her twins struggling in her womb, with God announcing to her “Two nations are in your womb…”. Rivkah gives birth to twin boys, Eisav and his younger brother Ya’akov. Eisav grows up to be a man of the land, hunting and farming and a favourite son of his father Yitshak. Ya’akov lives around the camp and is favoured by his mother Rivkah. One day, Eisav returns home hungry from hunting and Ya’akov convinces him to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew. Later, under Rivkah’s encouragement, Ya’akov deceives his dying father Yitshak and pretending to be Eisav, receives a blessing from Yitshak intended for his brother. When Eisav learns of this he is angry and heartbroken. With Eisav vowing to kill his brother once Yitshak dies, Rivkah tells Ya’akov to flee to his uncle Lavan’s house. 

Family discussion

• This is a story of dysfunctional family dynamics and relationships. After sharing this summary, what do you think of the actions of both the parents and children? What can we learn from this to strengthen our own family relationships?
• According to the UNHCR there are an estimated 65 million refugees in the world today. What are the challenges being posed to the world community? What responsibilities do countries have towards assisting refugees?

Give your Rosh a workout: online Jewish quizzes

How much do you know about the mitzvah of צדקה – tzedakah ?

www.myjewishlearning.com/quiz/tzedakah-quiz/

Learning about מידות – virtues, with a focus on צדקה – righteous giving

Year 4 students have continued their reflection on מידות / middot – virtues and מצוות mitzvot – commandments, with a focus in recent weeks on צדקה / tzedakah. Students explored various Jewish teachings on צדקה / tzedakah and how these teachings relate to our lives and world today. They also had the opportunity to study Rambam’s Ladder of צדקה / tzedakah, learning how and why he ranked different levels of tzedakah, whilst thinking about which types of צדקה / tzedakah they felt most important. Below are samples of posters created by the students to express their thinking.  

To learn more about Rambam’s levels of tzedakah, follow this link:

www.myjewishlearning.com/article/maimonides-ladder-of-tzedakah/