The CBH Blog

Hello CBH Religious School Community,

This week we celebrated Tu BiShevat, a minor holiday that marks the 'birthday' of the trees.  On Tu BiShevat we raise awareness of our natural environment and the joy it brings.   Eight families joined us on the parking lot for a Five Senses of Tu BiShevat Drive-In program.  Although freezing and blustery out, we enjoyed a nature-themed exploration of our senses right from the comfort of our warm cars:

• TASTE: We tasted the 7 species including snacks made out of figs, grapes, olives, pomegranate, wheat, barley, date.
• SOUND: We repurposed old keys and made them into wind chimes using sticks and twine.  We talked about what we can repurpose this year at home.
• TOUCH:  Without looking, we reached into 3 bags, each containing a different object found in nature and guessed the object.
• SMELL: We smelled the scent of pine needles and reflected on memories it might bring.  We sang the...

By Vincent Kahwaty 

On a chilly December Sunday morning, the teens and group leaders of the CBH River Health Monitoring Committee braved the cold to head over to Stanley Park for a health check of the Passaic River.  Their task was to observe and log information about specific aspects of the river environment to make sure that it can accommodate a wide variety of wildlife species.

Jackson Levine, Nate and Joe Laposky, and committee leaders Helene Goldfarb and Stephanie Tran took notes on water pollution, sewage, water speed, aquatic vegetation (including algae growth), man-made structures in or around the banks of the river, and assessed the erosion of both the left and right banks. 

The group logged their observations and compared them to previous records.  In the spring and summer months, the team will return to the river and collect samples to test and submit to the Great Swamp Association of Water Monitoring, who then send a report to the Department of...

At Shabbat services tonight, we celebrated Hanukkah. 

We started off by all lighting our menorah's together. It was a veritable  Menorah Palooza!

Then, we shared our Hanukkah memories. You can find them here: https://padlet.com/zacharykaplanwork/w27iy2pbf2vl2pya

Finally, Andy made a video where congregants sent in their own verses. 

It was a great time!

A DIY menorah that shows good things can happen when you play with your food.

Another idea to bring a little extra meaning to Hanukkah: Make a gratitude journal to remind you of the things large and small that you appreciate.

A DIY menorah you can bake and use!

It's a menorah, and it's delicious! Margie explains.

This DIY menorah is more for noshing than for lighting. An easy, fun Hanukkah activity for the whole family.

Make a beautiful menorah with easy-to-find materials.

A fun and easy DIY Hanukkah decoration idea. For printable instructions, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mfPbCAnC4k-dAfvsCtQ3JCg7LWXGfPSe/view