Shabbat Assembly
June 2018
Friday Assembly – when the whole school sings together – is a strong tradition at Temple Emanuel ECDC. It’s an occasion for enjoying community (the Hebrew word is Kehilah) and expressing that joy through song.
We plan Assembly for the purposes of:
- Welcoming Shabbat
- Celebrating holidays
- Enjoying music together – signing, listening, moving, creating
- Learning musical skills
- Expressing and affirming our values
- Creating community
This school year parents have had an open invitation to our Friday morning Assemblies led with talent and spirit by our Music Teacher Rebecca Closson. We also introduced Thursday morning Assemblies for the Twos classes and the children have responded with amazing enthusiasm. These weekly events have increased opportunity for Kehilah! We start with the song Boker Tov – Good Morning. We sing songs of the season and for every Jewish holiday. One of our favorite songs, Hinei Ma Tov, expresses our joy of being together. We sing songs from around the world to learn about our unity and diversity. With the help of our music teacher and musical guests, we have been introduced to the guitar, ukulele, piano, violin, accordion, flute and zither!
Over the course of the year we have built a repertoire of 50 songs, some of which are listed below.
Boker Tov
Hinei Ma Tov
Bim Bam
Bring in the Light
Gili Gili Good Shabbat
Attitude of Gratitude
Apples and Honey
On This Sukkot Morning
Twinkle, Twinkle Hanukah Lights
Celebrate Purim (to the tune of Apples and Bananas)
What Are the Things We Need for Our Seder Table?
Toom Bah Ee Lero
Haru Ga Kita
Oh Mr. Sun
Today is Friday/Temple Spirit
One of our favorites is “Hello to All the Children of the World” which you can find at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpTR1wF4M6k. Yes, the children really have learned to sing hello in French, Spanish and Japanese, to name just a few.
In 2018-19 we will continue to sing together every Friday morning. We invite you to join us and we guarantee that your spirits will be lifted.
Hineh ma tov uma na’im Shevet achim gam yachad.
How good and pleasant it is for brothers & sisters to dwell together