After the start of the New Year, we began learning about Holiness, or K’dushah. We learned that if something is holy, it has an element of godliness to it, as opposed to something that we would just classify as “special”. We charted different objects and holidays and discussed whether or not they are ordinary, holy or special.
Next, we learned about ways we can feel close to G-d. Since giving and receiving gifts makes us feel close to others, we learned that giving gifts to G-d is a way to feel close to him. While we call it “giving a gift to G-d,'' we really mean making an offering. Some ways we can make offerings to G-d and feel closer to him are taking care of the Earth (his creation), being kind, praying, being part of a Jewish community and following the Ten Commandments. The fourth graders are wonderful question-askers and we are learning to be real “Torah Study” participants!