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In this week’s Lookstein Virtual class, we explored the idea of motivation. The Rabbis of the Mishne have a long discussion about what people’s motivation should be to do mitzvoth. As a way to start the unit, the class created this word cloud of things that motivate them. The students’ answers provoked a really fascinating conversation that you can re-engage with them and your families at home.

What motivates you to be a better person? What do you think should be one’s motivation to do a mitzvah?

Today we celebrate Israel’s Independence Day! Happy 73rd birthday to Israel!

Check out the list of various games/activities that were created by Morah Shira!

Yom Ha’atzmaut Activities Slideshow

Our Middle School students completed a project on “The Four Sons of the Haggadah and the Trap In Stereotyping”. You are welcomed to read the project and some of the student’s answers in  Pesach activity,

Four Sons- students answers

We would like to wish our students and their families a Happy and Healthy Passover holiday – חג פסח כשר ושמח

from the Middle School Team,

Dear OJCS Families,

In the last few weeks we have had a great time becoming acquainted with the wisdom contained in Pirkei Avot-Ethics of the Fathers. In our class we have been exploring how the sages of the Mishna related to age-old problems such as how to build a strong and positive community or how to be efficient with time management.

In a week when we are busy preparing for Pesach it has served as a timely reminder on how to prioritise our time. The last thing we explored was how the Mishna uses parables to teach important lessons. This too resonates with Pesach when during the Seder we will tell the story of the Children of Israel’s bid for freedom.

Wishing us all a Pesach of meaningful narratives,

Mr. Lipman

We recently finished a unit about David’s conquests and the care that he took to make sure to treat his enemies, allies, and army fairly. Those are high standards! Even all the more challenging since God told David that he is not allowed to build the Temple.

It is under this umbrella that we began a new unit this week. The story of David and Batsheva. The students handled the sensitive material with maturity. The story in and of itself is intriguing. It also lends itself to great discussions such as: how can such a principled person make sure a huge mistake? What do you do when you are confronted with a challenge? And, how do we view David now that we have this different perspective on him?   The unit began but we have a lot to learn and to consider.

Shabbat Shalom!

Morah Rivky

The sixth grade has spent many months learning about the wars Yehoshua raged against the tribes of Canaan. We had many conversations about ancient warfare and the moral justification for the attacks that Bnei Yisrael waged against the tribes of Canaan. The students had really important insights and questions and we all concluded that some of the wars were easier to understand than others.

This past week, we started talking about settling the land. The students were all assigned a tribe to research.  They looked at historic and modern maps to locate each tribe’s portion of land. Each student presented their findings to each other.  We concluded the unit considering how to settle this land after all this time. What emotions were in play and can we connect to what the Children of Israel felt so long ago.

Shabbat Shalom!

Morah Rivky

After learning in the past few weeks about the history of Jerusalem ,Grade 6 Ivrit students are now ready to explore the Capital city of Israel. This week we will be joining the “Young Travelers” in their Israeli trip and learn about important places such as the Kotel, the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) , Beit Hamishpat Haelyon (Israel’s Supreme Court), Yad Vashem, the Arab Market in the Old city and many more exciting places; both in the Eastern and Western part of the city. And all this learning in conjunction with great and fun activities and games. http://shorturl.at/qIVY8

Wishing my students an exciting, fun learning week!

avua Tov!

Grade 7 Ivrit will be learning about David Ben Gurion’s vision to make the Negev desert bloom. A vision that has become a reality thank to him. We will “visit”  David Ben Gurion’s modest hut in kibbutz  Sde Boker, which today serves as a museum:http://shorturl.at/gqyAD

Wishing you a great week!