The object that generated the most interest was a long, twisted antelope horn known as a Shofar that is sounded on special occasions, including Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. Flom sounded a few notes on it, to much applause.
Temple Emanu El was one of three stops students made Tuesday during a walking tour that provided first-hand exposure to the faith traditions they are currently studying under social studies teacher Barry Sarna.
“Seventh-grade curriculum has a lot of religion in it from a historical standpoint. I thought it would be a great idea if we could come visit the church or synagogue,” Sarna said. “And then I thought we could not only do it, but do it cheaply, or free.”
In addition to the synagogue, destinations included St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church and First United Methodist Church.
“It has grown every year,” Sarna said. “They all know what they are doing, the rabbis and priests. And they have good time with it, and they are so happy to welcome us in.”
Students said that the walk is just one creative approach their teacher uses to teach them about the influence of Christianity, Judaism and Islam during the Middle Ages.
On one occasion, he staged a mini-reenactment of a medieval battle in which the students had to defend themselves against flying wads of paper using their text books, said 13-year-old Alexia Hatun. Another time, he gave them a taste of the corruption of the medieval Roman Catholic Church.
“He had us take a test he knew we would fail,” Alexia said. “It was all fake, but it was to teach us about the selling of indulgences.”
Fr. John Collins, pastor at St. Robert Bellarmine, explained the church’s liturgical calendar, the priests¿ vestments and the significance of the baptismal font.
