Overheard at Shabbat Class today

As I brought out the challah...

little girl says: 

I don't like the skin.

Other girl: It's okay, you can just pick it off.

And so she did.

Shabbat Shalom! 

May you only get the part of the challah that you like this Shabbat.

#WhatRabbisDo

A while back I said I would start an infrequent feature called "What I do" - which is a tiny little insight into the life of a rabbi.  Then I started the hashtag #whatrabbisdo on Twitter, which offers insight into so many things that rabbis do, mundane and spiritual both!

Last week, a group of 6th graders from the local Catholic school came into the synagogue for a tour and discussion with The Rabbi. I showed them around and answered all of their questions, which seemed random but interesting: "what do you wear for your Mass?" "Can you get married?" "Why do Jewish people want to live in Israel if that's where Jesus lived?"

You get the idea.

I answered question after question, in no apparent order but they sat still for nearly an hour as I talked about all sorts of things from ritual garb to holidays to food to politics and history.

Today I got two envelopes stuffed full of thank you notes from the kids. Most were very simple - thanks for teaching us about Judasim.

I did, however, have two favorites:

Dear Rabbi Sommer,
Thank you for teaching us about Judaism. It was cool. You are really smart.
Thank you!
From,
W.T.

Thank you for all of those questions you answered. You answered them very accurately and clearly.
Sincerely,
C.F.

Aren't you glad to know that I answered all the questions accurately?


Me too.

What I've Done at Summer Camp So Far

Now that I've got things working again (certificates, blogger?!) here is a quick update of all the fun we're having at summer camp...

We welcomed Rick Recht to a concert on Wednesday night. He was great and the whole camp had a fabulous time.

My husband (on the right) and our friend (and colleague) Rabbi Eric Siroka of South Bend, Indiana, at the Rick Recht concert.

Ahem, um, you know you're a blogger when you ask someone to take their picture with you so you can post it on your blog. That's ME with Rick Recht and his son Koby.

My own little camper, deep in contemplation of a blade of grass.

My middle guy, on a horse. This was a huge highlight for him, and he keeps asking when we can go back.

In preparation for Shabbat, our campers created a mural of words of praise and thanks to God. It came out really cool. Eventually I'll get to pictures of the finished product.

Celebrating Shabbat, a hug from Ima.

Our all-camp Shira, song session. We are usually indoors but this year experimented with an outdoor song session. The bugs were bad but there was so much more fresh air! Videos coming soon....

And my littlest camper, dressed up for Shabbat.

Whew! A quick recap as I run to teach my Hebrew group. Today's lesson: opposites.

What are you up to this summer?
P.S. I haven't had time to read it but I hear Haveil Havalim is up over here.

The Rabbi Watches YouTube

As I indicated once before, I'm starting an infrequent (read: whenever I feel like it) series called "What Rabbis Do" or something catchy like that.

Right now, what I'm doing is enjoying this post about the Four Questions by Hadassah. She is looking for the Mah Nishtanah in multiple languages, which is such a fun activity. There's a wonderful book of 300 Ways to Say the Four Questions, which are an integral part of the Passover Seder. My favorite one in there is Pig Latin, which I think is perfect on so many levels for a Jewish event!!!

What I am also doing, and this is key to any good modern rabbi's life, is browing through YouTube for all the funny new Pesach videos so that I can be the first to share them with you.

Like this one:


or this



or this one...


Have you found anything great on YouTube lately?
How's your Pesach Prep going? The cold winter-like weather is not putting me quite the right mood yet!

What I do....the Life of a Rabbi

So I've decided to start a new feature here at Ima on (and off) the Bima.

Okay, I just decided it.

So I don't know how often or when I'll be doing it.

But here goes.

Each Friday, I teach a one-hour Shabbat class to 3- and 4-year-olds. It's called "Hello, Shabbat!" and I teach with a wonderful co-teacher who also teaches in our Religious School (and happens to be a good friend).

11 little kids.
Cute, runny nosed, potty-going, talkative little kids.

3 sets of twins!
(and they all regularly remind me that they are twins. And each time, I act surprised.)

And I love it. I'm not sure I would want to be a preschool teacher all the time, but it is so much fun to have this once-a-week gig.

I can't post pictures of these cuties, of course, but we made such a cute project yesterday that I have to share...

Aren't these the most lovely little mezuzot? 

So that's part of what I do.
I love my job!


Want to play along? What do you do all day? or all week?