I mean, the past few years have been challenging. With COVID, national turmoil, and overall feelings of uncertainty, we can miss out on moments of lightness. It's easy to forget that we are living and not just alive when we fall into the trap of focusing on getting through the day and losing the journey's joy.
I often hear that you should do one thing every day that scares you. I've wondered, what if instead we did something every day that was just for fun or a laugh? For studies have shown that laughter is linked to our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. I'm proud that during my time working at Denver Public Schools, I received the core value pin of 'Fun' from my peers as much as any other core value. Thanks to my Jewish upbringing, I recognized early in life the crucial need to have joy in learning. Traditional education practice can feel like it's missing that piece. Experience has shown me the profound importance of having fun with children outside of educational expectations to build relationships and trust with each other. As an educator, I am known for making silly voices while teaching, incorporating creative movement into lessons, and planning times to celebrate in class.
It's not a coincidence that Judaism has a holiday like Purim, where the fun is built into the mitzvot of the holiday. Purim follows the same rhythm as many Jewish holidays: they wanted to destroy us, we survived, let's eat! While that is a joke, it's also an accurate depiction of how Judaism views fun and survival. Purim is a holiday that reminds us to celebrate being here even when others want to destroy us. Recently, I was explaining Purim to some non-Jewish friends, and they couldn't understand why we dressed up. I had to internally chuckle because there isn't a real halakhic reason other than literally celebrating that we are still here to tell the tales of our ancestors through the mitzvot of reading the megillah and sharing an over-the-top seudah (feast) together.
Thankfully, we are not strangers to fun at HEA. I hear it through the halls during the Preschool's Friday Shabbat Sing. I see it as I've watched Darth Vader dance the hora during our Hanukkah Celebration. I feel it when I watch Religious School students put on a play for the rest of the school. I even smell it when we share Shabbat together every week. Our walls are full of it. So, I ask you again, where did the fun go? Don't fret. It's right here at HEA!
