Latest News
Posted on: September 18th 2024
Visit from Leonard Silver - Other Faiths - Judaism
This term, as part of our "Other Faiths" curriculum, we are studying Judaism. We were delighted to welcome Leonard Silver, a guest speaker, who led engaging workshops for children in Years 1-6. Each year group explored different aspects of Judaism:
- Year 1: Jewish symbols and the celebration of Hanukkah.
- Year 2: The Torah and the significance of Shabbat.
- Year 3: The story of Abraham's covenant and the role of the synagogue.
- Year 4: Jewish naming ceremonies and the Bar Mitzvah.
- Year 5: The role of sacred texts and how Judaism influences daily life.
- Year 6: Jewish identity in the modern world, including a focus on the Holocaust and its impact.
It has been a meaningful experience for the children, providing them with a greater understanding and appreciation of Jewish traditions and culture. Here are some of the things the children had to say:
St David: He explained the importance of the Jewish symbol: the Star of David. Mr Silver also showed us and lit the menorah, he sang the prayer and told us the importance of Hanukkah. We all enjoyed Mr Silver's visit.”
St Joseph: We enjoyed taking part in the role play celebrating Shabbat as his family. We enjoyed Mr Silver’s visit today
St Teresa: We enjoyed the talk yesterday as I found it fascinating learning about other religions and comparing it to ours! We loved the answer that Leonardo gave us to our questions. The fact that Jewish people have different opinions was very interesting. We really liked the workshop because instead of learning just about Christianity. It gave me a chance to learn about different religions from all over the world.
St Elizabeth: Learning about the Torah was really interesting. I didn’t know how important it is to Jewish people and how it guides their choices every day. It’s like a special rule book that helps them know what’s right and wrong. We learned how the Torah teaches about kindness, helping others, and respecting family, which is something they still follow today. It made me think about how different religions have texts that shape their lives too
St Oscar Romero: Leonard gave our Year 6’s a chance to ask some great questions, with some of us asking why Jewish people didn’t believe in Jesus and how they were able to understand and read the Torah. At the end of our session, Leonard spoke about the Holocaust and why it was so vital that we learnt about it and never forgot that period of History.
Mr Silver also sent us a lovely message after his visit:
“I was so happy to be able to relate to all the pupils on the various subjects and to answer their excellent questions. What a pleasure it was to see your disciplined and beautifully behaved children. Their attention , keenness and interest was a breath of fresh air! It gave me great satisfaction imparting my knowledge of Judaism and our traditions by role play and demonstration involving them in “live action” both with Chanukah and Friday night Shabbat.”
