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Heder Happenings This past year has been a very good one for Nahalat Shalom’s Heder. Our teaching staff included Jean Lowe (Heder coordinator), Linda Brody, Les Field and Rabbi Lynn. On a few occasions, we enjoyed the wonderfully enriching presence of our friend and ex-teacher Diane Palley, whose art projects are always a hit. We continue to meet every Thursday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. during the school year and get a lot done, considering how little time there really is. Thanks to the organization and generosity of the parents, there was always a great snack for the kids this year! The Heder Community of parents, kids and teachers is alive and thriving. The Heder classes broke down into a younger group (first-graders), a second- and third-grade group, a fourth- and fifth-grade group, and the pre-Bar/Bat Mitzvah group (which Rabbi Lynn taught). Altogether our classes totaled 25 children. The Heder class began each meeting together with a 15- to 20- minute service, in which the children learned basic prayers. As the year progressed, the children led the prayers without needing much help from the teachers. This sure does help them prepare for their bar/bat mitzvahs and Shabbat services! Most days, after the service, we ate our snacks and then turned to our projects, each appropriate to the group of students in question. We learned Hebrew letters, numbers and months. We learned parts of the human body, and parts of trees in Hebrew. We practiced our reading and our writing in Hebrew. And of course we prepared for the big holidays: Rosh Hashanah’s Creation Pageant, the Hanukkah party, the Purim play and the Passover Community Seder. Our art projects are always oriented to the big holidays and the events around those holidays at Nahalat Shalom. Thanks to Linda and Lynn we incorporated much more dancing this year. We think that this year the Heder children played a big role at Nahalat, but that role could always get bigger. We invite more children to get involved with Heder. Plans for next year? Should we mention how much we need improvements to the building? Our plan to renovate another classroom never occurred, and we also need to desperately have the current space painted, the roof patched and the rug replaced. It is good to have visions and this space will hopefully be one of our future projects! Thanks to the va’ad and Interim Executive Director Miria Kano for all their support. We were paid regularly and reimbursed for supplies quickly. We do appreciate how smoothly things went this year. -- Les Field and Jean Lowe UPCOMING EVENTS Thursday, May 1 - “Leo Neufeld: 30 Years of Making Art” exhibit opens at the Jewish Community Center, 5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE. The art show runs through June 30, with an artist reception on May 11 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Call 821-3214 for information. Sunday, May 4 - Open Community Meeting to discuss member participation, congregational administration and Rabbi Lynn’s upcoming sabbatical, 9 a.m. at the shul. Sunday, May 4 - Celebrate Israeli Interdependence Day with Alternative Voices from Israel. Oz Schelach, an Israeli journalist and poet, will read from his haunting new book of narrative poems: “Picnic Grounds.” Oz reflects upon building a civilization upon the ruins of another through the stories of Israelis in his life. 7 p.m. at the shul. Saturday May 10 - Jewish-Muslim Interfaith PeaceWalk from Nahalat Shalom to the Islamic Center of NM. Please wear white, carry water and snacks to share. The 6.6-mile walk will begin following a 7 a.m. interfaith service at the sanctuary. Call 268-9961 or 301-6052 for information. Friday May 23 - Sunday May 25 - “Israel and Palestine: Into the Heart of the Conflict.” A film festival sponsored by the Arab-Jewish Peace Alliance, UNM Women’s Resource Center, and UNM Women’s Studies Program. May 23 and 24 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. May 25 noon to 6 p.m. at UNM Keller Hall. Tickets are $5 per day/$10 for the weekend and are available at all UNM ticket outlets or at the door. Call 243-4780 for information. Thursday June 5 and Friday June 6 - Shavuot events. Lecture by Marc Ellis, the director of the Center for American and Jewish Studies, on the meaning of Jewish covenant in our time, June 5 at 7 p.m. On June 6 Ellis will participate in an all-night session of study and prayer. Ten members of our community have also prepared “Torah” to share with us throughout the evening. Bring your sleeping bag, air mattress and Bible. Services will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by a pot luck and freylech. Studying begins at 8:30 p.m. (See Page 11 for more on Shavuos.) ONGOING Freylech Shabbat offers us an opportunity to dance to live klezmer music and celebrate Sabbath with community. Please join us so there are as many dancers as musicians! No experience necessary. Wear comfortable dancing shoes and clothes, and bring a vegetarian dish to share. First Friday of the month. Tot Shabbat is for parents and friends of infants and toddlers. It is held the third Friday of the month at 6 p.m. It is followed by Sephardic Shabbat, with Lorenzo Domingues and Maria Sanchez. Minyan at Nahalat Shalom. Join us for a traditional and meditative morning service each Saturday at 10 a.m., followed by Torah study of the portion of the week. KlezBand update The Nahalat Shalom Community Klezmer Band is open to musicians of all ages, skill levels and denominations. Participants must know instrument basics. Rehearsals are on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m. The band is free to members of Nahalat Shalom and $60 for non-members. (Scholarships are available.) Freylekh Shabbat on May 2 is open to all musicians who want to jam klezmer music after the service. Dancers invited too. Saturday, May 10 is a Balkan dance party with Goddess of Arno at R.B. Winning Coffee Co., 111 Harvard SE, 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., $5 general, kids free. Monday, May 19, The Rebbe's Orkestra plays at The Blue Dragon Coffee house, 7:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Free. Saturday, June 21 (time TBA), Cantor Beth will teach a Klezmer music workshop at the Albuquerque Folk Festival. Visit: www.abqfolkfest.org for more info and schedule of events. Monday June 23 thru Friday June 27 is Klez music camp at ABQ Academy with two of our beloved Klezmerquerque teachers, Josh Horowitz and Cookie Segelstein. Any parent of a pre-bar/bat mitzvah student that is planning their special simkha one year to 15 months from now should call me now to begin their child's studies with me (it takes at least a year). | |||||||||
