Mercaz Academy students have been busily preparing for Rosh HaShanah in many different ways. Students in sixth and fourth grade have adapted the Hochman Technique (Writing Revolution) to create short essays in Hebrew about Rosh HaShanah topics; fifth graders have been analyzing the structure of the Rosh HaShanah t’filah and studying the original Torah sources for the sounding of the shofar; third graders have created creative and fact-filled “lap books” for Rosh HaShanah that they can consult along with their machzorim. Second graders have identified the simanim traditionally eaten on Rosh HaShanah and their symbolic meaning. In the younger grades, students have incorporated Rosh HaShanah into their project-based learning and have made their own cards, shofaros, honey dishes, and apple-themed crafts as vehicles to learn the laws and customs of Rosh HaShanah.
But it was the two-day schoolwide challah bake that brought the whole school together in joint celebration of the New Year. Students from toddlers through sixth grade learned the symbolism behind the custom of eating round challah on Rosh HaShanah and enjoyed making their own, with older grades learning the technique to create an intricate round braid, and younger students making a knotted or coiled challah with the aid of the “big kids.” Mercaz Academy expanded their circle even more by joining with two special-needs adults from the Adler Center Academy at the Mid-Island Y-JCC to join the challah bake. Director of Programming Morah Phyllis Tessler invited one of these participants to recite the brachah and separate the challah, noting how fortunate it was to have a challah baker over bas-mitzvah age at Mercaz to perform this mitzvah.
While all this was happening on the first floor, boys in grades four through six welcomed back Mercaz Academy grandparent Rabbi Dr. Elliot Grossman, who taught them how to tie their very own tzitzis. Each student received a four-cornered garment, and Rabbi Grossman demonstrated how to tie tzitzis according to both the Ashkenazi and Sefardi traditions – an even more intricate knotting protocol than the four-strand basket-weave round challos crafted by their friends downstairs.
Mercaz Academy wishes everyone a sweet and peaceful New Year!
