Shake Lulav and Rick Recht!!

Okay, folks, our first song parody has arrived!!
This song was written to the tune of "Shake it off" by Taylor Swift by our amazing Shira students last year.  Since they never got a chance to record it, we thought we'd dust it off and have a go at making it our own this year.  We will be rehearsing it next Tuesday and Wednesday (No JQuest this Sunday, but we hope you'll join us here at the Temple to help build the sukkah!!) and will record it the following Sunday, October 8th.
ALSO....
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR A BIG, BIG, REALLY BIG EVENT that is happening on that Sunday (Oct. 8) - We will be having a very special concert during Tefillah by the amazing Rick Recht!!!!! (If you don't already know, he's a really big deal).  Mr. Recht has written countless popular Jewish tunes, many of which we sing here at Temple Isaiah.  Parents and siblings, please join us for this incredible event!

So, as promised, here are the lyrics to Shake Lulav.  I was not able to provide a link to the karaoke version on iTunes, and I did not want to post the YouTube karaoke version on the blog here, as it has the original lyrics.  So, if you'd like to find the karaoke version on your own to practice to, please do so (with parental permission, of course!) See you Tuesday and Wednesday!

“Shake Lulav”

(Sung to the tune of “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift)

Yom Kippur is done

The High Holy Days have gone

It’s time to have some fun (oh oh)

It’s time to have some fun

We’re gonna build a booth

With some branches for the roof

To let the stars shine through (ooh ooh)

Let the stars shine through

Our sukkah’s awesome

and we worked until we saw some

of the gourds and apples hanging

from the schach 

Saying “Time to celebrate!”

Cause we Jews got to 

Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray

On this harvest holiday

day, day, day, day

And we just gotta

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

The lulav, the lulav!

And we live there night and 

day, day, day, day, day

In our sukkah by the bay

bay, bay, bay, bay

And we’re all just gonna 

shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

The lulav, the lulav!

Hope it doesn’t rain!

But if it does, we won’t complain,

Cause it’s still fun anyway (yeah yeah)

It’s still fun anyway!

Inviting friends to eat

in the Sukkah’s really neat

Cause Sukkot just can’t be beat (no no)

Sukkot just can’t be beat!

Our sukkah’s awesome

and we worked until we saw some

of the gourds and apples hanging

from the schach (roof)

Saying “Time to celebrate!”

Cause we Jews got to 

Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray

On this harvest holiday

day, day, day, day

And we just gotta

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

The lulav, the lulav!

And we live there night and 

day, day, day, day, day

In our sukkah by the bay

bay, bay, bay, bay

And we’re all just gonna 

shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

The lulav, the lulav!

Shake lulav

Shake lulav

Shake Shake

Shake lulav

Shake lulav

Shake Shake

Shake lulav

Shake lulav

Shake Shake

Shake lulav

Shake lulav

(rap section sung by 2 or 3 students - auditions will be on Tuesday and Wednesday next week!)

Hey, hey, hey!

Just think, we’ve all been

down and out about 

teshuvah, and the dirty, dirty deeds

we’ve all done,

But now it’s time to get down,

Because

It’s. Su-Kot!

Ancient Jews

They made pilgrimage

to Jerusalem 

to 

celebrate the harvest.

In my sukkah

got my lulav.

It’s my willow and my palm

and my myrtle and my etrog

Gonna shake, shake, shaaaaaaake

Oooohhh yeeeeaaaahhh!

Cause we Jews got to 

Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray

On this harvest holiday

day, day, day, day

And we just gotta

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

The lulav, the lulav!

And we live there night and 

day, day, day, day, day

In our sukkah by the bay

bay, bay, bay, bay

And we’re all just gonna 

shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

The lulav, the lulav!

Shake lulav

Shake lulav

Shake Shake

Shake lulav

Shake lulav

Shake Shake

Shake lulav

Shake lulav

Shake Shake

Shake lulav

Shake lulav

MAKING CAKE AND FIXING THE WORLD

Shalom Shiraniks!
This was our first weekday session, and we started off with a great cooking session with Karen, who taught us how to make deeeeeeelicious honeycake for Rosh Hashanah.

While the honeycake was baking, almost all of the 5th and 6th graders joined in a rowdy Gaga game in our brand new (albeit dusty) Gaga pit.

After Gaga and tefillah with Rabbi Greninger, we learned about the upcoming High Holy Days the students worked on their own "notes" for the symphony quilt.  After that, Erin brought out her bodhran (Irish drum) for the drum circle, where we made our own music for the first time.  All in all, it was a great day!

PANCAKES, PRAYER AND FINDING OUR "NOTES"

Shalom Shiraniks!

PANCAKES AND PRAYER

Welcome back to JQuest,!  We have an exciting year ahead of us in Shira, and I am so very glad that you are all in my class!  It was wonderful seeing so many new faces in our classroom this year, and welcoming back all of you who are returning 6th graders.  We kicked off the year with a family pancake breakfast, where we all schmoozed and noshed before heading to class.  (Parents, we hope you enjoyed your "Mussar and Middot" lesson with Rabbi Greninger!) 

Our family tefillah in the sanctuary was jam-packed and filled with music!  What a great way to start the year!

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

In class, we got to know each other a bit by playing a "Treasure Hunt" game, in which the students asked each other questions about their musical interests, hobbies, and Jewish experiences.  It was fun to see how many of us played the same instrument or had the same favorite musical artist or song. (Hamilton is clearly a big hit this year!)

FINDING OUR RHYTHM

Shira held our first "drum circle" activity, using our own bodies as percussion instruments.  (It's amazing how many ways you can make noise with your hands, feet, tummy or legs!) When we return for our weekday sessions, we will explore the various percussion instruments in our classroom, and the students will have the opportunity to learn how to use the djembe, dubek and tambourine.  I even learned that I have a couple of real drummers in class who will certainly be able to help the rest of us with our rhythm!  

WHAT'S MY NOTE?

We also began our Symphony Quilt project by asking ourselves, "What's My Note?"  You see, each of us has our own "note," a unique way that we are.  That "note" affects how we interact with others, and how we see the world.  When we explore what makes us who we are, we can better get along with others who are different than us.  In order to create a safe, cooperative classroom environment, we will be exploring how each of us can contribute to the class in a positive, productive way.  

Today, we laid the groundwork for what will become a paper "quilt" that represents each of the students in the class by filling out a questionnaire about ourselves.  In our introductory activity, we broke down NOTE into an acronym that stands for: 

      NATURE (What is your personality? What are your character traits)

      OVATION (What have you done that deserves a standing ovation? What are your       accomplishments?)

      TALENT (What are you good at?)

      EXPRESSION (How do you express your Jewishness?  Through music? Food? Traditions?)

On Tuesday and Wednesday, each of the students will use their questionnaire to create a quilt square depicting their individual NOTE.  

A PREVIEW OF WHAT'S TO COME...

Unfortunately, the TV connection wasn't working for us today, so I didn't have a chance to show everyone the previous Shira Music Videos.  Therefore, I've added them here. We only do these music videos every other year, and they are a lot of fun! The Shiraniks will pick a song, write the lyrics, sing, act and produce the video.  Look for more information on the videos in the spring, when we begin production. 

2016

2014

  Thanks to all the parents who shared our experiences today, and thanks to our wonderful TA's!  I know it's going to be an awesome year!! Shiraniks, I'll see you all on Tuesday and Wednesday, when we will work on our NOTEs for the Symphony Quilt, cook some honey cake and learn some High Holiday music! Shavua Tov!

- Erin

New Tunes for Tefillah!

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.

Next week:  Passover music!

TBT: Moadim L'Simcha! (Be Happy! It's Sukkot!) -

Shalom, Shiraniks!
I apparently left this post as a draft when I wrote it back in the fall!  So, enjoy this "Throwback" post featuring the Shiraniks celebrating Sukkot!

We have moved from the taste of honey cake and the sounds of the shofar to the sights and sounds of fall in the sukkah.  This week, the students learned how to recite the prayer over the Four Species, and how to shake the lulav by doing the "Sukkah Shake."  On Sunday, the rain was coming down too hard for Alissa to escort the class up to the sukkah, but they enjoyed learning about the harvest holiday in the warm confines of the classroom.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the students learned a new song parody to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off," and they began recording the video in the sukkah.  It will be completed soon, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, practice the lyrics to the karaoke version of the song (and if you want to audition for the rap section, you might want to check out the original song to get an idea of the timing of the words.)

Karaoke Version:

Original with lyrics

Everyone got a chance to shake the lulav! 

Moadim L'Simcha!  (It's the season of happiness!)
Erin

Be Happy! It's Adar!

Purim is upon us, and the Shiraniks have been learning about the traditions and music of Purim.  As we all know, here at Temple Isaiah it is customary to have a musical Purimshpiel.  Since we are focusing on Jews in America between 1700 and 1800, it was only natural that the students would write parody Purim songs with an Americana twist.  Here's what they came up with:

Tuesday's students wrote a song about Haman (boo!) sung to the tune of Oh, Susannah!

Wednesday, the students wrote a song about Mordechai, sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle.
And on Sunday, we managed to eke out one more original tune in the half hour just before the Purim Shpiel and carnival! Here's "This Land is My Land" (sung by Ahashveros):

Of course, the students learned one or two traditional Purim tunes as well!  Here, Eric teaches them a Purim guessing game song sung to the tune of Tumbalalaika:

Here, we sing "Ani Purim"

This year's shpiel, a parody of Frozen, starred Erin as Haman, Maimone as the king, Karen as Esther,  Joanne  as Mordechai, and JQuest alumnus Michaela as the talented Vashti.  As always, Cantor Korn (the snowman) put together a wonderfully musical production!  If you happen to have any videos of the event, please email me, as I was unable to videotape or take photos while we were onstage!

Who I Am

Today, we began our unit on the Jews' migration to the United States.  Our introductory lesson, "Who Am I?," focused on understanding that being Jewish is a part of our identity, and as Jews, we look at the world in a unique way.  Our forefathers who immigrated to America had a Jewish identity as well, and when they became Americans, their American and Jewish identities intertwined, creating a new culture.  To grasp the idea of identity, the students watched two videos of the same name, "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews, and "Who I Am" by Nick Jonas.  Each of the videos addresses the idea of identity, the first focusing on family roots and connections to one's history, and the second one focusing on how we create our own identities.  Take a look:

The students then created their own "Identity Cards," filled with words that describe who they are. We discussed the idea that some of the things that make us who we are, like our heritage or physical makeup, do not change. At the same time, other aspects of our lives, such as being a soccer player or a 6th grader, are fluid.

 As a culminating project, the two classes wrote a collective song, which we will sing again on Sunday:

I AM

by Shira 2017

I am smart and I am cool 

I am friendly, I am Jewish 

I am nervous and a brother 

And a sister, but I'm anxious. 

Sometimes I'm an only child 

I'm lost or afraid  

But other times I'm proud 

Of the beauty I have made.  

I am me, I am me

I am me,

and that's who I wanna be!

A dog lover who is proud

A gamer who is silent

 I'm sensitive and a swimmer

A diva,  I'm independent.

I am funny, I am changed

A survivor who's an athlete

I'm a dancer and a singer

Standing on my own two feet!

I am me, I am me

I am me,

and that's who I wanna be!

2x

This Sunday will be a special music-filled day, when we have a guest Klezmer performer, David Rosenfeld.

He will bring his mandolin and fiddle to lead us in learning some new Yiddish songs, and to teach us about the various elements of Klezmer music.  It will be a session not to be missed!