After a bit of a hiatus, we're back! Sorry for the delay, but with the end of the holidays came the start of a real routine and that's been busy. However, after Friday's activities, I knew that it was time to write.
Friday morning, all of the parents were invited to Sidney's gan to a misibat b'reishit--a party in honor of the conclusion of their study of creation. When we arrived all of the children were seated ready to begin their performance. They sang songs and acted out the various days of creation. Sidney played the part of the sun --appropriate given that her Hebrew name, Shemesh, means sun. This was one involved performance--costumes, singing, dancing. Sidney was really proud and she did great. Take a look at the pics.
At the end of the performance portion of the program, the children and a parent took part in a very special ceremony based on the Hassidic idea that learning Torah should be sweet like honey. Each child received a small piece of challah baked in the shape of the letter Alef. They dipped the challah in honey to remember sweetly their first experience of learning Torah. It was really beautiful.
That afternoon the rains came. It has drizzled a few times since we have been here, but this was a torrential downpour including thunder and lightning. We even lost power for half an hour. It was a great start to winter. We're supposed to get more weather like that over the next few days. That's exactly what the region needs, so we're hopeful. Sidney was thrilled that she got to wear her rain boots and use her very cool ladybug umbrella, a gift, she reminded me, from her friend Ella back in MA. So we entered Shabbat smelling rain and dodging puddles. All in all, a good way to begin.
