We rang in the New Year to the blast of a Shofar. For some of our students, it was their first time!
We counted pomegranate seeds! The final amount was 703 exactly. (I say exactly because we even counted the stray seeds that found their way to the floor.)
Each student was given a segment of the pomegranate to count, then had to record the data. It was hard work to add up all the data, but it was worth it. The pomegranate symbolically represents the 613 Mitzvot (good deeds) that we are expected to fulfill. There is actually research that supports this theory.
http://parsha.blogspot.com/2007/09/613-seeds-in-pomegranate.html
We measured ourselves. It will be interesting to see how tall they will be at the end of the year.
We are learning our first song for the Zimriyah which happens to be about wishing our loved ones Shana Tova! (Happy New Year!)
What a wonderful way to begin the New year!