March 21st

This class was the very first class of the 4th Quarter.  We began with a prayer by Erin King.  The homework due today was the 1-2 page reflection on our experiences at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  After collecting those, Ms. Egan began a discussion on "Why Do We Remember the Holocaust?".  In recognition of the terrible event, we must pay learn about the history so we can respectfully understand it fully.  We must remember so that it never happens again.  Many people knew about it, but didn't do anything about it during the Holocaust, but we have learned our lesson for prevention of future genocide.  We than transitioned into talking about modern genocides or evil in the world that is often forgotten.
  Mrs. Egan brought to our attention such modern evils as Kony, someone who has been taking children and making them soldiers and sex-slaves, who was made known through a viral video.  Ms. Egan then showed us several videos about modern nazis, as in member of the American Nazi party that still exist.  It was terrifying.  I was shocked that things like this still existed.  They seemed very organized, which was concerning.  Next, Mrs. Egan showed us some videos of the Westboro Baptist Church, which were horrifying and almost entertaining at the same time.
  The Westboro Baptist Church is a church created by Fred Phelps and most of the members are from his family.  They are extremely against homosexuals and Jews but the interesting part is they think God hates EVERYONE.  Not just one group, but they consider that God wants the entire country to go to Hell because of it's sacrilegious actions.  When interviewed, their logic makes little to no sense.  They performed a rendition of "We Are the World" called "God Hates the World".  They interviewed the young children in the family, who seemed so hateful and very uninformed on their arguments, producing such iconic phrases as "Fags are basically Jews".



The lesson of this class was that though we all remember the Holocaust and it must be prevented ever occurring similarly again, there are many modern groups just as evil as the Nazis were during World War II.

Homework: Circumlectio

Here is a link to the website for the Westboro Baptist Church.  It is quite frightening.  The hate begins just with the url.
http://www.godhatesfags.com/

Here is an article about the modern neo-nazis in Israel.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/11430#.T2xFUxEgdDQ

March 8th

Today our main activity was preparing for the upcoming Judaism tests by forming test questions in A/B form using provided quote and scripture hangers within our Cirumlectio groups.  The questions we came up with were:
1.  a.  How does this covenant through Abraham impact Jerusalem?
     b.  What is the relevance of the covenant in Jewish life?

2.  a.  Describe how the Jews view themselves as God's chosen people.
     b.  Explain the holiday to which this quote relates to.

3.  a.  Describe two Jewish symbols to which this quote relates.
     b.  Explain the significance of these symbols and their involvement in everyday Jewish life.

4.  a.  How is man based in an image of God?
     b.  Briefly expand upon the nature of the sacred.

March 6th, 2012

Today we took a short pop quiz on the reading that was due for today on the Mezuzah, Tallit, Tefillin, Menorah, etc. Also, a Father from St. Raphael's came and spoke to us about listening to the calling in our lives and our vocation. We watched a short video called Fishers of Men that discussed how the Church is recruiting more men and women able to follow their vocation in life and serve the Church and God. Lastly, we created 5 questions in the format of A and B to prepare for the test on Judaism.

1. A. Explain what the symbol is and how it should be prepared to completely fulfill the mitzvah.

B. What is its purpose and how is it used in everyday life?

2. A. Where is this located/what is it?

B. What is its significance in the Jewish religion?

3. A. Describe the menorah as an ancient symbol.

B. Explain the Jewish holiday this is associated with.

4. A. How is this a modern Jewish symbol?

B. What are the different origins of this symbol?

5. A. How is this stored in the synagogue?

B. Explain the significance of the Torah.

Class of Friday, March 2 2012

The class of Friday, March 2012 is a class of highly notable distinction. Due to the fact that fellow classmates were absent on this day because of retreat, the entirety of the class was utterly encompassed by a viewing of the remainder of the film, Fiddler on the Roof.

Fiddler on the Roof is a critically acclaimed film adaption of a musical of the same name. Set in the midst of a tsarist Russia trembling with a growing revolutionary fervor, the story follows a poor milkman by the name of Tevye and his daughters. Conflict comes to the table as his daughters one by one grow ripe for marriage, however, being members of a very traditional Jewish family, Tevye and company are faced with a very difficult problem. The film deals with the conflict of tradition, an aspect very characteristic of some Jewish life, and new ideas, revolution, and change. Truly, an epic masterpiece of cinema, Fiddler on the Roof gets 5 TRADITION out of 5 TRADITION.

TRADITION.

Class of February 29, 2012

The class of February 29 was marked by the final quiz on Judaism and another viewing of the film Fiddler on the Roof.

The terms on the quiz include:

Passover - a Jewish holiday celebrating the exodus of Jews from Egypt

Matzoh - unleavened bread eaten over Passover

Sader - meaning "order", referring to the ritual dinners held on first and/or second evenings of Passover

Passover and its many traditions remain a highly integral component of Jewish life and custom.