Schechter Shavua: January 24, 2025

The Science Behind Milking Cows

Alim students (grades 3-4) are now the proud “parents” of Ellie, the dairy cow! Recently, Alim visited Ellie at Oakridge Dairy Farm, where she lives. The kids had a blast! From a special viewing room, they watched the cows being milked in a special carousel milking parlor. Students had a milk tasting of the farm’s whole milk (unflavored) and other fun flavored milks. They also took a guided bus tour around the facility to better understand how the milking process works. 

Schechter’s connection with Ellie came about through a program called Discover Dairy; as part of this program, schools that adopt a cow receive lesson plans about dairy throughout the year. Oakridge Dairy Farm sends updates about Ellie once a month as well as other age-appropriate lesson plans to give students a better understanding of dairy farming. Mrs. Spector integrates these lessons into her science class alongside the other units of science from our CIJE (Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education) program. In their magnetism and recycling unit, the students learned how cows and farmers recycle, as well as how farmers use magnets to keep their cows healthy. They are now starting a unit on bears and biomes and will copare these animals to cows and their environments. 

To view more photos, click HERE!

It Snowed; Time for Hibernation!

The Nitzanim (EC2) science unit on hibernation came at just the right time: our first snowstorm! Last week, students read books, played games and looked at pictures about hibernation with the help of stuffed bears Dov (in Alef) and Barnaby (in Bet.) The students created small dens/caves and model bears made from a dough of cinnamon, applesauce and glue. Each child selected fabric to make a blanket before  putting their little bears to sleep.  When it was time for Dov and Barnaby to go to sleep, students worked together to paint a cave for each classroom bear; the bears are now slumbering cozily inside those dens, covered in a blanket and scarf to keep their neck warm. The children also stocked each den with homemade (playdough) blueberries and honey In case the bears wake up too soon.  What more could a hibernating bear need?

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Dr. Martin Luther King’s Messages Resonate at Schechter

Schechter holds classes each year on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday so that students learn about his legacy and values. By looking at our “bookend” grades, one can appreciate how providing a wide range of age-appropriate lessons about Dr. King is beneficial for the students. Our oldest classes, Perah im and Amirim (gr. 7-8)watched a documentary about the movement to integrate Glen Echo Amusement Park, located in the Washington, DC suburbs. The students then wrote about their reflections and the impact of this movement on American society. Nathaniel found the documentary important because it shows how “you and I can enact real change.” Tali expressed, “this documentary shows how it takes many people to change history.”

Meanwhile, our youngest students in Nitzanim (EC2)talked about how Martin Luther King Jr.  was kind to all people, no matter what their skin color, and about how King led a movement to make change and get equal rights for all people. The classes read two stories and then colored cut-out people using a variety of skin-toned markers, crayons, and colored pencils. 

Yom Ha’Ivrit Celebrates Modern Hebrew

Schechter middle school students led their younger peers in fun and educational activities to celebrate Yom Ha’Ivrit (International Hebrew Language Day) earlier this week. Some classes did craft projects, while others played Hebrew Bingo or memory games to practice their modern Hebrew vocabulary. We love the way our oldest students help younger ones discover and learn!

Yom Ha’Ivrit is a day to commemorate Eliezer Ben Yehuda, who was the driving force behind the revival of the ancient language and its transformation into modern form. When Eliezer Ben Yehuda moved to Israel, he recognized the absence of a unified language, so he invented words that did not appear in the Torah (such as גלידה --  glida -- ice cream) and hundreds of others, then assembled those words into a modern dictionary. 

Click HERE to see photos from Yom Ha’Ivrit
 

Parashat Va’era—Somewhere Between Captivity and Freedom

This week, I have more of a prayer than a d’var Torah.

We are in the midst of two stories, one from the Torah whose ending we know, and one, unfolding right now, whose undetermined ending fills us with hope and dread all at once. In the book of Shemot/Exodus, we are halfway to leaving Egypt. Last week, we read of the Israelites’ descent into slavery, the birth of Moses and his encounter with God at the burning bush, and his first encounters with Pharaoh. Next week, we will read of the final three plagues, after which B’nei Yisrael march out of Egypt to freedom. This week, though? It feels like we are in a holding pattern: blood, frogs, lice, wild beasts, diseases, hail—and ongoing slavery. A lot of power and drama, but no freedom. 

We know the end to this story; we tell it every Pesach. After three more plagues, God will help us march out with heads held high; the sea will split, Pharaoh’s army will be washed away, and we will sing songs of praise from Hallel. And while the Haggadah asks us to relive the experience of going from slavery to freedom, we rarely ask ourselves how the Jewish people might have felt in medias res, in the middle of the story, when no one knew how things would end.

We are still in the middle of the story of the hostages. The release of three live captives this week was powerful and inspiring. As a rabbi, I would actually advise those three individuals and their families to mark the anniversary of their freedom every year with songs of Hallel, just like we sing on Pesach. In cases like this, gratitude is actually a religious obligation. The recovery of the body of a soldier killed back in 2014 is also deeply important. But at the same time, over 90 captives remain, some alive, some dead, and unlike with the story of Pesach, we just don’t know how the end will unfold.

I pray that they return home safely. I pray that we are uplifted by the number of living captives, and that when they come home, they show the resilience that was demonstrated by Emily Damari—”Hazarti lahayim,” (I’ve returned to life!). I can’t wait to sing Hallel to celebrate that redemption. 

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Jonathan Berger
Head of School