02 Mar Special Purim Video, Celebrating 70 Years of the State of Israel.

In lieu of the weekly Reflection from our Head of School column, by Benjamin Mann, check the video below of Benjamin and the students and faculty of Schechter Manhattan in this special Purim video, celebrating 70 years of the State of Israel. Happy Purim!.

Click here to watch the video.

 

Shabbat Shalom

Benjamin Mann


Author’s Chair

Each week we will feature the written work of our students. We hope that you will stop back next week and see what they are writing and thinking about.

GAN

Students are working on their nonfiction books, using their passions as inspiration.

“ I played With Sarah. We were Playing Doactr. it was fun. We toktrzwen we ware playing oe game.”
(I played with Sarah.  We were playing doctor.  It was fun.  We took turns when we were playing our game.)
–  Tova

“ I savud a be shuc.  I etoothuucweoum. I wz un.”
(I saved a baby shark.  I went to the aquarium.  It was fun.)
–  Keinan

“I wet on modzukl.”
(I went on a motorcycle.)
–  Hannah

“I went to Wodloch and I Sat rand the CamP FIRE”
(I went to Woodlock and I sat around the campfire.)
– Landon

 

KITAH BET

In our Israel and Water unit in Theme, we learned about the challenges Israel faces with providing fresh water for its population and the innovative process of desalination. We talked about other countries, places, and groups of people that could benefit from desalination and why they could benefit. Students explored the benefits and challenges of desalination in partner and group work. Please find an excerpt of our work attached!

Click here to view work by Ethan, Ayelet, Adam, Zeva & Jonah

 

KITAH HEH

In preparation for the celebration of Purim, the 5th grade students studied the laws of reading and hearing the megillah, focusing on the unusual requirement to say the shehechiyanu prayer before both times it is read.
The 5th grade students responded tot he following question:

On Purim, why do we say “shehecheyanu” at night and during the day? What is special about this?

 

We say “shehecheyanu” at night and during the day on Purim so that the experience of hearing the Migillah read is like we are hearing it for the first time. This is special because instead of getting bored and feeling like you have heard the story a million times you feel like it is the first time. It is also more powerful to say it twice. It makes it more powerful because you don’t read it and then forget it two hours later. Saying “shehecheyanu” twice makes it seem fresher and more powerful.
–  Annabelle

We might say Sh’hechianu twice on Purim for many reasons. We only do it twice, rather than Hannukah’s eight. We might saySh’hechianu twice on Hannukah if we only lit the candles twice. Another reason is that we saySh’hechianu twice, one for reading Migillah at night, and one for reading it in the day.This is special because we don’t do this any other time. On Hannukah, we only say it once. On Rosh HaShana we only say it once. The fact that we say Sh’hechianu twice is special.
– Benjamin

I think we say shehecheyanu on purim because we are being thankful that Haman didn’t kill all of the jewish people and that we are here today celebrating our survival from Haman. Shehecheyanu gives us the opportunity to commemorate the jewish people being alive today. I think we say shehecheyanu every time before we read the megillah (twice) because we want to remind ourselves that we are reading the megillah because we are remembering Haman trying to kill the jewish people but at the end him being killed himself. It isn’t such an unusual halacha to have to sayshehecheyanu twice every time before you read the megillah because now we are really putting our minds to the thought of the jewish people still being here today. I think saying shehecheyanu on Purim is important so saying it twice is being thankful and continuing to say shehecheyanu to be grateful for being here today.
– Ella

Click here to view work by Nadav

KITAH ZAYIN

In this exhibition unit, students conducted an in-depth examination of literature, by way of an independent study, to uncover the ways in which novels help us to better understand our society and its systems and structures.

Click here to view work by Jared

Click here to view work by Caleb