At the Jewish Lyceum No. 144 named after Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a leading educational institution of the Jewish Community of Dnipro, lessons in Jewish tradition help children not only learn about the stories of the Torah but also reflect on them, ask questions, and bring what they have learned to life in their own works. A new video from the lyceum tells about how such classes take place.
In the classes of Rebbetzin Yehudis Futerfas, the students of the third and fourth grades studied two narratives of the Torah. Discussing Moshe’s encounter with the Almighty at the burning bush, the children spoke about how Moshe received the calling to become the leader of the Jewish people, and then made crafts depicting the burning bush. Thus the story heard in the class acquired a visual image for the children.
Another class was dedicated to the relocation of Yaakov’s family to Egypt at Yosef’s invitation. Before telling why Yaakov sent Yehuda ahead to establish there a place for the study of Torah, the Rebbetzin invited the children to decide for themselves what was most important to create for a Jewish community in a new place. The groups chose a school, a kindergarten, a synagogue, a kosher shop, or other institutions familiar to them and built their models. And then they discussed Yaakov’s decision – to concern himself first and foremost with Jewish education. The children themselves arrived at the conclusion that without knowledge of the tradition it would be difficult for them to understand the prayers and the meaning of Jewish life.
For the first-graders, the study of Torah was also accompanied by creative work. Becoming acquainted with the third day of Creation, they molded plants, flowers, and trees from modeling clay, and studying the fourth day – the sun, the moon, and the stars. The crafts helped the children remember the sequence of the Days of Creation and imagine what the text tells about.
“It is important to us that the lessons in Jewish tradition captivate the children and help them independently discover the meaning of what they are studying,” noted Aliza Rabinovich, head of the Department of Jewish Studies at the Jewish Lyceum. “An understanding of one’s own tradition plays an important role in the education of a harmonious personality and gives the child a support for their subsequent life and success. We are able to create the conditions for such education thanks to the support of the united and cohesive Jewish Community of Dnipro under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
