Naaleh’s sophomore Yirmiyahu classes had a unique cross-curricular opportunity to explore the inspiration behind the well-known piece of the Yom Kippur liturgy, “Hinei KaChomer B’Yad HaYotzer.” The students learned perek 18 of Yirmiyahu where the navi is sent to observe a potter at work with his clay—a relationship which serves as an analogy to Hashem and His handiwork, the Jewish people. They then studied the text of the Yom Kippur slicha which provides several other analogies of a similar style. The students discussed the meaning imbued in these metaphors, learning relevant sources, poems, and stories to shed light on this characterization of the Almighty. To personalize the experience, students chose one quote from these texts as a takeaway message. Then, students were given a lump of clay to experience a small taste of the pottery-making process, interacting with the material and reflecting on the relationship between a potter and his clay. This experiential lesson brought together their Navi material with relevant machzor content and prepared them to think about their relationship with Hashem in time for Yom Kippur.