Photos from a Student's Bat Mitzvah in Israel

One of my students had the fabulous opportunity to become Bat Mitzvah in Jerusalem, at Robinson's Arch. I taught her the prayers and her Torah reading here, and worked with her on her speech, but then they took it on the road/plane. I also helped her mom design the siddur that she used, and choose some of the English readings.

Audio file for weekday Torah service (Reform)

Just got my son to sit record the Shabbat melodies (the ones you're familiar with!) for the Reform version (from Mishkan T'filah) of the weekday Torah service.  Enjoy!

Click here to listen or download.

The Prayer Dare

This was a game my class created (in place of a quiz) to see how much their classmates knew about the prayers & vocab we studied. Each index card is numbered on the back, and they rolled dice & chose next card from that pile.

Making Havdalah Candles

(Guest post authored by David, who was 11 at the time.)

Two weeks ago, Betsy and one of the 6th grade Beth El students were learning about havdalah and its blessings, so we decided to make havdalah candles.

At-home Service for  Havdalah

After several epic failures involving a toaster oven, hot wax and cigarette lighters, we were finally able to make several four-braid and four-twist havdallah candles.  To save other people from having to repeat our finger pains and mistakes, we decided to publish a simple how-to guide.

How to Make Havdalah Candles without Burning Down Your Kitchen

• Assemble all materials:
  
  • a box of chanukah candles (including extras in case you make mistakes)
  • a source of boiling water
  • a disposable bowl
  • paper towels
  • matches or a lighter
  • a disposable fork
• Boil water.

ipad for Bat Mitzvah training

From ancient to hi-tech and back again. The magic yad is a must!