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Matok @ BEKI News
Matok is young children’s programming at BEKI. Matok means “sweet” in Hebrew, and we hope that our programming brings sweetness to your world!
In This Edition
Saturday: Shabbat Children’s Services
Sunday, 9 AM-12 PM: BINA Meets
Wednesday, 4-6:15 PM: BINA Meets
Fridays, 9:30-11 AM: Shalom Baby Tot Shabbat
Bring Meals to Families with New Babies–Schultz
Sunday, February 2, 12:45-2:30 PM: Kadima (4th-8th Graders) Go To IT Adventure Ropes Course
Wednesday, February 12, 5:15-6:15 PM: Kids Tu Bishvat Seder (2nd-6th Graders)
Fun with the Parsha: Vaera
* Saturday: Shabbat Children’s Services
Shabbat Children’s Services will meet in their regular rooms:
Children’s Havura (Birth-Preschool) meets inside in the preschool classroom.
K-2 Kehila (Kindergarten-2nd Grade) meets in Classroom 6.
Junior Congregation (3rd-6th Grade) meets in the library.
* Sunday, 9 AM-12 PM: BINA Meets
BINA will meet as usual on Sunday Morning.
* Wednesday, 4-6:15 PM: BINA Meets
BINA will meet as usual on Wednesday afternoon.
* Fridays, 9:30-11 AM: Shalom Baby Tot Shabbat
Drop in at the JCC for Shalom Baby Tot Shabbat! Informal programming and opportunities to make lifelong friendships; best for infants through 4 year olds and their caregivers.
Registration is appreciated and drop-ins are welcome.
Beckerman Lender Jewish Community Building, 360 Amity Road, Woodbridge, CT
This series is free to attend and brought to you by Shalom Baby, an initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven’s Women’s Philanthropy—designed to welcome Jewish babies and their families to the Jewish community in the Greater New Haven area. Co-sponsored by PJ Library.
Join the Shalom Baby Meetups WhatsApp!
Questions? Contact Young Family Engagement Coordinator, Elisabeth Warren, at ewarren@jewishnewhaven.org or pjlibrary@jewishnewhaven.org.
* Bring Meals to Families with New Babies–Schultz
Eva and Frank Schultz, and big sisters Jillian and Jackie, have welcomed baby Julianna Louise Schultz. Mazel tov!
BEKI has a strong tradition of bringing meals to families with new babies. We are looking for more meal volunteers!
You can sign up at https://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/625635/. For questions please email Rachel Greenberg at rachel.d.greenberg@gmail.com.
* Sunday, February 2, 12:45-2:30 PM: Kadima (4th-8th Graders) Go To IT Adventure Ropes Course
All 4th-8th graders are invited to join BEKI’s Kadima Youth Group for a climb at IT Adventure Ropes Course! February 2nd from 12:45 PM to 2:30 PM (Climbing 1-2pm).
The cost for the event is $20 per person, and includes subsidized entry plus kosher pizza from Ricotta.
Please fill out the waiver at the link below and RSVP by emailing Youth Advisor Miri Rosenberg (miriamrosenberg13@gmail.com) Please also let Miri know if you would like to be a parent chaperone.
https://waiver.roller.app/ITAdventureRopesCourse/home?ubid=miVdF9F36UmaVcoo_FQk8A
* Wednesday, February 12, 5:15-6:15 PM: Kids Tu Bishvat Seder (2nd-6th Graders)
BINA (BEKI’s Religious School) will be celebrating Tu Bishvat with a Seder, enjoying special fruits and thinking about our connection to the natural world.
BINA 2nd-6th graders will attend the Seder with their classes. All other grade schoolers are welcome (and younger siblings as well, with a parent or other adult).
The Tu Bishvat Seder will be nut-free and allergy sensitive. If your child has a fruit allergy, please contact Annie at anormanschiff@beki.org.
Interested in Tu Bishvat resources for younger kids, including how to host your own kid-friendly Tu Bishvat Seder at home? Check out PJ Library’s Tu Bishvat Page
* Fun with the Parsha: Vaera
Parshat Vaera begins with God giving a pep talk to Moses. The Israelites, still enslaved in Egypt, do not believe anything Moses has told them so far about how God is going to set them free.
So, God decides to get specific. God makes four promises, setting out the steps of how the Israelites will be free. We remember these four promises with the four cups of wine or grape juice at the Passover Seder. All four come from the beginning of this week’s parsha! (Exodus 6:6-7)
First Promise/First Cup:
“I am Adonai. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians.”
אֲנִ֣י יְהֹוָה֒ וְהוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֙חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם
Ani Adonai v’hotzeiti etchem mitachat sivlot Mitzrayim
Second Promise/Second Cup:
“I will deliver you from their bondage.”
וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם
V’hitzalti etchem meavodatam
Third Promise/Third Cup:
“I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.”
וְגָאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה
V’ga’alti etchem bizroa n’tuyah
Fourth Promise/Fourth Cup:
“I will take you to be my people.”
וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם
V’lakachti etchem li l’am
Everything that follows–including the Ten Plagues, eight of which happen in our parsha, the parting of the Red Sea, and the crossing of the Israelites to freedom–happens as God fulfills these promises.
When God makes a plan, God follows through!
Annie Norman-Schiff