Last week SAR Academy welcomed parents, grandparents and other extended family members of fifth graders for Yom Dor L’Dor. During this meaningful intergenerational program, fifth graders connected with their family members through Torah learning, interviews, art and history. The students took their special guests on a tour of their Heritage Museum, which showcased a unique family heirloom. The museum was a culmination of months of learning about the history of each family artifact, how to write artifact labels, and the creation of memorable projects on the Procreate app. The many treasures in the museum, ranging from Shabbat candlesticks and army medals to letters from rabbinical leaders and letters from U.S. presidents, celebrated the history and traditions that were shared from generation to generation.

Fifth graders also had the opportunity to showcase their artistic and creative talents with a special keepsake project. The families were asked to create a mantra such as “broken crayons still color” or “be kind” and design a project that will be passed on to future generations. Finally, the students had the opportunity to interview their relatives to find out about life “then and now.” Everyone was slightly shocked at the rise in the cost of pizza!

Additionally, fifth grade students taught their guests about the chain of Torah transmission from Moshe until today. They explored sources from both the Torah Shebichtav (Chumash and Navi) and Torah Shebealpeh (Mishna, Gemara, Rishonim and Achronim) which describe the significance of the responsibility of teaching Torah to future generations. Each student also researched the origin of his or her Hebrew name and wrote about the source of the name and the characteristics of their namesake.

The fifth graders were so proud to have become strong links in the extraordinary chain of the mesorah between the generations, m’dor l’dor.