(no subject)
Sunday school was really great today... I don't know why, it was just amazing. I know that the kids drive me crazy sometimes, and that the whole system is terribly disorganized. I know that I might whine about the lack of curriculum, but my kids are just so incredibly smart, and I love it when they figure something out, and I can just sit back and watch nine-year olds discuss these complex things.
I sat with them in group music today. They're so amused by my getting so into the music, but Jewish music... man, that's it for me. I think that if I could play guitar and sing a little, that's probably what I'd be doing with my life. I just love it so much, and it's really the way that I connect when I'm not in services. But we sang "Shir," and they all giggle when I jump around and dance, but then they start doing it and getting really into it, and I can tell that they're really starting to love it.
In classroom music today, Tracy taught "L'Takein (the Na Na song)", which is a Dan Nichols song that I have tons of history with. At GUCI role call, it's the second thing that we sing in the morning, after the Sh'ma, and I'll never forget the weeks that Danny was songleading, and how his voice would just resound when he started the prayer, "Blessed is Adonai, Ruler of the Universe, who has given us the opportunity to MEND THE WORLD!!" and we would all join in, and all of our hands were up in the air, and there was dancing and singing, and if you weren't dancing and singing, we sang it until you were dancing and singing... and when we sang it in NFTY, and it was like being at GUCI, but better... all of our silly between-the-words additions...
Anyway, Tracy taught it today in class, and of course, we were doing the "what? what?"'s and the "oh yeahhhhhhh"'s, and the kids thought it was so funny, to see their two teachers dancing in their chairs and clapping and making funny noises, and I told them stories about camp... it's my dream right now to get those kids to GUCI, as smart as they are, and as much as they enjoy music class, they'd love it. And we must have sang the Na Na song five times this morning.
Our classroom discussion was about searching for G-d, and struggling to find G-d, even when we felt most alone, and I remembered how, even as bad as some things in my life are right now, they aren't nearly as bad or as frustrating as they were last year. How much did I struggle with my faith? I told them the story about when it all came back to me... when I went out with the girls from Hillel after the first service that I went to (after almost a whole semester of being on board), and just being with Jewish people again, how much I missed NFTY, but that this could be better, and as much as I loved NFTY, Hillel is so good to me, and so good for me. I have so many wonderful friends, if even just there. And when I heard "What a Wonderful World" in the car, and thought of Fix and my first conclave, how I didn't lose it. It was there all the time, and my faith builds on top of the experiences that I've already had and shared. And that even when I'm at my most desperate, and feel the most alone, that G-d is still there. And that He'll always be, no matter how I forget Him.
They seemed really touched and amazed at the story, especially the song part. They just "get" so much for being as young as they are. I love my kids so, so much this year.
The rest of the day has been not so good, but the morning seems to have been fantastic enough to pull me through. I'm so lucky. So, so, so lucky.
Kol ha'olam kulo, gesher tsar me'od. V'haikar lo l'fached k'lal.
I sat with them in group music today. They're so amused by my getting so into the music, but Jewish music... man, that's it for me. I think that if I could play guitar and sing a little, that's probably what I'd be doing with my life. I just love it so much, and it's really the way that I connect when I'm not in services. But we sang "Shir," and they all giggle when I jump around and dance, but then they start doing it and getting really into it, and I can tell that they're really starting to love it.
In classroom music today, Tracy taught "L'Takein (the Na Na song)", which is a Dan Nichols song that I have tons of history with. At GUCI role call, it's the second thing that we sing in the morning, after the Sh'ma, and I'll never forget the weeks that Danny was songleading, and how his voice would just resound when he started the prayer, "Blessed is Adonai, Ruler of the Universe, who has given us the opportunity to MEND THE WORLD!!" and we would all join in, and all of our hands were up in the air, and there was dancing and singing, and if you weren't dancing and singing, we sang it until you were dancing and singing... and when we sang it in NFTY, and it was like being at GUCI, but better... all of our silly between-the-words additions...
Anyway, Tracy taught it today in class, and of course, we were doing the "what? what?"'s and the "oh yeahhhhhhh"'s, and the kids thought it was so funny, to see their two teachers dancing in their chairs and clapping and making funny noises, and I told them stories about camp... it's my dream right now to get those kids to GUCI, as smart as they are, and as much as they enjoy music class, they'd love it. And we must have sang the Na Na song five times this morning.
Our classroom discussion was about searching for G-d, and struggling to find G-d, even when we felt most alone, and I remembered how, even as bad as some things in my life are right now, they aren't nearly as bad or as frustrating as they were last year. How much did I struggle with my faith? I told them the story about when it all came back to me... when I went out with the girls from Hillel after the first service that I went to (after almost a whole semester of being on board), and just being with Jewish people again, how much I missed NFTY, but that this could be better, and as much as I loved NFTY, Hillel is so good to me, and so good for me. I have so many wonderful friends, if even just there. And when I heard "What a Wonderful World" in the car, and thought of Fix and my first conclave, how I didn't lose it. It was there all the time, and my faith builds on top of the experiences that I've already had and shared. And that even when I'm at my most desperate, and feel the most alone, that G-d is still there. And that He'll always be, no matter how I forget Him.
They seemed really touched and amazed at the story, especially the song part. They just "get" so much for being as young as they are. I love my kids so, so much this year.
The rest of the day has been not so good, but the morning seems to have been fantastic enough to pull me through. I'm so lucky. So, so, so lucky.
Kol ha'olam kulo, gesher tsar me'od. V'haikar lo l'fached k'lal.