Noach with a Twist

This week’s Shabbat assembly for Parshat Noach included a surprise skit performed by several 5^th grade girls.  They called it, Tanach with a Twist. The girls wrote an adaptation of the Flood Story in Parshat Noach.  The main character was Noa, (a girl), and G-d told her to build an ark.  The five girls did a great job in telling the story in a fun and engaging manner for their young audience.  The first, second and  third graders were riveted by the performance.  The girls used many stuffed animals as props, and the person who played G-d was hidden, so that G-d’s commands seemed to come out of thin air.  One of the best lines of the play was when Noa thanked  G-d for saving them and asks for a place to eat.  G-d says,  “we have no restaurants.  I just destroyed the world.”  Noa responded, “I guess I can make one called Noa’s Ark.”

Observing these 5h graders prepare all week for this five minute skit and seeing the reaction they received from almost 250 students, I realized that despite all the technology and the media these children have at their finger tips, they still enjoy and love to watch other children perform.  It was a powerful lesson and reminder to me, as an educator and parent, about the power of children teaching other children.  Our children are our best and most precious resource for making Judaism and Torah alive and exciting.

Thank you to Efrat, Daniella S., Gittel, Miriam and Yael M. for your great performance.

Gan Eden:Our Homes and Schools

At the Shabbat Assembly this past week,  I spoke about Adam in Gan Eden. We talked about how "man" was created last of all the creations. The sun and the moon were already in place for him. The trees and the grass were growing for him. Rivers and oceans were filled with water for him. Man, Adam, had everything he needed to be successful. Hashem had set up Adam's environment so that mankind could flourish and be successful. Adam was given the job, as the Torah states, "to work it and guard it" (Bereshit 2:15). Adam's job was to keep the great environment that was created for him running smoothly. He needed to take care of things in order for Gan Eden to be useful for mankind.

I connected this idea to our homes and then to our great school. I said that the children’s homes are their own Gan Edens that their parents have created for them and their families. Parents give their children the resources they need in order to grow emotionally and physically   In school, parents and teachers have created a wonderful environment for the students to grow academically, emotionally and physically. We have great classes in which they learn Math, Science, English, History, Chumash, Navi, and Ivrit, as well as Art and Music. We have amazing grounds for recess and PE classes. We can play in kickball leagues, on floor hockey teams, on basketballs teams, and be part of debate and stock market teams and much, much more. 

Our job as students is to "work and guard" our Gan Eden. We need to work at making our school a place that is good for everyone, one in which  all students and staff feel comfortable and thrive. We also need to take care of it physically, by cleaning up after ourselves and picking things up off the floor. It is, in its own way, our Gan Eden, of which we should be proud.

We need to support our school and keep our Gan Eden functioning. One way to show your support is to participate in the 5K run or in the 1 mile walk on November 11, 2012. Just being there to cheer on the runners is a statement that you care about your school.  Last year over 200 Yavneh students participated in the run. This year there is a new way that you can show your support. You can set up a webpage and obtain sponsors or donations for your participation in the event.

As people who benefit from our school we need to work for it and guard it for the future. Be like Adam and support your school, your Gan Eden!

For more information, check out our website at

 http://www.yavnehacademy.org/news/5k-run   

http://www.firstgiving.com/12085/BenjaminSchwartzMemorial-5k-run-1-mile-fun-runwalk

The Sukkot Team - Lulav, Etrog, Hadasim, and Aravot

This past Shabbat assembly I spoke with the students about the importance of a team.  Each player has his or her role, and every player is important to the group.  Teams that understand this are the most successful, both in sports and in other domains.  I shared with the students my own experience from way back in 1986, when  I was selected to play in the Maccabi Youth Games at York University in Canada.  (I did not know it at the time, but it was the last time the Maccabi Youth Games were international).  I was very excited to be chosen to play on our Metropolitan Yeshiva League team.

When the team gathered in Canada, I knew some of the players but not others.  One boy walked in and almost hit his head on the door frame.  He was really tall, around 6’8”.  Another player was built like a tank.  He was as wide as he was tall.  Once we started practicing, it was clear that one player had been selected for his speed.  He was as fast as lightning.  He dribbled right past and around all of us.  I was not the 6’8” kid, or the one built like a tank, or the super fast one, so why was I on the team?  The coach told us all at the first practice that on this team “each player had his role.”  We were chosen because each of us had something unique to contribute to the team!

Our roles became clear at our first game.  The tallest player and the “tank” were responsible for getting all of the rebounds and throwing them to “speedy” so he could score.  This plan worked out great and we won the first game by 70 points.  I got to play the last 10 minutes of this game.  Throughout the next game, the score was close.  “Speedy” was in foul trouble and fouled out.  I took his place.  I was nervous, but Coach told me I was ready for this because I had practiced hard.  I played the last five minutes and we won by five points.   After that, I played a total of five minutes in the remaining  six games.  I was annoyed that I had played so few minutes.  The coach understood that my minutes in the games were important to me, but he told me that the minutes in practice were important to the team.  When I practiced hard, it made the starters better and the team better, as a whole.  The sum of all the parts was greater than the whole.

This is the message of the Arba Minim.  The Etrog, Lulav, Hadasim, and Aravot represent the different types of people who comprise the Jewish People.  Each type of person in the Jewish People has his or her strengths and weaknesses.  We may not accomplish everything as individuals,  but when we are together, held together like the Arba Minim, we can succeed as one, as the Jewish People. This is the lesson from holding the Arba Minim together.  All types of people are important to the success of humankind,  and we need to be open to, and accepting of all people. 

Shabbat Shalom and  Chag Sameach 

Rabbi Steven Penn