Week 12: Lech Lecha

And the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.

א. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל אַבְרָם לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ:

Naomi-

Lech Lecha, meaning go forth is commanded of us in Judaism. In my opinion this can be seen as an advantage. It allows us to try new things and have more experiences. Before your mind is set on something, it can be useful to have tried other things before to make your decision. It also has to do with going on to a new place.  For instance, this year I went off to high school. The end of the semester is coming and it can be viewed as an opportunity to figure out which study habits work and which habits don’t. 

Daniel-

Lech lecha, go forth to a land that I will show you. Everyone eventually needs to break free, to find their own path. I think that people need to get away from their parents and the city that they are born in. That is the only way to find your own path. I think that this can most easily be done, by taking your junior year abroad, to see the world. If you always are home or near home, then you can never learn to serve for yourself.

Week 11: Being Jewish in a Catholic School

No quote this week, the title of the blog sums up our awesome conversation :-)

Daniel-

I think it is very weird do be a Jew at Saint Mary’s. Everywhere you turn, you see at least one cross. The center of the school is even a cross. With that said, I think that it is a good and educational experience to have people trying to convert you. Then you put a latke on their plate and they want to completely leave Christianity and Catholicism behind because they want three holidays a year where you are commanded to get drunk instead of just one. Every catholic student I’ve met has wanted to be Jewish once they learned how un-strict most Jews are. In the Catholic faith, there is only one true path, to follow all their rules and accept all of their views. In Judaism, almost everything is open to debate. That is why some of the most famous rabbis had fellow scholars who disagreed with them about everything.  I think that it is a good idea to learn about all religions because only then, you can decide which one you agree with, if any of them.

Week 10: Thanksgiving

This week during the Midrasha brunch, teens (and parents!) could choose new classes that they wanted to attend, so check out our three newest bloggers!

By Rabbi Naomi Levy | Prayer

For the laughter of the children,

For my own life breath,

For the abundance of food on this table,

For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,

For the roof over our heads,

The clothes on our backs,

For our health,

And our wealth of blessings,

For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,

For the freedom to pray these words

Without fear,

In any language,

In any faith,

In this great country,

Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.

Thank You, God, for giving us all these.  Amen.

TEHILIM
(Book of Psalms)
Chapter 100: A psalm of thanksgiving (Mizmor l’Todah)

1 Shout for joy to ADONAI, all the earth! 2 Serve ADONAI with gladness. Enter his presence with joyful songs. 3 Be aware that ADONAI is God; it is he who made us; and we are his, his people, the flock in his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courtyards with praise; give thanks to him, and bless his name. 5 For ADONAI is good, his grace continues forever, and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.

Liora-

Thanksgiving is about family

We only have one tradition

We write down answers to conversation cards

And we see the differences from years before

Tofu instead of turkey

Ice cream instead of pie

Chocolate sauce instead of cranberry

We laugh at old cartoons

And talk about life

We are a family

I'm thankful for that

Emma-

My idea of Thanksgiving is a house in SF, full of family and friends in every room. We all have our own traditions, and we know no matter what mistakes we make, our family will thank us for being who we are. It's around this time of year we all get together to be thankful of how close we are as a family.

Edgar-

In our family write or have discussions about Thanksgiving, of thanks to our life or the past that we were grateful for.

I made a video of what I'm thankful for.

Every year I am thankful that I am here and for everything being alive.

Week 9: Not to Be Afraid

“All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to fear at all.”

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Mari-

“The whole world is a very narrow bridge and the most important part is not to be afraid” is a very important saying to me because it is very inspirational and I have been hearing it practically for my whole life. Last year at Camp Kee Tov, we sang this song at all camp Shabbats and it felt really special to be because every year before that, when I was younger, I would always see the older kids singing that song and I really wanted to too. Last year I got the chance to be one of those older kids singing and it felt really special and inspirational and I think that it helped shaped my understanding of life and helped me get through this year of school. To me the quote means that to get through life you must just face your fears and get through the bad times to enjoy the good ones.

Daniel-

Kol ha Olam Kulo, Gesher tzar m’od vhiykra, lo’lfahed.  The whole world is a very narrow bridge and the most important part is not to be afraid. Life will always have challenges, if you make the wrong decision, you might fall of the bridge. The choices in life are never easy, but if you have the courage to face your fears and keep walking on the bridge of life then you will have a better life.