Never in the history of the Modern State of Israel have Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut been so fraught as this year. How to commemorate and then celebrate when never have so many civilians lost their lives to terrorism, nor have so many soldiers been lost in the fight against terrorism? Many Hebrew leaders and teachers participated in Hebrew at the Center webinars and online Mifgashim to discuss how to mark these “holidays” this year as “unprecedented Holy Days.” This week’s Member School Highlight describes how the Luria Academy of Brooklyn leaned in to these two days, and specifically, to the twilight of transition from commemoration of remembrance to the celebration of independent statehood. 

We begin at the twilight between the end of Yom HaZikaron and the start of Yom HaAtzmaut. 

Luria Academy’s administration decided to have their middle school Tekes (טקס or “ceremony”) in the evening, enabling working parents to be in attendance. Over 150 members of the Brooklyn community came to participate. This is no small matter for the Luria community, a progressive Jewish day school in a progressive neighborhood in Brooklyn, whose focus has long been on seeking peace, and whose families by and large are strong supporters of equal rights for all. Like all Jewish communities, the events of October 7th, 2023 and its aftermath, have shaken this community to the core, but for this community in particular, shards of hope for peace needed to be at the forefront of any communal commemoration and celebration. 

Preparations for the post Pesach ימים קדושים began far in advance.  

An arts educator, Ellen Alt, was brought in to do a professional development program for the full faculty, on how to release their feelings about the tragic day of October 7th through creating a work of art. This was a powerful experience for the Luria educators which included viewing works of art created by Israeli artists. It also prepared the 6th through 8th grade teachers to replicate and facilitate a similar visual art experience for their students. 

At the Tekes, the resulting student art was on display in the school’s Beit Midrash and guests did a gallery walk to take in the work by the Luria Middle School artists.  

Between readings, each grade sang a song that they had learned for the Tekes, from a new repertoire of Hebrew music that has recently been composed, turning prose and poetry left behind by soldiers who have fallen in Israel’s wars. This collection is called עוד מעט נהפוך לשיר, or in English “Soon we will turn into a Song.” Various well-known Israeli musicians were each given a piece of writing left behind in letters and journals of different fallen soldiers to turn into a song. This includes Idan Reichel’s אמא, אבא, וכל השאר. (“Mommy, Daddy, and all the rest”). In preparing for the ceremony, each class learned the key vocabulary of their song as well as the overall spirit or meaning of the lyrics. Though all the words were written by fallen soldiers during their active duty in Israel’s military, all were “hope oriented” for a peaceful resolution to the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Though the musically enriched ceremony lasted 90 minutes, all remained riveted. 

Following the Tekes, the transition from remembrance to celebration took the form of Israeli food and music. 

The day of Yom HaAtzmaut at Luria Academy of Brooklyn was similar to past years, with fun stations highlighting the best of Israel. One activity was added this year, specifically linked to the events of October 7th. Fourth through Eighth grade students took a part in an initiative organized by The Jewish Agency For Israel (JAFI) in honor of the עפיפוניאדה, a Kite Festival held every October in Kfar Aza, Israel for the past four decades. The purpose of the annual Kite Festival is to promote peaceful connections between the south of Israel עוטף עזה and the Gaza strip. Ironically, this year’s event, scheduled for October 7, 2023, did not take place. Instead, on that very day, members of the Kotz family, the organizers of the Kite Festival and residents of Kfar Aza, were killed in their home.  

In its reconstituted format, now known as “Kites for Freedom,” the kites represent the Bring them Home Now movement. Each student decorated their hand-made kite with a message of Peace and Hope that they composed in Hebrew and in English. Sadly, it was not deemed safe to run through Prospect Park with Hebrew inscribed kites. Yet while running and flying their own hand-created kites along the Brooklyn streets surrounding their school, the children of Luria Academy processed and released at least some of the tension that has been a constant presence since that black day in October. 

At The Brandeis School of San Francisco Students have the choice to continue their Hebrew language studies or switch to Spanish when they enter 6th grade.  

The numbers of self-selected Hebrew students remain strong, thanks to the influence of smaller groups and accelerated progress of those who decide to continue learning Hebrew. However, developing close relationships with the Shinshinim is a major motivating factor for continuing to study Hebrew in Middle School. 

Shinshinim are 18-year-old Israeli emissaries that come to communities in America to spread knowledge and love for Israel. According to Debby Arzt-Mor, Director of Jewish Learning at The Brandeis School, the Shinshinim bring Ruach, lots of games, up-to-date Israeli music, and enthusiasm for both Israel and for Hebrew language. The selection process in Israeli high schools to become a Shinshin is highly competitive, and is cannot be overstated that Israel’s best and brightest high school graduates are taking a gap year before beginning their army service to serve in Jewish communities. Inspiring Shinshinim increase motivation as they bring Modern Hebrew language to life, throughout the K-8 school, “making Hebrew cool.”   

Over the past few years, a strategic decision was implemented to focus a major part of Brandeis’ Shininims’ time to support the work of the 5th, 6th, 7th. and 8th grade Hebrew classes. This has resulted in greater interest among 5th graders to continue their formal study of Hebrew when they move into 6th grade.   

Shinshinim are not trained teachers, however they prepare and run a wide range of Israel and holiday related programs. They function as “intern teachers” and interact with students during formal and informal learning times, such as assemblies, arrivals, recess, and aftercare. The Shinshinim that work at the Brandeis School are highly motivated to “teach” Hebrew throughout the school, as they see and feel how their leadership impacts student motivation. 

This year The Brandeis School has had one full-time and one part-time Shinshinit, Lia and Avya. Both Shinshiniyot work with 4 Hebrew teachers as well as with Debby, infusing the spirit of Israel throughout the school. The Middle School Hebrew teachers work with the shiniyot an average of 3 times a week, in the different classes and most teachers spend some of their prep time mentoring the Shinshinim, working with them on their ideas, and helping them adapt their ideas to a language class environment. By way of example: the Shinishinim don’t just get to teach a new, trendy Israeli song. They learn to give context, teach vocabulary, and help students integrate the new vocabulary into their own receptive and productive language skills.   

When this academic year ends and Lia and Avia return to Israel to begin their army service, they will be able to apply their new skills to their service. No doubt they will employ some recently acquired teaching skills from their year as a Shinshiniyot at The Brandeis School of San Francisco. 

For more information on effective utilization of Shinshinim in Hebrew ool classrooms, contact Debby Arzt-Mor at darzt-mor@sfbrandeis.org. Click HERE or more information on bringing Shinshinim to your school and community. 

Music quite naturally stands at the core of learning at the Jewish day school in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. After all, the city of Memphis is anchored by “Graceland,” the legendary home of Elvis Presley, of blessed memory, arguably one of the greatest American songwriters, singers, and performers of all time. The Bornblum Jewish Community Day School is nourished by both Israel’s and Tennessee’s deep wells of lyrical and liturgical inspiration.  

Since Israel was brutally attacked by Hamas on October 7th, many new Israeli songs of inspiration, determination, mourning, and hope have been written and recorded. As fast as Israeli radio stations get new songs out to the public, Bornblum’s Hebrew faculty members integrate the new music into the teaching of Hebrew, particularly in the Middle School.  Member School Highlight sat down with Michal Almalem, Bornblum’s Judaic Studies Principal and the Hebrew teachers, Rinat Kremer, Sapir Pinto, and Maya Sharabi, to learn how Israeli music is utilized to build Hebrew language and Israeli cultural proficiency, as well as strengthen Jewish identity. MSH wanted to know more about how learning emerging Israeli music over the past 6 months has benefited the teaching of Hebrew language and touched Bornblum’s students, their parents, the wider Memphis community, and even the Israeli community of Memphis’ sister city, Shoham. 

Whereas instinct guides many good Hebrew teachers to believe that learning the Hebrew words and the beautiful melodies of Israeli music will bring students closer to Israel, and that learning some of the vocabulary will bring them even closer, the Hebrew teachers at Bornblum were able to add grammatical constructs, sentence composition, and perfecting multiple drafts for deeper student learning. As first-year Members of Hebrew at the Center, they requested of their coach, Nili Pinhasi, to help the teachers connect the teaching of Israeli songs, in Hebrew, to ACTFL’s standards for second language acquisition. Once these techniques were applied to the first song, the teachers became increasingly adept at teaching Hebrew language and Israeli culture through music. 

In middle school, Rinat, Sapir, and Michal first play the music, then pull out vocabulary words that are already familiar, then add some new Hebrew vocabulary. Students then orally express and write in simple Hebrew their understanding of the meaning of the song, all while listening to the song again and again. Then the teachers introduce and teach one or two new grammatical structures that appear in the song. The next step is for the students to translate the song from its original Hebrew to English. At this point, students go back to their first Hebrew draft of the meaning of the school and improve upon it, writing a brief description of the song in English, to share with non-Hebrew speaking audiences. 

Emergent Israeli music has been incorporated into daily prayer and into community-wide Kabbalot Shabbat at Bornblum, attended by parents and grandparents. Before a song is sung at Kabbalat Shabbat, one or more of the middle school children make a short presentation, in English, about the origins and meaning of the song. The songs taught this year include: 

• Yeish Lochamim (יש לוחמים) 
• Im Machar Ani Meit (אם מחר אני מת) 
• Giborai Al – (גיבורי על) by HaTikva 6, full of Hebrew vocabulary about different professions that the students already knew. 
• Hai – the original version by Ofra Hazzah, compared and contrasted with the remix by Noa Kirel. 
• LaTzeit MeiDika’on (לצאת מדיקאון) 

After one Kabbalat Shabbat, the song LaTzeit MeiDika’on (לצאת מדיקאון) organically became something of a schoolwide anthem, together with the video clips of soldiers coming back to their families after long stints in Gaza. The students were then challenged: the first student to memorize the entire first verse would get to sing it the following week as a solo. By the following week, the entire school had learned the chorus and one student sang the first verse as a solo. Today, every student at Bornblum can sing the entire first verse. In March, when visitors came to Memphis from their twin city of Shoham, they were invited to hear the Bornblum students sing this song and were overcome with emotion to hear these American children singing this song. 

At another Kabbalat Shabbat assembly, there was a display of ceramic hearts, created by the students, engraved with the names of each of the hostages, with a red balloon attached to each heart. When over 100 hostages returned home, each ceramic heart was given to the freed captive, creating a powerful and meaningful bond. The distribution of the hearts to returning hostages were coordinated through Bornblum’s “sister school” in Shoham. 

The war has tightened ties between Soham’s and Bornblum’s middle school students, who have been paired up as WhatsApp buddies. To practice correct writing skills, the Bornblum students write in Hebrew and the Shoham students write back in English. They also make voice recordings to send back and forth, recording, blushing, erasing, and recording again, until their messages meet their own expectations of what is acceptable to send. When the Bornblum 8th graders travel to Israel in May, they will spend 2 full days with their friends in Shoham. 

Maya Sharabi is the only member of the Hebrew department who does not teach in the middle school. As an early learning specialist, she wants her 1st and 2nd grade students to experience the emotions of the war through music without scaring them. She returned to a classic Israeli childrens’ song, “Eretz Yisrael Sheli.” While teaching the vocabulary, grammatical structures, and music of this Hebrew song, she focused on the educational messages, including the need to rebuild, repave, and replant what was destroyed by Hamas in Israel, and that our brothers and sisters in Israel do these things with love and filled with hope for the future. 

Much of what Bornblum’s Hebrew teachers undertook would have happened whether they were Hebrew at the Center members or not. Their faculty is dedicated and strong, their relationship with the city of Shoham is well-established, and music is deep in the souls of every resident of Elvis’ hometown, Memphis, Tennessee. However, learning and incorporating the ACTFL scale and mindfully teaching Hebrew through authentic Israeli cultural materials has given the teachers a professional framework upon which to turn this terrible moment in Israeli history into specific growth opportunities in Hebrew language acquisition.