Week 16 - March 4th, 2021

This week in Seekers we learned about Ethiopian Jewry. One of our Seekers parents, Batia Eyob-Serette, who was born in Ethiopia, shared her story with us and taught the students a bit about the Ethiopian Jewish community and it's distinct customs and culture as well as about their journey to Israel.

After hearing about what it was like to be raised as an Ethiopian Jew in Ethiopia, the Tamarim class had a imagination time travel meditation where Morah Batya took us all past Egypt, to the middle of Ethiopia where we met an elderly woman as she was walking to the village with her young grandson. One student said, "I wonder what his name is and what he likes to eat!" Another Tamarim student said, "I wonder why he wears those kinds of shoes on his feet!"

In Rimonim with Leilah, we talked about the Jewish Ethiopian holiday, Sigd. Sigd was once a day where Jews would pray to return to Israel, and today, among other things, it is a celebration of their return. Our class listened to the Israeli Ethiopian singer, Aveva Desi, sing a song in Amharic at a Sigd celebration in Tel Aviv. While we listened, we drew or listed 6 things that we would have taken with us if we had to leave our homes for Israel. One Rimonim student said, "my computer so I can face time my mom and dad... and I can do other stuff on it too." Another student said they would bring "100 water bottles."

In Te'enim with Rabbi Nadia, the students listed what they would bring with them on a long journey to a strange land. One Te'enim student said, "I would pack my phone or something to communicate with friends so I would not feel homesick. I would bring food and snacks." Another student said: "clothes, food, shoes, lots of water, a little money, and my papers."

In Anavim with Stephanie, we each shared our own mixed multitudes story. One student said, "I'm Ashkenazi and I'm also Jamaican." Another Anavim student said, "My family converted to Christianity to hide that they were Jewish."