7th Grade Guest Speakers

The new year has brought with it some grave concerns about anti-Semitism in our country and escalated tensions in our world, and at moments like this, I am reminded of Rabbi Tarfon’s words from Pirkei Avot: You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.  I am so proud of our seventh graders who have been engaging in hard work during Tikkun Olam class here at Yachad learning about various issues facing their generation and gearing up to do something about it.  This past Thursday, we had two extraordinary guest speakers come speak to the students about two of our Tikkun Olam themes: Stand Up for the Differently Abled and Dismantle White Supremacy. Sasha Bogan, a first year college student at Holy Cross, spoke about her experiences with ableism as a person with cerebral palsy and Aliyah Mayers, a high school senior, spoke about her experiences with racism as a young woman of color. We are very grateful to these two young women for giving up time on their Thursday evening to speak to us and answer our questions.

After our guest speakers’ presentations, we also had another session in the Moving Traditions curriculum in which students discussed the impacts of social media.  We are looking forward to our first family session of Moving Traditions this coming Thursday. Students should still plan to arrive at 5pm for their Tikkun Olam class, and parents/guardians should plan to join at 6pm for our Moving Traditions session. Rabbi Esptein will also be addressing families about the 8th Grade Trip to Israel next year.  (If you haven’t RSVP’d yet, please do so here so we have an accurate headcount for dinner.)

Looking forward to seeing some of you this Thursday!!