January 2nd – January 5th

Judaic Studies

The 7th graders began our second unit on the book of Bmidbar this week. Students translated the first 3 verses of chapter 11, developed kushiyot (text-based questions) about them, and looked at answers from mefarshim (commentators) including Abarbanel, Rashi, Sforno, and Ramban. Our goal for this unit is to practice developing and answer excellent kushiyot, and to explore how the mefarshim deal with difficulties in the text.

We began by looking at the word כמתאוננים/ like complainers. Why are Bnai Yisrael described as “like” complainers? What are they complaining about? Why doesn’t the Torah tell us what they’re complaining about? Inspired by Rashi’s answer (Bnai Yisrael are complaining as a way to distance themselves from God) and by Sforno’s answer (Bnai Yisrael are complaining as a way to test God), 7th graders reflected on how kids relate to parents and other authority figures. Why do kids complain? When do we want to push our parents away, and when do we want to “push their buttons” as a way of testing their feelings for us? It was a fascinating conversation!

Shabbat Shalom,

Jessica

Math

7X – This week, the 7X students continued with the unit we started before the break, ratio, rate, and speed. Instead of the unit test, they will be working on unit worksheet next week.

7Y – This week, the 7Y students began a new unit on percentages. Next Friday, they will be taking the unit test.

Second semester’s math syllabus was given out this week with small changes from the first semester. Please feel free to reach out to me with questions or concerns.

Kelly

Humanities

This week, students began revisions on their persuasive writing essays. We examined our writing to ensure we have a linear line of argument and clear citations. We also began our second unit of vocabulary!

In history, we continued our investigation of the Crusades! Students watched a documentary that covered the First Crusade in more depth.

Unfortunately, our social action project was postponed until February 5th because of the weather. Have a safe and warm weekend!