Path to Confirmation

Dear parents of the Path to Confirmation class:

Last night the students continued work on their “Love Your Neighbor” projects. They will all be presenting them next Wednesday during CJL.

Rabbi Pein also spoke with this class and the confirmation class about Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. She showed a brief interview of Kurt Messerschmidt, a man who lived through Kristallnacht in Berlin. He remarked that he and his friend responded in the only way they could--by being helpful. He also remarked that what contributed to Anti-Semitism more than anything during that time was silence, when people stood by and did nothing to protect or defend their Jewish neighbors.

The "takeaway" from this talk, which I hope the students will remember, is to remember to speak out against injustice and to help those who need it. It was sobering to hear his testimony and reflect on how his words resonate today. link to Kurt Messerschmidt

We will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht this Friday night at Shabbat services.

After the presentations next week, we plan to start a new project on exploring Jewish diversity and our own Jewish identities.

Shavua tov, Morah Judy