I am sorry this update was not sent last week when it was written, but delayed til now! I was very busy with Rosh Hashana!

Last week was a great week at SSRS! We met the Israeli girls Ya'ara and Efrat, who are doing their Sherut Le'umi in St. Louis. They showed a video they made of life in Israel and taught the kids a game and gave them Israeli "kisses." (Ask your kids what I mean!)

We also cooked with Morah Eli and everyone got a noodle kugel recipe for the holidays which are quickly approaching. We talked about why we used apples in the kugel, with the round symbol of a new yearly cycle of Jewish life and renewal in personal ways as well.

Ask your son/daughter about the Jewish Journal we are slowly compiling throughout the year too. So far the first lesson in there is the teaching by Rabbi Akiva known as the Golden Rule: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. In Hebrew that is "V'ahavta l'rayecha kamocha." We're working on the Barchu in the Hineni text book and refining our Hebrew writing and reading skills.

Official beginning of the Kita Dalet tzedaka project is on Monday 10/10/11. Please send a coin, a couple coins, or a dollar! This is something really important to me in my class, to develop a love for the Jewish traits of caring, generosity, and justice. (Tzedaka comes from the word tzedek, meaning justice.) I hope to remind you on Sunday about this. I'll have some extra coins in case someone forgets.

Other recent areas of study include the Barchu, which is the subject of chapter 1 in our Hineni prayer textbook. The kids are working hard at pronouncing the words properly and they are doing well. Please help them complete the worksheet by Monday (10/10).

Tashlich on Sunday was a great program- after the communal bread-throwing and singing, our class acted out skits relating to high holy day themes- see if your child(ren) can remember the messages of The Rich Man and the Mirror, A Visit to Heaven and Hell (sorry for the use of that word!), and Returning the Stones.

Well, there's more to say but that's good for now! I hope to continue to update you regularly. Thank you for your support!

Have a meaningful Yom Kippur!
Morah Esther

PS: If you haven't sent in the family photo, please do so- never too late!
pps: Good "mazal" tonight Cardinals!