From early childhood through the parent body, the Ben Porat Yosef community was busy preparing for Shavuot last week. Early childhood students learned all about Shavuot in a variety of fun and interactive ways in order to impress upon them the meaning behind and the traditions associated with the chag. Some of the engaging and experiential lessons in which students participated included learning about the job of a sofer and how a sefer Torah is written, and then trying their own hands at it; creating flowers and vases to enhance their homes after learning about the flowers that beautified Har Sinai at Matan Torah; and discovering why we eat dairy on Shavuot and then making a variety of delicious dairy treats from start to finish, like boiling milk and vinegar and then straining the product through a cheesecloth to get some authentic cheese and making ice cream with milk, sugar, vanilla, ice and salt.

At the other end of the community age group, Ben Porat Yosef parents were treated to an enjoyable pre-Shavuot shiur with Rabbi Hayyim Angel, who conducted an interactive lecture about “The Complex Layers of Chesed in Megillat Ruth.” Parents participated in an interesting discussion, as Rabbi Angel led the group through an analysis of the behavior of Naomi, Boaz and Ruth, and an understanding of the elements and meaning of chesed, how it can be observed sometimes in unexpected places and how the importance of this attribute of kindness can never be overestimated.