Fourth Grade Mitzvah

PJA’s fourth-grade Jewish Studies curriculum focuses on many of the mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah that address the way we treat one another, in particular mitzvot that teach us to show compassion and respect for people who are less fortunate and for people who are in need of help.

The class recently studied Leviticus 19:9-10. 

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I יהוה am your God.

Over the course of the last six weeks, our community collectively demonstrated how these mitzvot can be practiced in the modern world. The food items that you donated in the month of February were packed this week by our 4th graders. They prepared 106 food sacks that were then delivered to Portland Backpack. Portland Backpack provides weekend breakfasts and lunches to 1200 schoolchildren in need of additional food every week. 

This unit of study and the tangible effort of packing food sacks for students facing food insecurity has helped our students recognize the modern and still relevant significance of this ancient and holy text.