7th/8th Grade 3-23-14

Dear PASJE Parents,

Our class began by defining the terms maternal and paternal. Each student then wrote on their maternal and/or paternal connection to Judaism. My hope is to help my students define their Jewish identity and their plans to include Judaism in their future.I then introduced an article from the front page of Saturday’s NY Times titled Unwilling to Allow His Wife a Divorce, He Marries Another . We were excited to see the workings of a Jewish court, or beit din, in the article.

We continued our study of Jewish history by looking at the period 1880-1924 in the US. We looked at the success of the over two million Eastern European Jews who arrived in our country during that time.

Beginning this coming Tuesday evening at 8:00 on PBS, Simon Schama will present his new book, The Story of the Jews. This new work shares a title and a theme with the graphic narrative that I use with the class, but promises much greater depth.

Best wishes,

Terry Fayer