In science, our class had to make a candle holder for hanukah abut our favourite jewish hero. Then, we had to design our angle with elects about that person.  I chose Mel Brooks…

For my candle holder, I chose Mel Brooks. My dad, my sister and I love Star Wars so when my dad introduced us to the rip-off version of it, we LOVED it. It was much funnier than Star Wars so I decided to take the creator and a cameo appearance in SpaceBalls, Mel Brooks. 

Mel Brooks is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He has been acting for over 7 decades. 

Mel Brooks is a Jew. His father’s family were Jews from Gdańsk, Poland and his mother’s family were Jews from Kyiv, Ukraine. 

Mel Brooks is famous for the different movie genres that he made such as Blazing Saddles, History of the World: Part I, Silent Movie, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety and Spaceballs.

He is seen as a comedy legend to fans of his movies because of his funny humor and iconic funny face. 

When you get a chance, check out Mel Brooks, and his famous movies ( I promise you will laugh!)!

I hope you liked my candle holder!

At the beginnig of the project, my partner I were excited about the idea and the concept but weren’t really sure how we were going to pursue it. We originally thought of a different idea, but then got a change of our mind and went a different way. We were going to go all out, but like a lot of things, we never got to that point. Our original plan was to make model of a geodesic dome and test all of the theories (it is wind resistant, it can stand really big storms, etc.). Instead we just tested which material was the best to keep it warm (which was only one of the theories). My partner and I worked on the weekend at her house building the boxes. We also worked on our own to make the slides better than before. Overall, we worked really hard on this project. We made a video to present to our class and teachers.

Hope you enjoy!

My bat mitzvah was a week from yesterday (April 2nd) and on this very special day, I had a speech that I prepared.

I had been working on the speech for months before the date it was presented, so a lot of thought went into this speech.

I hope you enjoy it!

Here it is…

Shabbat Shalom!

Today is my Bat Mitzvah. Today is the day I am supposed to become a participating member of the Jewish community. Today, I am supposed to count. In a minyan, in a Torah service, in my family decisions (I can only hope). And I am so grateful and lucky to be part of KBI and an egalitarian, Conservative Jewish community. I count.

It has almost always been this way for the Jewish people of Ottawa who go to KBI or who went to KBI in the past. You might have heard that the first ever woman in Canada to have a bat mitzvah was a girl named Miriam Lieff. Miriam studied at Agudath Israel Synagogue in Ottawa, which we know today as KBI… this synagogue.

But, not all women are as lucky as Miriam to be part of a community that cares about women and their rights. They have often been supporting characters in their own stories. Whether the Torah writers were men, the religious law makers were men or the movie producers were men.

This shabbat is Shabbat Hachodesh, which is the first Shabbat in the hebrew month of Nissan which is two weeks before Pesach. When you think of Passover, who is the first character that comes to mind? …Moses. But if you think deeper into the story, Moses would never have survived if it wasn’t for his mother, Jochebed who kept him hidden and sent him off in the basket on the river. Then, as he traveled down the river, his sister, Miriam, watched over him, and made sure he was safe. Then, when he reached the palace, and who did he meet there? The Pharaoh’s daughter, Batya, who saved him and raised him as her own. Do you see my point? Jochebed, Miriam, and Batya are the reasons Moses survived.

This does not even include the Egyptian midwives who refused to follow Pharaoh’s original decree to kill all of the male Israelite babies. They decided to follow their hearts instead of Pharaoh’s command. 

A Midrash teaches that the Israelite men wanted to stop having children after Pharaoh’s decree. Their wives also pushed back saying, “You are worse than Pharaoh!  Pharaoh only wants to get rid of the boys, but you want to bring an end to all children!”  If it weren’t for these women, Moses would never have had the chance to be born at all. None of these women, Jochebed, the midwives, Miriam and Batya never got to be the heroes of the story, Moses did. 

When Rabbi Kenter asked me about my interests while deciding on a theme for my speech, a lot of my influences were from strong pop culture women. People like Lady Gaga, Pink, and the Gilmore Girls characters. I learned about this interesting test in Hollywood called the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test is a guideline that measures whether or not a movie or tv show has at least 2 main female characters who speak to each other about something other than a man. The women in question can not be a sister, wife or daughter to the main character. They must be independent characters in order to qualify in the Test. You would be surprised by how few movies and TV shows passed this test. How few females are the center of their own stories in hollywood.

An example of a tv show that passes this test with flying colors is my favorite show, The Gilmore Girls. This show stars many female lead characters who have a higher ranking in the show than the males. There are some male characters thrown in there but they act as background people. All these women are the centers of their stories. No wonder the show is so close to my heart. 

I see myself as a strong, independent woman in training:) a (Rory) for those of you familiar with my show. I come from a long line of strong, independent women, a bunch of (Lorelei’s) for my last reference to the show!

In our discussions, Rabbi Kenter shared a quote with me that he learned from his father; “coincidences are just G-d’s way of staying anonymous”. This quote plays a part in the passover story. Firstly, Moses’s basket coincidentally arrived at the palace. Then, later in the desert, his sheep coincidently leads him to hear G-d at the burning bush. These coincidences were G-d in disguise. 

So, what do you make of this next coincidence? 

My Bubby, Eileen, was born in a time where it was not customary for women to have bat mitzvahs nor to participate fully in the Jewish community. She… couldn’t write her own story. But, when my Bubby was about to turn 60 she decided to start studying for her bat mitzvah. She wanted to write her own story, not to have it written for her. She wanted to count in her shul, and in her jewish community. 

And here is the coincidence… Without even talking, my Bubby and I picked the exact same bat mitzvah date, April 2nd with the exact same portion, Tazria! How cool is it that.. me… with my Bat Mitzvah speech about independent women, in the center of their stories, is tied by date and Torah portion to such an amazing bubby! 

For my Bat Mitzvah project, I decided to help others in what has turned out to be a very timely cause. I have been working with an Immagration aid service in Ottawa helping to resettle refugees through the “From House To Home” project. This project was started by a local, Jewish woman although the refugees she helps are not only Jewish. Until recently, the refugees have been largely from Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Syria though the center has started to plan on settling Jewish Ukrainian refugees shortly. I organized a collection of household items through my school and brought some of my classmates to volunteer at the warehouse a few weekends ago. The organizer of this center, Suzi, is another example of a Jewish woman changing the world around her for the better. 

On Passover, when we tell the story of the Exodus from egypt, we remember how we escaped slavery, persecution, and hardship. While today we are safe in Canada, around the world people continue to struggle. We are commanded to not just tell the story of leaving Egypt but do all that we can to support those people who are still in their own places of hardship and persecution. That’s why so many of us are working to support the people of Ukraine, and why we continue to tell our story of the Exodus every year.

Thank you too……..

I am grateful to now be taking my place, not only as a Jewish adult, but as a Jewish woman and will never take for granted the opportunities that I have. 

Thank you and Shabbat Shalom!

If you understand thinsg from this speech, please write a comment!

Do you know the Gilmore Girls?

Have you ever had a coincedence in your life?

Thank you for reading this post!

In class this week, my class and I did a “Learning Style Quiz” to see what type of learner we are.

My results came back mostly even but I dominate in visual learning. 

Visual learners learn by seeing pictures and these students understand and remember things by sight. They can picture what they are learning in their head and learn best using visual materials like charts, graphs, and pictures. 

It is often difficult to learn just by listening and often get distracted by sounds. 

I am almost completely like that. I learn by looking at pictures and charts. I get distracted by the slightest noises and sounds. I can visualize what someone is talking about in my head. 

But I also have characteristics of a tactile learner and an auditory learner. 

Auditory learners remember things they have heard. It is much easier to read out loud than in their head. It often appears that they aren’t paying attention although they are probably hearing and processing everything being said.

Most of these things are incorrect for me except, I am always listening even if I am not looking. I remember things people have said and less what they are wearing. 

And finally, I am part tactile learner. Tactile learners understand things through physical movement. These learners are “hands on” students who prefer to touch, move, build, or draw what they learn. These students need frequent breaks or to move around. They also often have a fidget or something in their hands. 

I am like this, because I always need a fidget or an elastic. I like to solve a Rubik’s Cube during class, but it might seem I am not paying attention but in fact it is the opposite. I can’t learn when I am staying still. I need to have breaks or to constantly be moving around. 

So now that you know what type of learner I am, why don’t you take a quiz to find out what type of learner you are. 

Thank you for reading this post.

In Hebrew class, we were assigned an assignment to write a story based around what is happening in the pictures.

Here is my result;

One day, a boy is walking in the rain and he sees a sad and cold dog. The boy brings the dog home and takes care of the dog. Once the dog is healthy, he brings the dog to his owner.

I am looking forward to the winter break because I get to spend time with my family with no homework. But this year my sister needs to get vaccinated so I am not going anywhere. The cold weather is annoying but the snow is pretty. I don’t know what I am going to do during the break but I am very excited for some relaxing time for monopoly!

Dear My Mom,

Thank you for all you do, raising me and helping me become a

smart and strong young lady.

Thank you for always listening to me even if I am speaking pure craziness.

I will love you for everything because of that.

I also appreciate the times when you try to help me even if you

don’t believe me for telling the truth.

Thank you so very much

Audrey

Friends are so important to our life. You trust them with things that mean a lot to you. Friends can suprise you in good and bad ways, and sometimes friends end up being people that you would least expect.

The best quality in a friend is defenitly trust. If a friendship doesn’t have trust then it won’t last long. If I tell my best friend a secret and I find out from someone else that they betrayed me and told someone, I will be really angry and probreably get in a fight.

Trust your friends in order to be trusted by them

What do you think the best quality in a friend is?

At our school, the middle school retreat is a time when grade 6,7 and 8 usual go to a sleep away camp for a few days but because of covid we had to do differnt things instead. On the first day we did an obstacle course. The second day we went white water rafting and on the third day was activities.

My favorite part was the white rafting because I love swimming and water. I loved hanging out with my friends and eating lunch on a rock at the base of a waterfall. But I also disliked the wetsuits we had to wear.

This year i will participate in the yearbook and maybe run for class representative (class president).

Have you every been white water rafting?

Tell me yours stories

Thank you for reading this post!