blogs/masa

Sometimes when I look at the news, I can’t help but feel as though the world is utterly broken. Climate devastation, pandemic, economic collapse, political polarization, and all of the violence enacted by systems of racism (as well as sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, ableism, classism…). It can feel hopeless.

But when I focus on teaching our children, I can believe with all of my heart that it is possible for us to heal the world. The Masa students have reminded me how important it is to set our own intentions, so that we are more capable of helping to repair the world. Even though they are aware of the problems that surround us, they believe we are capable of bringing peace with our actions, and making the choice to do our part to fix what is broken.

We want to honor the work and growth these students have done this year, and to mark the transition between the school year and the summer. For our B-Mitzvah class, we will also be marking the transition between being children and being young adults!

Havdalah is the Jewish ritual for marking transitions in time. Usually, that’s between Shabbat and the rest of the week, or between a holiday and the rest of the year. This year, we will move the time for our final meeting from Sunday morning to Saturday evening, and the B-Mitzvah class will lead us in a havdalah to honor the separation between the school year and the summer. Then we’ll have a Zoom party!

Our teachers will be leading different breakout rooms, so there will be something for everyone, from music to games to general social time. This will be a time for fun, and for the kids to connect with each other and the teachers.

We’d like to request that you provide your child with some kind of treat to make it feel like a party. This could be ice cream or something else that would help your child to feel festive! They can also dress up (or wear pajamas, or anything else that feels fun).

If you would like to participate in havdalah at home, you just need a havdalah candle (this can be a simple as two candles held together, if you don’t have a havdalah candle already), a spice box (anything holding some sweet spices), and grape juice or some other special drink. Don’t worry if you don’t have these things, as we will also “share” them on screen!

Here are the details:

What: Masa Final Party

When: Saturday, June 6, 6:30 PM

Where: The Masa Zoom room

Jonathan's and Debbie's classes will continue to meet at their usual weekday times through June 12, and you can continue to schedule one-on-one story time for K-2 students with Carole and Wendy.