Who is a Tanna? What is a Tanna? If you ask a Yeshivat Noam fifth grader, he or she will be able to go into depth sharing background information and some teachings of the Tanna he or she studied.

Yeshivat Noam hosted an inaugural “Shuk Tannaim,” in which parents attended an evening program to learn about many of the rabbis of the Mishna (Tannaim). There was excitement in the air as hundreds of guests walked through the Shuk admiring the presentation boards and listening attentively to the students relate stories and lessons of their assigned Tanna, with hopes of completing a bingo board, filled with hints to various Tannaim throughout the Shuk.

This presentation was a culmination of the most recent project-based learning unit on the lives, teachings and legacies of the Tannaim. Students were divided into groups, where they received some biographical resources and through some additional research and learning selected Mishnayot, they began personalizing their understanding and connection to their Tanna. The final task was to promote the values of their Tanna through images, summaries, slogans, bumper stickers, hashtags or any other medium which the students felt would speak to their audience.

By Rabbi Uzi Beer, Assistant Principal, Elementary School, Judaic Studies