The Havdalah Project Returns!

Nearly two years ago, a group of SAJ Hebrew School parents began a conversation about creating new opportunities for kids and their families to share joyful, engaging Jewish experiences. The goal was to extend these experiences beyond the SAJ, into our children's homes, and then back again, fostering greater connections among our families and the congregation.

Our pilot event, which took place in spring of 2011, was The Havdalah Project. Over the course of several weeks, students in Kitah Gimmel (fourth- and fifth-graders) performed Havdalah in their home (with kits provided by the SAJ) while also discussing and creating artwork focused on the themes of the ritual – wine, holiness, spice, and light. The culminating piece of the event was a special evening for students and their families at the SAJ, where children took part in group art projects and community learning, and finally an inspirational rooftop ceremony.

Why Havdalah?
Our goal for the pilot program was to promote an experience that was new and challenging yet also repeatable and accessible. Havdalah allows families to set aside time to acknowledge the special and holy time of Shabbat, distinguish it from other activities, and think about our hopes and goals for the week to come. Because the Havdalah ritual encourages us to use all five senses — tasting wine, smelling spices, seeing the candle flame, feeling the candle’s heat and hearing the blessings — we could focus on individual senses as learning themes for the at-home pieces of the activity.

What's Next?
Building on the momentum of our spring event, we plan to make the Havdalah program a year-long piece of the Hebrew school calendar, providing resources to more families – the project this year will include our Kitah Bet (second- and third-grade) students – as we encourage them to experience Havdalah at home as a family; at the synagogue with friends and classmates; at an in-home gathering of families; and at the SAJ retreat with our entire community. Hebrew School students will begin receiving materials and studying Havdalah themes in October, leading up to the following events:

Sunday, November 6
Kitah Bet and Gimmel families will be invited for the last hour of Hebrew School. Parents and children will learn in separate settings then come together at 12:45pm to perform the Havdalah ritual together. We hope Tuesday families will join for this special Sunday event.

Saturday, December 17
Our Hebrew School and congregation-wide Chanukah celebration this year will include a Havdalah observance.

Saturday, January 21
At the start of our annual late night/overnight for Hebrew School students, families will celebrate havdalah together here at the SAJ.

Saturday, February 4 (tentative)
Kitah Bet and Gimmel families will host Havdalah events in their homes, sharing the celebration and their own traditions.

Saturday, April 21
At the 90th anniversary SAJ Retreat, our Kitah Bet and Gimmel families will lead the entire community in a special Havdalah celebration.

Our process has been guided in part by LOMED, a UJA-sponsored organization that has developed a methodology for creating contemporary models of Jewish learning. More information about LOMED can be found at http://www.thejewisheducationproject.org/Conglearning#lomed

We encourage all members of the SAJ community to take part in our planned havdalah events. To learn more, please contact Joel Topcik (jtopcik@gmail.com or 917-287-3204) or visit the Hebrew School Facebook page