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BIRTHDAYS AND KEHILLAH KEDOSHA
Last week we began reading Sefer Shemot the Book of Exodus in which we read about the formation of the Jewish people as a distinct entity. As the story unfolds we experience both the challenges and successes that B'nei Yisrael undergoes as we become a people traveling together striving to be guided by common laws and values.
As we read the story we are reminded that achieving a sense of community and inclusiveness can sometimes be a struggle. Yet, despite obstacles, our people's goal is to work toward becoming a kehillah kedosha (a sacred community.)
The creation of our kehillah kedosha at Yavneh is dependent on the entire community's respect for and adherence to our community standards in a number of areas of school life. One area that our students experience deeply is that of birthday parties. We want to take this opportunity in the spirit of kehilla kedosha to remind you that it is important to adhere to our community standards, because they allow anyone from our school community to participate in a child's outside birthday celebration.
We wanted to take the opportunity to offer resources for families in planning celebrations outside of school and make sure to re-emphasize the following policies that were sent out at the beginning of the school year:
1. Children who are excluded are likely to feel hurt. As a rule, all the children in a class, or all of the boys, or all of the girls should be invited.
2. Please ensure that birthday parties do not begin, take place, or end on Shabbat/Yom Tov. Yom Tov includes both days of Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, the first two days of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simhat Torah, the first two and last two days of Pesah, and both days of Shavuot.
Thank you in advance for your partnership in creating a welcoming and celebratory atmosphere for your child's classroom community at your child's celebration.
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