Shabbat Parashat Toldot

Esau's Tears

Over the course of the past week, our Grade 7 students have begun their work on their "Roots & Wings" family history projects as part of our Tikkun Olam curriculum. Each year, when our graduating students arrive to school with their completed projects and put them out for display, the members of our school community are blown away by the quality of the work and the effort that has gone into them. They really are a sight to see and this year, with fifty-eight Grade 7 students, we expect our most fulsome display yet! However, what we teach our students as they are working toward the completion of the project is "not to lose the forest for trees." When engaging in a project that takes several weeks to complete and time to design and assemble in unique and creative ways, it is easy to lose focus on WHY they are engaging in the enterprise in the first place. What are the lessons they are intended to learn? That family history and stories contribute significantly to your sense of personal identity and that each of our family histories are part of the collective memory of the Jewish people. While we celebrate and work at developing and understanding our own identities, we are all part of something much greater: The Jewish People. Once we grasp these two concepts (our roots), our senses of self, our confidence, and our characters will be stronger, giving us even greater opportunities to fly (our wings) in the future.