MessianicMusings.com

The latest development in the bar and bat mitzvah class that I teach is I recently discovered that shul leadership wanted the kids to be learning some Hebrew, as well as some of the prayers and such that are part and parcel of our order of worship at Kehilat Sar Shalom.

There’s good reason for that; if bar and bat mitzvah class is about preparing preteens to join the adults in the church service, then they need both of those skills in order to be capable of doing so with any sort of understanding about what’s going on.

I inaugerated the order of service lessons last week by teaching them the Ets Chayim blessing, but since my own Hebrew is minimal at best, my co-teacher, Patrice, and I went to one of the members of our congregation who teaches beginning Hebrew and are soliciting her help in coming up with a curriculum.

Patrice has agreed to teach the Hebrew portion of class, which takes pressure off of me and will allow me to focus on the other aspects of the lessons. I will more than likely be learning my alef, bet and chayin right along with the students the first time through. (So far, I have only gotten through learning about half the alef-bet in the past before bogging down and getting lost.)

I expect better results this time, the kind that make a person feel a sense of accomplishment and not like they need to go through drug rehab. It should make for a good time for the kids.