To r ah Time
Akiva first
-graders
celebrate the start
offormal study.
Clockwise from left:
Hebrew was a big part
of the torah party.
Teacher Chana Greenfield
gives encouragement
from the seats.
Mark Nadel of Southfield
and his 2-year-old son Cobi
enjoy the proceedings.
Rabbi Karmi Gross,
Yeshivat Akivas principal,
looks on proudly
irst-grader Hanna
Rogers and 15 other
members of Yeshivat
Akiva's first-grade class
were letter-perfect as they recited
their lines _at Sunday's Chagigat
Chumash (Torah party), which
celebrates the beginning of formal
Torah study.
It was a totally different story
when it came time to receive her
very own Chumash (bound Torah)
from the Southfield school's prin-
cipal, Rabbi Karmi Gross. That's
when Hanna started jumping up
and down and shrieking.
"What really touched me was
when the rabbi handed out
Chumashim," said Hanna's mother,
Dahlia Rogers of Southfield. "My
daughter and her two friends were
screaming like teenagers at a rock
concert would scream. I hope they
can continue in this vein as they
continue their studies."
Parents, grandparents, friends
and teachers enjoyed an hour of
stories, song and dance at the
event, which takes place each year.
"The children worked over a
month to prepare and perfect the
program," said Hebrew teacher
Ghana Greenfield, "and they were
great.
Billy and Miriam Schreiber,
who flew in from New York to
share the occasion with grandson
Dovi, agreed. They were particu-
larly impressed by the command
with which the 6- and-7-year-olds
handled their parts spoken in
Hebrew and English.
To Elaine Kahn, parent of
Joshua, the program marked a
"coming of age" for the children.
Rabbi Gross said the first-
graders were "16 new links to the
unbroken chain of Torah study
leading back to Har Sinai [Mt.
Sinai]."
After the program, the future
Torah scholars, proudly holding
their new books, joined family
and friends for refreshments.
When asked what they would be
doing now that the festivities were
over, Mrs. Greenfield said, "Begin
at the beginning with the first
verses of Sefer Bereshit [the book
of Genesis]." ❑
— Diana Lieberman
2/11
2000-
21