Dinner has to made whether I want to or not. So I wen to buy one more chicken and batch of steam-able veggies. I had to maneuver the shopping around 25 children and their parents in the kosher section of The Giant Store in Wynnewood. Amidst lox, rugelach and chumas families were listening to the happy rabbi on a ladder in a dark suit, brimmed hat and long beard say:
"And the Macabees stood up and said 'I won't eat pig. I'm a Jew'And because they did this, this kosher section, right here in the Giant Store, offers Kosher food for you today."
"Yeah," the roar from kids went up, at least as loud as you can when the powder from donuts lines your throat.
Latkes were part of the picture too. Giant Store staff -seeming bewildered and interested-took pictures of the scene. Children and parents sang the blessings. The happy rabbi lit one of those mega menorahs that are like the golden arches that sit on top of Chabad cars. (Chabad cars may be a new brand of car..you know mini copper, bmw, Chabad)
Go Chabad.
Well done.
Love the learning in the supermarket! One more great example of how content and context matter. Memorable. Relevant. Content. Tactile. Families.
It reminded me of that learning I had with Sam a month earlier at the same Giant. My Hebrew teacher and youngest son Sam, had sat with me to plan a meal, make a list and shop in Hebrew. I struggle with Hebrew. For him it is a native tongue. I did a lot better picking up melafefoneem in the veggie section than memorizing it at the dining room table.
Next week I'm giving a webinar for the JEA on the Five Must Do's of Powerful Learning.
The fifth do: take it to the street..LEARNING IN REAL LIFE SETTINGS.
An educator in Chicago, after seeing our learning day at the art museum is applying for funding to create curriculum for congregations to study in zoos, art and science museums. Yes we don't have to pull people into a classroom and shove the content into those spaces. The happy rabbi on the ladder does it, we can too.
Judaism for real life happens in real life spaces.
Go Chabad, Sam and Chicago. Who else?
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