Kindergarteners Learn About Torah By…MAKING ONE!

At our all-school Simchat Torah gathering, the eighth graders helped to hold our Torah fully open for all to see. One 8th grader chanted the last lines of the Torah and another the first few lines; “in the beginning (beresheet)…” Capturing on Kindergarten enthusiasm about this big scroll displayed before them (and their enthusiasm about seeing their beloved 8th grade chaverim) we went up to the beit midrash (our house of prayer) to get a closer look at the Torah. 

 

With the Torah out of the holy ark (aron kodesh), all students got a chance to “read” Torah with a pointer (yad), feel the toughness of the scroll parchment, see how sections of parchment are sewn together, and discover the ways that the rollers (eyts chayim) and the Torah cover are decorated to help acknowledge and accentuate its holiness.

 

All of this discovery set the stage for what would come next - the beginning of making our own Torahs. Since a great place to begin is at the beginning, it was time to hear the first story of the Torah. “Beresheet” the Torah begins…”in the beginning.” Using a storytelling method called Torah Godly Play, Mr. Ferris revealed God’s six days of creating gifts for the world leaving a wonder about the 7th day. After our learning about Shabbat at the beginning of the year, students were able to make a connection as to why we even celebrate Shabbat in the first place - on the 7th day God rested from doing so much work! 

 

Now we were ready to start our Torah making. We learned how to use quills to write the Hebrew letter “bet” - the first letter in the Torah. We then moved onto using watercolors to create our scrolls comprised of 7 panels depicting each day of God’s gifts. After all the panels were finished, students carefully taped their panels together to create their scrolls. Check out the photos of the artful and personal interpretations of the first portion in the Torah: beresheet.

 

In the coming weeks we will create the rollers that will attach to student scrolls and will ultimately be making covers and other decorative items. Each facet of our Torahs utilize different art techniques and materials. Ink, quill, paper, tape and watercolors for the scroll panels; sandpaper, paint pens, and clay for the eytz chayim (the rollers); felt and puffy paint for the covers; metal and acrylic paint for the breast plates, and clay and paintpens for the pointers (yad).

 

Once finished we will be having a K community celebration with student performances and Torah inspired food. This project is effective in gaining preliminary knowledge of Torah, creating enthusiasm for a large project, and creating a lasting piece of Jewish culture and religious resource that students admiringly look back on year after year.