Kitah Zayin

Dear Parents,

It was wonderful to see such exceptional attendance this week!

In Rabbi Pein’s class, we began the Jewish Lens curriculum.

We looked at three photos which each were inspired by the theme “my connection to the Jewish people.”

These photos include: “Ahava” by Jeanette Hamui, “Siberian Magen David” by Robert Shezravkov and “Mate O’Clock” by Alan Katz. We discussed the unifying themes of the photos and what makes these photographs “Jewish.” Our answers include that they represen tradition, friendship, joy, unity. We also discussed how we can find even unity among these photos reflecting Jewish diversity.

We then discussed the difference between objective facts and subjective interpretation and how our reflections about these photographs can fall into these categories.

Finally, we discussed the photographic elements of framing, viewpoint/perspective, and focal points and discussed these elements in the following photographs: “Cave,” “The Secret,” and “Tisha B’Av” by photographer Zion Ozeri.

Next week, we have asked each student to choose one photograph or image on his/her phone that they took reflects something about him/her. We will use them as a quick exercise to emphasize photography as a means of personal communication/ expression.

I hope next week we can give the students an opportunity to take a photo depicting some of the photographic elements we have discussed.

Resources:

The photographs “Ahava” by Jeanette Hamui, “Siberian Magen David” by Robert Shezravkov and “Mate O’Clock” by Alan Katz

“Cave,” “The Secret,” and “Tisha B’Av” by Zion Ozeri

In Morah Betsy's class we continued our Immigration studies with The Traveling Suitcase!. The lesson highlights the journey of Eva Been, a young Jewish immigrant to Philadelphia in 1913. The students were familiarized with the realities faced by many immigrants who came to the United States in the early 20th century. Students had a chance to 'walk' in Eva's shoes by piecing together aspects of her life, using Eva's personal objects and documents.

Looking forward to seeing Kitah Zayin next week!

L’Shalom

Rabbi Wendy Pein and Betsy Deckert