Connecting To Hashem Through Tefillah

 

This past week I had the privilege of completing the section of Trei Asar and Nevi'im in general as part of the OU’s Nach Yomi learning program. As part of this completion we had a siyum in our community and I had the opportunity to deliver the Dvar Torah at the siyum. 

Rabbi Berel Wein published a book in 2015 called Who Knows Twelve about Trei Asar  (which I used for part of my Dvar Torah), and he wrote in his introduction: 

“I was 14 years old when I first encountered Trei Asar as a subject of study at my beloved yeshiva in Chicago. Sixty five years later in Jerusalem, as I study Trei Asar once more, the words are the same but their meaning is far different than what it was when I was an adolescent. Much has happened to me and to the Jewish people over the past sixty five years.  This book was completed and edited in the shadows of the pain and costs of war against Hamas in Gaza. I never imagined that I would experience such a conflict in my lifetime or live in such an openly anti-Semitic world as I do in 2015. The words of the prophets of Trei Asar have been a personal comfort to me in these difficult days.”

Incredible. Gaza, Hamas, anti-Semitism. He wrote these words in 2015, but he could have written those words today.  And, in truth, the words of Trei Asar have in fact served as a comfort to those of us learning it during this Gaza war against Hamas. 

It made me think of my yearly introduction in my Navi class as I learn with my students as it famously says in Gemara Megilla 14a: 

הרבה נביאים עמדו להם לישראל כפלים כיוצאי מצרים אלא נבואה שהוצרכה לדורות נכתבה ושלא הוצרכה לא נכתבה

Many prophets arose for the Jewish people, numbering double the number of Israelites who left Egypt. However, only a portion of the prophecies were recorded, because only prophecy that was needed for future generations was written down in the Bible for posterity, but that which was not needed, as it was not pertinent to later generations, was not written.

Clearly, the words of Trei Asar were “הוצרכה לדורות”  as they so apply to and are relevant to what we our going through today in our generation. We need the words of any of the neviim that were written down to give us strength and hope. 

This past Shabbat I discussed how Chagai, Zecharia and Malachi were the last neviim, as prophecy was over after their time. How dejecting! The intimate connection between Hashem and the people of Bnai Yisrael is over. Where is the hope that Rabbi Wein was referencing?

Yet,  Rav Soloveitchik in his article in Tradition “Lonely Man of Faith” points out that that connection that existed in the days of nevuah is in no way over.  There are two ways that the miracle of revelation takes place. The first way is when G-d initiates and reaches out to speak to man. That is the prophetic community.. But, the second way, no less holy, is when man calls out to G-d and “the same miracle happens again” - that is the prayer community. “The prayer community was born the very instant the prophetic community expired and, when it did come into the spiritual world of the Jew of old, it did not supersede the prophetic community, but rather perpetuated it. Prayer is the continuation of prophecy and the fellowship of prayerful men is ipso facto the fellowship of prophets. The difference between prayer and prophecy is, as I have already mentioned, related not to the substance of the dialogue, but rather to the order in which it is conducted…” With prophecy G-d takes the initiative and with prayer man takes the initiative.  The dialogue with G-d was shifted from prophecy to prayer. 

(And, it therefore makes sense that Chaggai, Zecharia and Malachi, the last of the prophets, were part of the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah who established Tefillah). 

It is so incredible to remind ourselves that with the end of Nevuah- we need not be despaired. And, every day when we daven and connect to Hashem this is instead of Nevuah- what a gift and a privilege! In essence we have the privilege of each having a mini- nevuah experience each day as we connect to Hashem with tefillah!

This piece of presentation really hit home to me after I read an article this past Shabbat about Lena Troufanov- mother of Sasha who was just released, “From the Depths” by Ariella Schiller. Lena herself was taken captive and released early on along with her mother while her husband was murdered on October 7th and her son taken captive. The article shares that a rabbi named Rabbi Raanan reached out to provide some support over these months, and called her regularly with different ideas. “‘Maybe a call to a foreign minister could free Sasha, or perhaps she should reach out to those in Russia, or maybe, maybe…’ Lena, who was not observant, cut off the rabbi and said, ‘Rabbi, the only hishtadlut (effort) I need is tefillah. All else is irrelevant. Rak b’Tefillah (only with prayer) will my son come home…’ Because something changed for Lena down in the tunnels in Gaza. ‘At long last, I understood the words of Dovid HaMelech, Min hameitzar karati kah” - from the depths I called out to You, G-d. I called out to Him and He heard me.’”  And, today, Lena finishes Tehillim every day. 

Somehow, Lena intuits that Tefillah is our way of connecting to Hashem. It is prophecy of today. And, prayer for her, and for other hostages, became a source of psychological strength and hope. As written in “The Power of Prayer Personal Perspective: How thought and faith can strengthen our inner resolve.”

 Prayer can act as a protective factor by providing individuals with comfort and a coping mechanism to manage stress during difficult situations. According to research, prayer can reduce stress, anxiety, and negative emotions, often functioning as a coping mechanism that can promote overall well-being by providing a sense of connection to a higher power and fostering feelings of support and control, particularly when faced with challenging situations.

So, how do we convince our children that the ability to daven, connect with and form relationships with Hashem is a privilege?  How do we create a “mini-nevuah” experience for them? In the over 30 years I have been in both informal and formal Jewish education this question has been on my mind.  Why is it that some students daven with their full hearts and while some, no matter how hard we try, just go through the motions? I can spend weeks addressing this question, but I want to highlight a few practical strategies we can implement immediately.

This topic is addressed in a 2013 article in Jewish Action “Can Schools Do A Better Job of Teaching Tefillah?” He quotes a research study by Chana Tanenbaum of Bar-Ilan University who surveyed 350 yeshiva day school graduates who were in their gap year in Israel. Only 16.4% said they found tefillah to be a “spiritually uplifting event…In contrast, 20% of the same group found participation in sports teams to be fairly or extremely meaningful to their religious growth.”  This survey is from 2013, so I hope the results are better today, but clearly that data is disappointing. (And, we are proud of our Beur Tefillah curriculum here at Yavneh). 

Two very basic ideas in the article suggested were:

The simplest, most powerful way to have an effective davening is to stop before you open your siddur and think about what you are about to do. We encourage our students to look at the siddur when not in davening. Write little notes next to different brachot concerning areas of focus and what different pieces of tefillah mean. 

I have a little notebook that I keep in my purse. When I hear about someone whom I want to daven for, I jot it down. I take the list out when I daven. It jogs my brain; reminds me that these are things I want to address. I always keep the book with me. It keeps tefillah on my mind throughout the day. What a great idea for anything that is on your mind to ask Hashem about- not just other people to daven for! 

One other idea which has helped my Tefillah-  I often recommend to students to use the Metsudah Inter-linear siddur. I daven with it daily. The way the translations are written one can look at the Hebrew and English at the same time. What a wonderful way to understand what one is praying. 

In a 2016 article in the Jewish Link  Rabbi Daniel Alter writes about “Teaching Meaningful Tefillah: Directions and Guidelines.” He stresses that “ How can we instill the sense of value and importance of tefillah in our children? The home environment has the lead role in achieving this goal. Your child’s day school is your partner…Parents should not delegate the responsibility of tefillah education to the school. A child who davens every day in school, but does not daven on Sundays, Shabbat or during vacation, is a child who thinks that tefillah is something we do in school but not in our ‘real lives.’ And, when our children see us taking davening seriously, they learn the importance of davening.”

So, if we as parents, model for them being invested in davening, write notes in our siddur, show our children we are thinking about what Tefillah means, and help them see that davening is a privilege, we can change their Tefillah experience. 

As I watched the hostages being released and as we suffered the fate of those whose bodies were returned this week, I know that the only thing keeping us going is Tefillah.  As Rabbi Wein noted, whether due to Hamas or anti-Semitism, we need that personal comfort. I want our students to know that Hashem is always listening, even and especially during tough times. We, the school, will continue to partner with you to help our children connect with prayer in both good and not so good times. 

Advisory Update:

Sixth Grade: Students learned about the pitfalls of popularity- and that it’s not all that it appears to be! 

Seventh Grade:   Students learned about the different characteristics between someone who is resilient versus someone who cracks under difficulty.  They also heard a presentation by Rabbi Yitzy Haber about how he coped through his battle with illness as a teenager.

Eighth Grade:  Students discussed their changing relationship with their parents. 

The Key To Being A Survivor

             On January 27th the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz was commemorated. My son, who was an intern at the Auschwitz Foundation this past summer, was invited to be part of the ceremony in Auschwitz last week.  The ceremony was mostly dedicated to the survivors who spoke for much of the program. They described the horrors they went through, and their ability to survive.  These survivors more than survived- they rebuilt their homes, families and the Jewish people.  As I watched the video of the ceremony, and remember my own grandparents, a”h,  who were survivors,  I wonder- how did they do it? Where did they find the strength? 

This coming Wednesday we celebrate Sharsheret Pink Day.  Pink day is another yearly day when we celebrate a different group of survivors. We pay tribute to the women who battle breast cancer, their families and the organization Sharsheret that supports them.  I often leave that day wondering- how do they do it? Where do they find the strength? 

As Pink Day will come to an end, Wednesday evening into Thursday we celebrate Tu B’shvat. While Tu B’shvat is based on Israel’s climate, ( it is really the new year for fruit trees as that fruit which began developing before Tu B'Shvat is counted as having grown in the previous agricultural year, while fruit which developed after belongs to the next year- impacting when maaser is given),   it always struck me that we celebrate the trees during the winter. Even in Israel it is its cold/rainy season. Why not celebrate it during the spring when the trees are blossoming?  Rashi explains that the reason why this time of year in Israel is chosen, even though trees haven’t blossomed yet, is because this is the time of year when  the sap starts rising in the trees- the first step of fruit beginning to grow.  It is specifically the ability for the tree to begin to grow during the cold, dark winter that we celebrate. A tree might look dead, but it is a survivor and can grow. 

I came across an article, author unknown, on the Destiny Foundation website. The author writes about his time living in Miami Beach and suffering from hurricanes. He writes:

The almost human shriek of winds in excess of 125 miles per hour can pierced your innermost soul. In one such hurricane, two large trees in my backyard were felled, one of which, unfortunately, landed on my neighbor’s house. The tree surgeons arrived to remove the trees and in that process, sawed them back nearly to the base of their trunks. However, the root systems of both trees were apparently unaffected. Soon, new branches began to grow out of the sides of those shortened trunks. Over the years, those branches grew so tall and healthy that in spring and summer, the trees were clothed in verdant beauty and provided blessed shade. Unless you looked very closely, you could not tell that they had sprung up from truncated stumps that had once been declared “dead.” Yet there they were – beautiful, alive, and fresh as ever – due to the life force of their root systems and the amazing Divine power of regeneration that the Creator has infused into all His living creatures.

The tree typifies what it means to be a survivor- the recuperative power of humans in the face of all adversities. The unconquerable spirit of humans is the highest reflection of the Godly soul within us.  And, this has always been the Jewish response to tragedies like the Holocaust and struggles like illness. 

People often wonder are discussions about the Holocaust appropriate for middle school students? Is playing an active role in Sharsheret Pink day and exposing middle school students to the struggles of so many appropriate? Of course, if done in an age-appropriate manner I say absolutely,  “Yes.” 

Our 7th graders just began a new unit in Advisory- “When Life Gives You Lemons…Make Lemonade”- dealing with adversity in life. In that unit they will learn the skills to resilience and coping with the unexpected that life might present. Who can be better role models for our children in resilience and coping than the Holocaust survivors and the women from Sharsheret? 

And, as I have been watching the videos recently of the hostages who have been freed, witnessing their courage, I am in awe of their ability to be survivors. I came across a video by Frank Lowy, a 94 year old Holocaust survivor, who addressed the hostages. He said, “Here we are talking to the chatufiim (hostages) and their friends. I want to give them hope.  Because I have risen from the darkest place in the world and I am here today to talk about it. To talk about it to my family,  to my friends.. here in this place.  And, here I am at 94 full of life b’eretz Yisrael shelanu (in our land of Israel).”   The freed hostages are also role models for our students of resiliency and survival.

That is what Tu B’shvat and the blossoming tree teach us. The ability “to rise from the darkest place in the world.”  As Dr. Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor said (as we discuss with the students in Advisory), “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread...they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

And, we discuss the article “Are Israelis Really Happy As The World Reports” in Advisory as well. The article was written after Israel was ranked fifth last year in the World Happiness report of all countries rated. Note that the United States was #15. In that article they question that how can it be after October 7th and the ongoing war and hostage situation Israel can be the fifth happiest country?  The author Herb Keinon quotes Zakai Or who notes “Israel’s abundant challenges, she added, do not necessarily diminish happiness, but instead could enhance it. “When you have no challenges, then something inside you doesn’t grow,” she said. “Here we are challenged all the time, and we have succeeded. We grow, and this is also a part of being happy.”  While a tree needs sun and rain to grow,  challenges help us grow. 

The article continues to list other factors that allow Israelis to be happy during difficult times. A. Connecting to meaning  B.  Sense of being a part of a community, of not being alone, of having someone to lean on, and of being connected to family and friends C. Religion (faith). 

Which brings us to another key to survival-Emunah-faith  Emunah helps us deal with disappointment and rejection. From a young age, if we can remind our children that both good and not so good events come from G-d, then they can more easily cope with any situation that lies ahead. As Rabbi David Ashear writes in his book Living Emunah:   Imagine if, throughout the day, you found messages from Hashem.  When you faced a challenge, He would let you know that He sees what you’re going through and has the whole situation in hand.  When something good happened, it came with a note attached that said,’This is something special, just for you.’ There would be no greater source of courage, comfort, and joy in our lives.  We would have no worries. We would feel pampered and protected at all times, even in the midst of something that would otherwise be unpleasant.  If you can imagine living like this, then you can imagine what life is like for someone who lives with rock-solid emunah.  Emunah is what kept Holocaust survivors strong. Emunah is one element that supports the women who benefit from Sharsheret. Emunah has kept the hostages and their families strong.  As released hostage Agam Berger boarded a helicopter for Beilinson hospital she help up a sign that said: 

בדרך אמונה בחרתי בדרך אמונה חזרתי

“I chose the path of faith, and in the path of faith I returned.”

Today is my father’s, a”h, 22nd yahrzeit. My father had the incredible ability to see the good- in people and in situations.  He knew what it took to be a survivor.  My father was a rabbi, and  the year of his 20th yahrzeit our family reached out to his rabbinic colleagues and students to submit Divrei Torah for smachot/happy life cycle occasions. Each person who submitted included a tribute as well. Rabbi Cary Friedman shared this tribute: (Rabbi Friedman began by describing a frustrating situation he was facing as a rabbi).  “One day, at the end of my rabbinic rope, alone and despairing and bewildered and frustrated, I called the Fourth Floor to speak with Rabbi Dworken. 

Everything changed.  I was never alone again.  I described the political situation in which I found myself at that moment, and Rabbi Dworken advised me, unerringly, like a chess master, how to maneuver through that political minefield to emerge unscathed and victorious, with my personal integrity uncompromised and the dignity of my rabbinic role -- always so important to him! --  enhanced.  Almost 30 years later, I still can’t believe the role he played in my life during our time there.  He never waited for me to call him for help -- he called me every week, at least, to check up on me.  

Similarly, in a personal situation when my sister in law, a”h, passed away at a young age, Rabbi Dworken, who had lost a sibling at a young age, called me almost every day for several months, until his untimely petirah, to describe to me where my wife and her family were on the journey of mourning, and to offer me guidance as to what I should be doing right now to support them.  I followed every instruction he gave me.  I was never alone, and I knew exactly what to do, because I had Rabbi Dworken right there with me.

I’ve had the same thought many times over the last 20 years: What on earth should I be doing right now? Rabbi Dworken, with his great intellect and his open heart, always knew.”

Being a survivor does not mean one needs to be alone.  Having a mentor, surrounding oneself with support is essential. But, more importantly, which I learned from my father, as someone witnessing the struggles of another, don’t wait to be called.  Reach out and be there even before you are asked. And, “hang around” even after the person seems to be okay. 

This is a message I want our students at Yavneh to learn and live. Yes, we can all grow, even after facing difficulty, just like a tree. But, trees need water and sunlight to grow. Let’s teach our children to be the nourishment and sunlight in the life of another. 

Advisory Update:

Sixth Grade:  Students began a unit and discussed what it means to be a good friend.

Seventh Grade: Students did a “Quality Circle” where they discussed the lessons they learned from their project in the Homeless shelter and how it relates to how good we are at Yavneh at treating each other with respect. 

Eighth Grade: Students discussed how to deal with disappointments in life. 

The Ability To Notice

This past Shabbat I read an article by Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, the editor and publisher of the Intermountain Jewish News, called “My Homeless Friends.”  The title struck me immediately, as we are just weeks away from our 7th graders' visit to the homeless shelter in Hackensack and in the process of wrapping up this unit on empathy.  Rabbi Goldberg describes how when he drives by certain intersections in the streets he often confronts homeless people asking for a handout. He is always sure to leave his home with some food packages, drinks or even articles of clothing just in case he comes across one of these people. 

Why does he do this? He shares:  First of all, I learn something. I learn not to judge. Take Pete… Okay, so here’s the first assumption many people make. These people with the cardboard signs don’t really need help. They’re sponging off undeserved sympathy. Why is Pete seeking help on a street corner if he can work? But Pete keeps talking. He says, “It’s been 22 months since my back surgery, and finally all of the bones have come into place, except for one, and I can do some work.” So much for unworthy judgments about unnecessary sponging…” 

Lesson #1- not to judge. Hopefully one we are relaying here at Yavneh.  

Rabbi Goldberg shared another reason- Rav Yisrael Salanter (d. 1883) founded a mussar movement to instruct us to treat others well. The first step is not to pass them by.  Lesson #2- not to pass by someone leaving him/her unnoticed. 

A few weeks ago I discussed empathy and feeling the pain of others,  and quoted the pasuk where the brothers admitted what they had done wrong in Bereishit 42:21:

 וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־אָחִ֗יו אֲבָל֮ אֲשֵׁמִ֣ים ׀ אֲנַ֘חְנוּ֮ עַל־אָחִ֒ינוּ֒ אֲשֶׁ֨ר רָאִ֜ינוּ צָרַ֥ת נַפְשׁ֛וֹ בְּהִתְחַֽנְנ֥וֹ אֵלֵ֖ינוּ וְלֹ֣א שָׁמָ֑עְנוּ עַל־כֵּן֙ בָּ֣אָה אֵלֵ֔ינוּ הַצָּרָ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת׃

They said to one another, “Alas, we are being punished on account of our brother, because we looked on at his anguish, yet paid no heed as he pleaded with us. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 

In essence, they saw his pain and passed him by.  Not only didn’t they feel his pain…they did not even notice him. They literally just kept on walking. 

So, I take a few steps back. Before the empathy I discussed a few weeks ago that we want our children to have, we first need them to notice others. Dr. Zach Mercurio, in his article The Art and Science of Noticing Others: How to Become Better at Making People Feel Seen, stresses that noticing others is the “act of seeing someone’s uniqueness and showing an interest in their full life.” He discusses how miserable it feels to be overlooked and to feel invisible, and how wonderful it feels to be noticed- to be known. 

Mercurio continues that research shows that being noticed makes us feel like we matter and reduces the risks of anxiety and depression. Social psychologists Morris Rosenberg and Claire McCullough on the research on “mattering” (particularly when it comes to mattering to one’s parents), that “feeling noticed is the most elementary form of mattering.”  In 2018, study health insurer Cigna surveyed 20,000 Americans and found that 47 percent of respondents reported feeling “forgotten.” A study from global employee engagement company Reward Gateway found that 43% of employees feel “invisible.” Education Week quoted a study by Quaglia & Corso of more than 66,000 students in grades 6 through 12 and only  50% of the respondents thought their teacher would care if they were absent. Just 46 percent of students said they felt valued at school. (Yavneh Academy was not part of that study!) 

Feeling unseen and unnoticed can impact one’s self-esteem, decreases motivation and can lead, as noted above, to depression. Merucrio highlights the three steps to noticing another:

1. Ask about 2. Remember 3. Check-in on personal details.

And, noticing others is also about “ showing an interest in and nurturing others’ interests, regardless if those interests help you.”

And, the research indicates the negative impact on feeling “forgotten” (unnoticed/unseen).  Psychologists Laura King and Aaron Geise in their study “Being Forgotten: Implications for the Experience of Meaning in Life” asked women to participate in a group activity in a lab and then come back two days later. When they came back, the researcher said to some women “I don’t remember you being here. Are you sure you were here two days ago?” The other women were remembered by the researchers. Those who were forgotten and unknown, i.e. unnoticed, had lower self-esteem and a lower sense of meaning in their lives.

Psychologist Dr. Richard Weissbraud of the Making Caring Common Project writes of numerous ways to raise caring children. “Expand your child’s circle of concern.”  Why? 

Almost all children care about a small circle of their families and friends. Our challenge is to help our children learn to care about someone outside that circle, such as the new kid in class, someone who doesn’t speak their language, the school custodian, or someone who lives in a distant country.  

Children need to learn to notice and see people who are outside their immediate circle. 

How can we do this? We can do this by helping them learn to “zoom in, by listening closely, and attending to those” in both their immediate circle and those outside that circle. Some examples:

• Make sure your children are friendly and grateful with all the people in their daily lives, such as a bus driver or a waitress.
• Encourage children to care for those who are vulnerable. Give children some simple ideas for stepping into the “caring and courage zone,” like comforting a classmate who was teased.
• Use a newspaper or TV story to encourage your child to think about hardships faced by children in another country. 

And, of course, as with any quality we want our children to gain, as parents modeling this “noticing/seeing” others is essential.  I grew up in a smaller shul and in my shul everyone said “Good Shabbos” to everyone. It didn’t matter if you were the president of the shul or a member who hardly ever made it there.  Now that I am living in a larger community with a number of shuls, I unfortunately see how many people pass me by on Shabbos without “noticing” me and saying “Good Shabbos.”   Let’s start there. We notice everyone in shul or on the streets. And, we should always make it a practice to say “Hello” to anyone we meet on the streets- even those not of the Jewish community. Everyone deserves to be seen.  

At Yavneh, I hope we are succeeding in making every child feel noticed and known. To me, that is the primary job of an educator. This past week, I attended the funeral and Shiva of Mrs. Marcy Stern, a”h, who was my Navi teacher in high school. I am sure that many of us can recall feeling “noticed” by a teacher and consequently you never forgot that feeling and what you learned with him/her.  Mrs. Stern truly inspired me to love Navi.  As recently as a few months ago I was in contact with her and shared with her that when I teach Navi to my students I hear her voice and try to emulate some of her teaching strategies. I learned Sefer Yirmiyahu with her. In פרק א, Hashem introduces Yirmiyahu to his mission: (א:ה)- 

בְּטֶ֨רֶם אֶצָּרְךָ֚ בַבֶּ֙טֶן֙ יְדַעְתִּ֔יךָ

When I had not yet formed you in the womb, I knew you

Hashem made it clear to Yirmiyahu that he was “known.” And, once Hashem convinces Yirmiyahu that he is ready for the job of prophet He asks him:

מָֽה־אַתָּ֥ה רֹאֶ֖ה יִרְמְיָ֑הוּ וָֽאֹמַ֕ר מַקֵּ֥ל שָׁקֵ֖ד אֲנִ֥י רֹאֶֽה:

What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree." 

Hashem, from the moment of Yirmiyahu’s inauguration as נביא ,makes it clear to Yirmiyahu that part of fulfilling the mission of Hashem is the ability to “see.” 

And, Hashem responds encouragingly: 

וַיֹּ֧אמֶר ה' אֵלַ֖י הֵיטַ֣בְתָּ לִרְא֑וֹת

And the Lord said to me; You have seen well,

The ability to see well is what it takes to fulfill his mission. (And, if one reads on in the perek one sees that Hashem shows Yirmiyahu another object and asks him  מָ֥ה אַתָּ֖ה רֹאֶ֑ה again and this time he again sees well and sees a bubbling pot facing north). 

As parents and educators let us make the effort to make our children feel noticed and seen. And, we will continue to teach them how to see and notice others by pointing out to them מָ֥ה אַתָּ֖ה רֹאֶ֑ה over and over until they are able to make everyone they meet feel noticed. 

Advisory Update:

Sixth Grade: Students began a section on appropriate school behaviors. 

Seventh Grade:  As part of trying to make the plight of the homeless more ”relatable” students spoke about some practical scenarios in the Jewish community that might lead to members of our community struggling.

Eighth Grade: Students continued their unit on the changing parent-child relationship.