Dear 6th grade parents:
Shalom-
I have the privilege and honor of working with your children.
We don't just pray in 6th grade tefilah- we daven, or are mitpalel. To help the students work towards meaningful and technically proficient prayer, we will be working on the mechanical reading of the tefilot, the background, history, purpose, and meaning of the tefilot, and the translation of key words and phrases.
This morning we explored the meaning of Modeh ani and touched upon why God's name is missing from Modeh Ani. We also discussed what it means when we use Hashem or God in place of the tetragrammaton- the official 4 letter name of God, and why we use the word for Lord, Adonai, in place of the actual name of God.
The notion of "thanks," while not foreign was still a struggle for the students. It made them think about what it means to give thanks to someone, and why "thanks" is a very powerful statement.

More updates as we progress.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Klugerman