Meet Tasha!

Keeping Connected   December 2024

This is Tasha! She is a Yellow Labrador puppy who is being trained at the Israel Guide Dog center to hopefully become a seeing eye dog for someone in need. As the students say, “She is soooo cute.”

The Israel Guide Dog Center is the tzedakah project for the year. There is a dog bowl in the lobby that collects monetary donations. This money will be given to the Israel Guide Dog Center to help train puppies to become guide dogs, emotional support dogs or service dogs and then given to those in need. Congregation Shalom will be following Tasha this year to watch her grow and get trained. We will be sent “pupdates” throughout the year to find out how she is doing.

We are keeping track of the money collected by filling a jar with dog biscuits. Each biscuit represents $5 of tzedakah money collected. Our goal is to fill the jar (and to then donate the biscuits to dogs!)

The main mission of the Israel Guide Dog Center is to improve the quality of life of Israelis who are blind by providing them safe mobility, independence, and self-confidence through the faithful assistance of Guide Dogs specially trained in Hebrew for the challenging conditions in Israel. Our tzedakah collection will go directly to helping to support this mission.

How can you help your student understand the idea of tzedakah? The PJ Library website defines tzedakah as “justice, specifically, doing the right things by helping people or causes in need.” “Healing the world” is a part of our temple’s mission statement. At the Religious and Hebrew School, we are constantly helping our students to understand the Jewish responsibility of performing tzedakah in many ways. This is an ongoing conversation through the years.

Many families have shared with me different ways that they help their children understand tzedakah and donate to the school tzedakah project. It is important that parents are role models for their children. If your kids see you doing good for others, they will learn that it is an important family value. Helping others as a family is also a good way for children to begin to learn and incorporate giving to others into their daily lives. All the students have engaged in conversations with us about ways that they can donate money for tzedakah. One student shared that he gets allowance and brings some of it to the temple. Someone else shared that she gets money for doing chores and that some of that money can go towards helping the dogs. We talked about holding a lemonade or hot chocolate stand to earn money for our tzedakah project. Some students said they ask their parents for some money to bring to temple. And the list of ideas goes on and on. This can be a wonderful family discussion and experience. What do you do to help your child understand the idea of tzedakah? How do you help and encourage them to donate to our project? Please share with me your own ways of helping your children understand the importance and responsibility of tzedakah so that we might be able to help other families that are still trying to figure out how to incorporate this into their own lives.

Congregation Shalom is committed to Tikkun Olam, helping the world to be a better place.  Jump on the tzedakah wagon with us and help the dog biscuit jar fill up to help Tasha and her puppy friends to grow into strong and healthy dogs who are trained to help those in need!

With gratitude,

Deborah

Schedule for December

  • Sunday, December 1 – NO Religious School
  • Wednesday, December 4 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm
  • Friday, December 6 – Tot Shabbat at 6pm
  • Sunday, December 8 – Religious School for Preschool – 7th graders; Family Ed for 6th grade families; Kol Kolot rehearsal at 11am
  • Tuesday, December 10 – Post Confirmation, 7pm-8:30pm at Rabbi Perry’s home
  • Wednesday, December 11 – Hebrew School, 4:15pm-6:00pm
  • Friday, December 13– Shalomites Creative Service at 6pm
  • Sunday, December 15 – Religious School for Preschoolers – 7th graders until 10:30am; Hanukkah Party for students and families from 10:30am-noon
  • Wednesday, December 18 – Hebrew School
  • Friday, December 20 – Shabbat Dinner and Hanukkah Shabbat
  • Sunday, December 22 – NO Religious School
  • Wednesday, December 25 – NO Hebrew School
  • Sunday, December 29 – NO Religious School
  • Wednesday, January 1 – NO Hebrew School
  • Sunday, January 5 – Religious School is back in session for Preschoolers – 7thgraders; Kol Kolot rehearsal