Happy Chanukah to all! I hope your winter break has been relaxing and regenerative!
Now that the holidays have passed and there is a minute to breath, I want to send an email updating everyone on the status and details of our class B'nai Mitzvah project.
As you know, we have been spending our Wednesdays critically examining the Jewish value of tzedakah. To do this, we have been following the American Jewish World Service's "Where Do You Give? A Tzedakah Curriculum". "Where Do You Give?" provides the class the tools to think about giving tzedakah in a thoughtful, responsible, and impactful way. It has been my goal to inspire this year's 7th grade class to make life-long commitments to giving in the pursuit of social justice.
As the culmination of our tzedakah unit, Kitah Zayin has chosen to make a class donation to Special Olympics Maryland (http://www.somd.org/).
In addition to the money that the kids are raising in our class tzedakah box, we are offering an additional and optional tzedakah project for your families. If you would like to take part, instead of giving an individual B'nai Mitzvah gift at each class Bat or Bar Mitzvah, send a "lump sum" check to Oseh Shalom. These checks will be put into our class tzedakah account and the money will be presented to Special Olympics Maryland as a group gift from all the 7th grade families.
Please give according to how much you are comfortable. Giving tzedakah is a very personal act and one that should be made from the heart and with joy. I strongly encourage you to include your 7th graders when deciding how much to give. The giving will be confidential.
Here is how it will work:
1) Please send in a check made out to Oseh Shalom in whatever amount you choose. This "lump sum" will take the place of giving individual Bat/Bar Mitzvah gifts to each student.
2) Every time your student attends a classmate's Bar or Bat Mitzvah, please have your student create a special card for that classmate that states that "a gift as been given in honor of your Bar/Bat Mitzvah to Special Olympics Maryland as part of the 7th grade B'nai Mitzvah gift."
3) The deadline for checks will be Sunday, March 29th. This will give the class enough time to prepare and present our gift before the end of the year.
As always, if you have any questions at all, please feel free to email me!
B’Shalom,
Morah Mikey
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