Two Lenses: Jewish and Educational

I. JNF is sponsoring Project Baseball, an effort to create up-to-date baseball fields for kids in Israel to play on. I can't think of a better fit for a tzedakah project for someone who loves baseball - especially now, after the excitement of the World Series!

Can you picture a donation made by your class in honor of the Yankees to Project Baseball?

After all, although "you don't have to be Jewish", as Levy's Rye Bread famously stated, but on the other hand, it's possible to be both Jewish and a fan!!

II. Ron Blomberg, former Yankee, wrote a book about his experiences titled Designated Hebrew, an allusion to the fact that he was both the first designated hitter in the American League and also a Jew. Your baseball fanatic (5th grade and older) might enjoy reading it.

III. While we're on the topic of baseball, what about how fans feel about Alex Rodriguez now? Can this be a trigger for discussing teshuvah with our learners? Did A-Rod do teshuvah after his having used steroids? What is your evidence? Was it complete teshuvah? Explain why or why not.

IV. If you didn't see it already, Zits on November 3rd was as perfect as possible a recommendation of hands-on learning. Doing, not listening, is the answer for many of us and probably most of our learners.