09 Dec Born to Soar Jewish Studies for Years 3-6: The Completion of Megilat Esther
Kol Hakavod to the students of the Years 3-6 Born to Soar Jewish Studies group who have just completed an in-depth study of Megilat Esther! This dedicated group, which runs on a Thursday morning, has been created for the Year 3 to 6 students who attend the Born to Soar program.
Using the Lookstein’s Centre online program from Bar-Ilan University as our guide, we began each lesson with reading and summarizing the storyline of each Perek of Megilat Esther. We then watched videos, had role plays, read midrashim and completed interactive activities to enhance our study of the text.
We delved into discussion and analysis about the major plots, compared the roles of key characters in the text, analysed the characteristics of heroism and applied them to different characters in the text. In addition, we identified the main themes of the text, including heroism, activism, choices, miracles, and divine intervention, and then made our own personal connections to the text.
One of the key lessons that Megilat Esther teaches us is about hidden miracles (nes nistar). Hidden miracles are recognizing that when a series of events happens it is not “just a coincidence” but something more significant — the hand of Hashem. Ordinary people – through small acts of heroism – also play a role in making a nes nistar happen. Heroism can take different forms and can come from unexpected places. Each one of us can be a hero!
As the Chag of Chanukah is nearly upon us, a time of miracles, where we celebrate the Jewish military victory over the Greeks and our rededication of the Beit Hamikdash, may we realize that just like in Megilat Esther, we are constantly under Hashem’s protection. May the Jews throughout the world unite and come closer to Hashem at this time, and through our positive actions and small acts of heroism, may we see a speedy end to the war in Israel and the safe return of all our hostages. Chag sameach and next year may we merit to celebrate together in the third Beit Hamikdash, with the arrival of Moshiach, speedily in our days!