This past Monday, the final day of Chanukah, Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School featured an innovative interdisciplinary learning opportunity facilitated by Director of Interdisciplinary Learning and Educational Outreach Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky. Judaic Studies, history, English, Ivrit and STEM teachers collaborated to facilitate a series of dynamic learning opportunities centering on the menorah, the emblem of the State of Israel and how we can bring ancient traditions into our modern lives.

Over the course of four interactive sessions, students explored the prophet Zecharia’s vision of a menorah flanked by olive branches, considered the imagery of light and dark in modern Hebrew poetry, “toured” the Maccabees’ graves via cutting-edge virtual reality technology and debated whether or not the depiction of the menorah on the Arch of Titus is legitimate model for the modern-day menorah.

Students reflected on the questions: How did looking at a topic from different perspectives and with a range of teachers affect the way you learned? What did you find especially interesting, and why? What is one lesson about Chanukah and Israel’s emblem that you want to keep with you over the course of the coming year? After discussing these questions in smaller groups, each group appointed a representative to share an insight that might illuminate their peers. Through this dynamic interdisciplinary learning experience, students walked away energized to take the lessons of Chanukah, the menorah and medinat Yisrael into their personal lives throughout the winter months to come.