Back at School IJP

Back to School at IJP 5774-2014

It is wonderful to be back in session, to see the bright excited faces; some cautiously excited and others getting right into back to their routine at IJP. Some highlights of this week. 

Kitah Alef is beginning to move from solitary play in all corners, and nooks in the room, to a more cohesive everyone together;  dumping, placing, climbing, touching and pretend playing.

 In Kitah Bet, we are getting used to the routine and where things go and playing together. During morning work time, one of the children was helping another put some sticks into small holes in a container, and said, "Lemme show you, it's tricky".  We have so much to learn and teach each other and our environment supports this in a wonderful way. Cleaning up after ourselves is not a break in the day but a learning experience in it of itself, to that end we keep paper towels handy, have very definitive places for things and have child sized brooms.  One child was helping to sweep and exclaimed, " I always like helping".  This is a spirit we intend to foster and cultivate.

Our Children in Kitah Gimmel are quickly showing an empathetic and nurturing side.  We have on child who has a mommy that is expecting a baby and some with babies already at home.  The dramatic play's overriding theme right now has been preparing meals and taking care of the babies.  The natural manner with which the children display care for their babies, is heart warming.  They are modeling off of beautiful behaviors that they are exposed to, presumably at home. 

Friendships are deepening in Kitah Daled/Hey, all of our Yeladim (children) know each other from before this season, and the excitement to be together after some time apart is palpable.  This week we talked about the Commandment of the Torah, that is relevant to this weeks Parsha (Torah Portion) called "Hashavat A-veida" meaning, returning a lost item.  Immediately the children were able to perform this on the yard.  A lone hair clip which had been sitting there for  a few days, all of a sudden had a purpose! To be returned to its rightful owner.  And a few of our discerning children noticed it and made sure to find its rightful owner and are now the proud owners of a mitzvah (good deed) done. 

Is My Plate Full Yet?

There was a saying I used to hear a lot when I first moved to Atlanta in the late 90’s: "my plate is full". My husband and I had one child, expecting another and were running our Chabad Programs. I would think, “ Hmm, my plate doesn't feel full”

My husband and I decided that perhaps we just have larger plates. Others might be referring to their saucers whilst I have a dinner plate in front of me.

Needless to say, the years have gone by and somehow my plate never got full, it just got bigger. Through the years we have laughed about how the plate grew to be the whole table, then a small tub, and at this point my swimming pool is not yet full!

Thankfully, I don't much hear that expression anymore. Perhaps people have wisely traded in their dessert plates for larger ones, so there is always room to help and do more. Why am I thinking about this now? My discussions with my husband, Rabbi Schusterman, were about having time, capacity, patience, wherewithal, and, of course, money to do all the things we need to do. Rabbi Schuster man’s worldview, actually based on some Kabalistic teachings, is that however large your "keilim” or vessels are that is how much you will be able to fill them with. In other words, we are only limited by the size of our plates.

Starting a new school year at IJP, it is evident that this world view spills over into all aspects of our lives. We now have 8 children (Where is the vessel to transport them?) and a growing pre-school. We let go of our plan to tear down building three, which would require years of fighting city hall to rebuild, and instead embraced a plan to renovate it so we don't have to say "our school is full".

IJP now has a big plate,  big Keilim/Vessels, perhaps bigger than it needs in the moment, but with this attitude, it will be ready for the growth that is sure to come. To me this is a big deal. And I am taking a moment to really appreciate this reality of have largeness, expanse and broad vision lying before me. Oh yes, for me it does mean more work--- sigh. But, being able to fulfill your life's work of educating Jewish children and their families is worth an extra large plate. The environment created by the vision of Rabbi Schusterman and our fabulous staff here at IJP, is the benefit of Living Large. Thinking about consistently upgrading our capacity to give, help and cope is what we are all about.

So, no I did not get any new super powers to come back to work; manage my family which includes twin babies, be a wife and mother, and any other jobs that fall on my shoulders (or fall off my shoulders). Like you I find myself in many places at once, and hope I am doing the best, in that moment, where I am. I do it because I feel passionate about it all, I feel like I can make a difference and because my husband showed me and taught me to do it bigger, do it better...

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