This is our second term as the Primary School Informal Jewish Life Team. Over the course of this semester we have been working hard to bring a new, fresh perspective to Jewish learning in the Primary School. As well as assisting with the planning and running of festival celebrations and Shabbat, we have also been creating many in-class programs called Peulot which are run for the Primary School students. The aims of these peulot are to provide a modern, fun and contemporary outlook on traditional Jewish topics and values through informal teaching methods, that allow for more discussion based and experiential learning. 

This term, one of the peulot we developed was for Year 4, exploring the concept of journeys. By creating a virtual map and giving students ‘passports’ to complete, we took Year 4 on an adventure through the desert to mimic the Israelite’s journey to the Land of Israel after leaving Egypt. Along this journey, students encountered challenges and complications where they had to choose what they felt was the best way to approach the situation. For example, at one point the students were asked how they would go about building a shelter, either by choosing to delegate roles to their peers or braid palm fronds by themselves for their peers. 

At the end of the peulah, it was revealed to the students that every decision they made represented a value or characteristic. The students who chose to delegate roles were given ‘communication skills’ and those who braided palm fronds were given ‘compassion’. After writing these choices into their passports, the students had their own personalised booklet filled with the characteristics that aligned with their decisions. This displayed the importance of journeys by viewing these journeys as more than just a means to an end and rather a process of learning and growth.

We finished the term with a peulah designed for Year 6 that explored different expressions of Judaism that coexist within Israel and around the world. After a ‘rapid fire’ presentation, students recalled this information through a small trivia quiz! 

Previous peulot that we have run in class for various year groups include: a Pesach peulah run in Term 1 for Years 5 and 6, where we taught the students about current issues such as refugees and climate change through the lense of the Pesach story. Earlier this term we also ran a Shavuot peulah on the Aseret HaDibrot (The 10 Utterances) for Years 3 and 4, that asked students to question their current understanding of rules and their moral compass by creating a unique class set of commandments.

We have enjoyed working with the incredible and creative Primary Students and have loved seeing their perspectives slowly change and grow as we work with them. We are looking forward to many more successful semesters of Informal Jewish Education to come! 

By Mia Shapiro and Joshua New, Informal Jewish Life Leaders