Silverstein Hebrew Academy recently organized several opportunities for its students to learn about the holiest Jewish holiday of the year, Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a day of atonement, traditionally celebrated with a period of fasting and intensive prayer. To prepare for the holiday, students were led through interactive lessons based on their grade level, from early childhood education through middle school.
“We are not teaching a lesson, but providing students with life experiences, which they can live and feel as they learn the meaning behind our customs and prayers,” said Head of School Shireen Butmann. “Our goal as a Yeshiva is to have our students develop a sense of pride in their faith, to bring their heritage alive as a way of life with meaningful core values and beliefs that direct their everyday actions with their family, friends and the world around them.”
At the youngest grade level, Morah Tzivi led her Nursery Bet class through a reenactment of the story of Yonah and the Whale. This biblical story, told in the Book of Yonah, reveals the meaning of Yom Kippur and is used as a teaching tool by Jewish communities around the world every year on the holiday.
Following the reenactment, students designed whale crafts, discussed emotions and discovered the Yom Kippur mystery box to learn about the holiday in an innovative way.
Students at the elementary school level also participated in classroom-centered activities to help them further understand the holy day. Students discussed the meaning of the day, asked questions and gained a firmer grasp on why they pray and atone on Yom Kippur.
At the middle school level, Silverstein Hebrew Academy organized an opportunity for its students to visit the Ohel of the Chabad Rebbe in Cambria Heights. This visit gave students an opportunity to experience first-hand the positive influence and impact Lubavitcher Rabbi Menachem Schneerson has had on the Jewish faith.
During the field trip, students wrote personal messages to the Rabbi asking for blessings and practiced self-reflection and prayer at the grave. Students and staff prayed together and learned more about the religious holiday through passage readings.
For more information on the Silverstein Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, visit http://www.shagn.org/.
