blogs/masa

Dear Masa families,

This has certainly been a time with a great deal of change and disruption to our lives. I am sending hope that you and your family have been healthy, and that you have all that you need right now.

Your child’s Masa teachers have been reaching out to families, both to see how you are doing and to shape their Masa experience in a new digital format. If your child’s teacher hasn’t connected with you yet, they should be in touch very soon! Please respond when they ask for some good times to talk.

As much as we miss the in person learning, I hope that you know your families are taking part in the most important mitzvah of all: pikuach nefesh https://www.bimbam.com/pikuach/ . This is the commandment to save a life, and any of the other commandments not only can, but should be put aside when our goal is to save lives. This video https://www.bimbam.com/pikuach/ explains the concept using other types of life saving, but we know that social distancing now will save many lives.

One opportunity we have with our new online learning project is that we can offer shorter sessions of Masa on more days. One of the things we want to find out is what resources your family has available (computers, tablets, phones, internet), and what times your students are available for group sessions on Zoom.

We already have some sessions scheduled, and I hope your family will be able to take part in them.

Friday, 6:00: Mini Minyan on Zoom. This session will end with candle lighting, so if your family has candles, I encourage you to have them ready to light at 6:30! If not, your child can see candles lit in other homes, and light their own imaginary candles!

Sunday, 10:30: K’hillah on Zoom.  Follow this Zoom link for the meeting. 

Beginning Monday, March 23: Learning for older kids (grades 3-6) , currently tentatively scheduled at 10:00, but this will change when we hear back from families about what times work for them. Our first session will be Torah study with Jonathan, most appropriate for grades 5-6.

Beginning today, and continuing on Monday: Story time for younger kids (grades K-2) on Zoom at 4:30. This will also change as we hear back from families about the best times. 

We would love to offer a variety of sessions for your children during the week. Depending on our teachers’ skill sets, we are open to various ways of exploring Judaism in our homes and at a time of social distancing. Our teachers are putting together some digital resources so your family can stay connected to Judaism even when we can’t come together in person at BHA. Watch for those in Remind over the next few days!

This is a challenging time for all of us, and we will do our best to find ways to help your children use the tools of Judaism to navigate a rapidly changing world! 

Wishing you and your family health and shalom bayit (peace in the home)!