Teach your child everyday

Before Pesach and in the midst of our new educational reality, we attended a Prizma virtual lecture by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks for a message of inspiration, hope, and courage. In his fascinating talk, Rabbi Sacks emphasized the importance of caring for each other and for ourselves during this time of enormous pressure. 

In his message, Rabbi Sacks commented on the choice that Moses made when he spoke to B’nai Israel on the brink of their Exodus, as described in the book of Shemot (Exodus chapters 12-13). B’nai Israel had just left Egypt after being in slavery and in exile for 210 years. There were some good talking points that Moses could have shared with his people as their leader. They were probably curious to know what their new destination would look like, what challenges they were going to encounter on their journey, and more. Moses did not address any of these concerns; instead, he told the people of Israel something that related to their future: You should teach your child on that day והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא, the main mitzvah of the Passover holiday. 

Why did Moses talk about the future when the present moment for the Israelites required finding their way to freedom? The answer is, as Rabbi Sacks put it, that Moses chose to talk about the future of education—that You should teach your child—because “education is the conversation between generations.” 

With that in mind, DKJA reached out to our entire community of educators and composed a program called “DKJA @Home Passover Edition,” which included a variety of sessions that our students and families could enjoy via ZOOM during Chol HaMoed days of Pesach. Through these sessions, we aimed to alleviate the separation that we all felt and to strengthen our community, even on non-chag days, by educating our children and families via virtual classrooms and continuing to fulfill our shared vision for a vibrant Jewish future. Below are the classes that our community members had the opportunity to participate in.

Tefillah - Awaken your Soul with Rabbi Plotkin and Rabbi Baum

Story Time with Head of School, Mrs. Helena Levine

Jewish Law in Times of Crisis with Rabbi Lesack

Weathering the Storm: Support for Parents and Children During COVID-19 with Dr. Roseanne Lesack

Shira B’Tzibur - Listening, Discussing and Singing New Hebrew Songs with Morah Sammy and Morah Lydia

In the Kitchen with Morah Lydia - Traditional Moroccan Fish 

Explore Israel’s Culture, Values and History Through the Art of Israeli Artist Hanoh Piven with Morah Sammy

Parenting During Coronavirus: Tips Taken from Amy Pessah’s New Book: Parenting on a Prayer: Ancient Jewish Secrets for Raising Modern Children (Ben Yehuda Press, March 2020) with Rabbi Amy Pessah

Backyard Composting with the Carmi family