Thankfulness. Showing gratitude. Blessings – saying and counting them.
These are the important underlying concepts our Bet Hebrew students have come to understand as they learned to read the Modeh Ani prayer, six food blessings, and the six words that comprise the traditional Hebrew blessing formula this past month.
In a recent assignment, I asked them to say 100 blessings in a week. (A lesser challenge than the rabbi-prescribed 100 blessings a day.) While none of us, myself included, reached this goal, I was happy with their attempts and the things for which they chose to say blessings: Mom, Dad, pets, food, clothing, good weather (snow included), flowers, animals.
As I write this, we are headed into Thanksgiving and a dark winter ahead, given the current local and national rates of COVID-19 transmission. I pause to say the Shehecheyanu blessing, to thank God for keeping us alive, sustaining us, and letting us reach this moment.
I am thankful that we chose to start this school year at home and online – despite how challenging it has been for our teachers and students to engage in Jewish learning and our families to engage in Jewish community.
I announced last week we have moved our upcoming children’s Hanukkah parties from outdoors to online. May the candles that we light together on those two nights, and all the other nights of Hanukkah, remind us that there is still plenty of light with us in this winter ahead. Let us say and count our blessings for that.
Andrea Novel Buck
Youth Education Director
