On a quiet Monday morning along the streets of Cedar Lane in Teaneck, two large school buses carrying 94 fifth-grade students and faculty members from Yavneh Academy descended on Cedar Market for a Brachot Bee Championship. As they entered the store, excitement permeated the air. These fifth-grade students recently completed a unit in brachot as part of their Judaic studies curriculum and this was the culminating event.
Three finalists, Mia Polonetsky, Carmi Waldman and Noam Eckman, who had won previous competitions to get to this point, competed for the championship title as the rest of the grade cheered them on. Before the competition began, each of the three finalists was allowed to choose one classmate who would act as his or her partner in collecting the necessary food products. Each contestant was given six minutes to successfully complete 10 challenges. Morah Shirley Gantz, a fifth-grade Judaic studies teacher who spearheaded the contest, announced each challenge, which required students to fetch food items from store shelves consistent with the bracha requested. Audience participation was welcome and very much present as students advised the contestants which items to gather. The excitement was palpable as the finalists swiftly ran through the aisles trying to beat the clock while they collected the necessary products.
Between each contestant’s turn, the audience was entertained with game-show style activities. Students were randomly chosen from a lottery to try their hand at some additional bracha challenges. One such game was Plinko, which required students to drop a marker onto a game board that subsequently landed on a certain food. If the bracha was accurately identified, the student was awarded that food. Students also enjoyed playing The Price Is Right. Those participants who correctly determined whether the real price of an item presented to them was actually higher, lower or equal to the price displayed also got to keep the item. These activities certainly engaged the crowd and allowed for an interactive experience for each and every student.
“Cedar Market has been really welcoming in offering our students the opportunity to bring the learning to life. They not only gave us a venue but donated the prizes,” commented Gantz, who is also a programming coordinator for the Lower School. “One of our goals at Yavneh is to instill a love of learning in our students. Hands-on activities like the brachot game show are experiences that students will take with them for the future. There is nothing like that contagious thrill and excitement when the students are yelling out answers and cheering for their friends. We try to create many more exciting and meaningful learning experiences throughout the year,” added Gantz.
The finalists all seemed well prepared for the event. When asked her strategy, Mia Polonetsky explained that she studied brachot for days preceding the contest. “I took a trip to the store to walk around and get familiar with where things are,” said Mia. “The hardest part of the event was running around under pressure while everyone was screaming, but it was still a lot of fun,” commented Carmi Waldman. Noam Eckman was the third finalist to take the challenge. “I enjoyed watching my friends do it and then getting to have a turn as well.”
Cedar Market Manager Eli Langer did an exceptional job exciting the crowd. As the event came to a close, Langer was asked to draw two names from a grade-wide lottery. Taking place less than 12 hours after the wrong winner for best picture was announced at the 2017 Oscars, Langer noted that he exercised extreme caution as he read the names on the respective cards he drew, identifying two students who won the raffle (along with the three finalists), entitling them to Cedar Market gift cards, good for anything in the store, especially candy!
While everyone did an outstanding job, Mia Polonetsky was named winner of the Brachot Bee Challenge 2017, having completed all of the challenges without a single error. Congratulations to the entire fifth grade who are clearly a bunch of bracha mavens.
By Andrea Nissel
