Middle school tefillah has seen a transformation from the middle school-wide traditional tefillah service to what it is now: three-week rotations which engage students in ways to meaningfully reflect on and express Jewish values. “Our students meet in three-week rotations, which allows them to have six different tefillot experiences,” says Rabbi Camille Angel. “All of the experiences have been lively and engaging, sparking meaningful conversations.”

 

The rotations include tzedek tefillah, in which students build relationships with the residents of neighboring AlmaVia; music tefillah, where students put together lists of secular and Jewish songs about peace, healing, and gratitude; buddy-to-buddy tefillah, which has the middle schoolers working one-on-one with our kindergarten through second grade students to help them experience tefillah through hands-on activities; student-led tefillah, in which students work with Rabbi Camille Angel to take turns leading tefillah; art tefillah, where students explore Jewish prayer themes of healing and peace, and create their own poetry and personalized art with the themes found in the siddur (prayer book); and meditation/yoga tefillah, in which students practice breathing exercises, and learn different stretches and meditations.

 

The tzedek tefillah has been particularly enriching for the elderly residents and our students. “It has been so touching to see how much the middle schoolers are enjoying spending time with the seniors,” says tzedek tefillah teacher Jody Bloom. “They have truly formed a special bond with each of their senior buddies, and it is my honor to see it grow.”

 

Students Reuben F., Ethan G., and Jonathan P.-M. added, “When we visited Bill for the tzedek tefillah, he told us many stories and they were super interesting. Our final time we brought a basket for him that contained things he said he liked in his stories. After our last day of the rotation, we wrote him a letter saying we did not want this to be our final goodbye, and since then we have decided we want to visit Bill every other Wednesday after school.” 

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