For the last couple of weeks, Rabbi Greninger has been working with the 3rd-5th graders to come up with movements for the V'Ahavta prayer. Each week, the Tuesday and Wednesday classes have created hand gestures to go with each of the verses in the prayer, in order that we can better understand the real meaning of the text we are chanting. Here's what they came up with, followed by a translation of the text itself:
Eric also taught us a new tune for the Barchu, "Am I Awake" by Noah Aronson. The melody ask us to contemplate whether we are "awake" and ready for prayer, and when asked why we should be "awake" before praying, the students had some very insightful answers! Some of the responses included "because it makes us listen to God better," and "to make sure we're connecting to God and each other." They've really grasped the meaning of the call to prayer as a "wake up call!" Here's our first attempt at the new Barchu, followed by Noah Aronson's version.
We will be continuing to practice these and more tunes in tefillah, helping the children become more and more familiar with the traditional and contemporary music of the liturgy.
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