This week, Year 1 have thoroughly enjoyed exploring Judaism and learning about the beliefs and traditions of the Jewish faith!
We began by learning about the Torah, the Jewish holy book. We watched a fascinating video which explained why the Torah is so special to Jewish people and how it is treated with great care and respect. We discovered that the Torah is written in Hebrew on a scroll and contains God’s teachings and rules which help guide Jewish people in their daily lives. We also learnt that the Torah is often dressed in a beautiful velvet cover and decorated with a crown or ornate pomegranates. We discussed how these decorations remind Jewish people of the Torah’s importance and honour God as King. We even had the opportunity to listen to a rabbi reading part of the Torah aloud in Hebrew!
We then explored some of the important teachings found in the Torah, including the Ten Commandments, which God gave to Moses. We learnt that these commandments help Jewish people understand how God wants them to live, including worshipping only one God, respecting their parents and not lying or stealing. We read a passage from the Book of Exodus which teaches that there is only one God and that no other gods should be worshipped before Him.
Next, we discovered that the Torah is made up of five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. We discussed what each book teaches us and thought of symbols to represent them, such as the world for Genesis and the stone tablets for Leviticus. The children then drew their symbols and wrote sentences explaining why the Torah is special to Jewish people and how its teachings help guide their lives. As an extra challenge, some children also explained how Jewish people show respect for the Torah and why they do this.
On Wednesday, we were very lucky to take part in a special ‘Totally Torah’ workshop with the Jewish Museum! We began by enthusiastically sharing everything we had already learnt with Hannah, our workshop leader. We discovered that the Torah contains 613 commandments, or mitzvot, and explored how Torah scrolls are carefully handwritten in Hebrew.
We also studied a photograph of Jewish people preparing to read the Torah in a synagogue, sharing what we could see, think and wonder about the image. We learnt about the yad, a special pointer used when reading the Torah, which helps protect the delicate handwritten text from being touched.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the workshop was the opportunity to handle and explore a wonderful selection of objects from the Jewish Museum’s collection! These included a kippah, mezuzah, tallit and Torah scrolls. The children were fascinated by these special objects and asked lots of thoughtful questions! At the end, we even had a go at some Hebrew writing including the word ‘Torah’.
It has been a wonderful week of discovery, curiosity and reflection. Year 1 have really enjoyed learning about Judaism, developing their understanding and respect for another faith, and making meaningful connections between Jewish beliefs and traditions and our own Catholic faith. Thank you to Hannah and Chloe for coming to visit us and for their wonderful workshop.
Well done, Year 1!
