PARASHAT HaSHAVUA

Lekh Lekha (Genesis) 12-17

Values are not like elections and voting – the majority doesn’t necessarily rule. Abraham, our forefather, stood virtually alone as a believer in God and kindness in a world of idolatory and cruelty, yet he didn’t let that stop him from holding strong to the values that he knew were good and true, even if he had to hold onto them alone.

 The Shabbat Project Comes to Emanuel School

To celebrate this weekend’s Shabbat Project, students across the School participated in Shabbat learning and various hands-on Shabbat activities.

K-12 came together on Friday morning for a whole school Shabbat celebration filled with Shabbat songs, blessings and ruach.

Shabbat activities included:

Year K: Created and decorated their own Shabbat table place mat that included the words of the Friday night Kiddush.

Year 1: Braided their own challah for Shabbat from prepared dough and learnt about the meaning and symbolism of Shabbat challah.

Year 2: Created a Birkat Banim – blessing for the children picture frame, including the words of this beautiful blessing for their Shabbat table at home.

Year 3: Made beeswax Shabbat candles and reflected on the role and symbolism of light in Judaism. We explored different traditions and customs about the number of candles people use to welcome in Shabbat on Friday evening.

Year 4: Starting with the raw ingredients, Year 4 students and their Hebrew teachers made their own challah.

Year 5: Earlier this year students explored Jewish time and Shabbat and this week they created their own Havdalah candle.

Year 6 and Year 8: Created and decorated their own glass mosaic Shabbat candlestick holders to honour Shabbat.

Year 7: Shabbat Magic – Students explored what makes Shabbat a special and a unique day:

• Oneg Shabbat – Shabbat joy through songs
• Hiddur Mitzvah – making it beautiful through napkin folding
• Berakhot – students created their own Shabbat blessing.

Year 9: Made beeswax Shabbat candles and reflected on how each of us can use Shabbat as an opportunity to rekindle our own ‘light’, thinking about how ‘switching off’ devices can enable us to ‘switch on’ life.

Year 10: Made beeswax Havdalah candles and learnt about the rituals, meaning and symbolism of Havdalah as a way of invoking our five senses to remember the beauty of Shabbat and to prepare for the week ahead.