Oy Vei

We had a group of fifth graders this week from a Jewish Orthodox school abbreviated SAR (each letter pronounced individually), but we had been affectionately calling them SARS before their arrival. Here are some highlights from the week.

When the group got off the buses, it was a bad sign when the kids couldn't form a circle like we usually have the groups do. The school they came from is very unique: none of the classrooms have walls that go all the way to the ceiling, and apparently it is quite loud. They are used to learning in a chaotic environment where they aren't disciplined, so we constantly struggled this week to get their attention and keep it. We've never worked with a group that was so poor at listening to and following directions.

The kitchen prepared by aluminum foiling EVERY surface in the kitchen, removing every cooking pot and utensil, and running the oven for 24 hours prior to their arrival. The Rabbi came to bless the kitchen Monday morning and the school brought their own pots and disposable pans, meat and dairy tablecloths, paper plates, cups, and airplane plastic-ware packets to generate a dumpster full of waste this week. The craziest meal we had was a lunch of creative bagels. The available toppings included tuna, pickles, cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream (all kosher with the Orthodox Union, symbol of course). Oh, and hot chocolate with whipped cream as a beverage option.

The part that was most surprising about this week was how isolated these kids were from the non-Jewish world. All of them live in a Jewish bubble, and they couldn't grasp the concept that I had no religion. I told them my parents had been Catholic, but hadn't raised me with any religion. One girl asked, "But how can you convert to nothingness?"

I had fun asking them questions as well. Like at one dairy meal, I asked, "What would happen if I came over to the table and set down a plate of meat?" They were shocked and said, "But that's never happened before!" One girl suggested they would all lift their plates off the table and could continue eating that way. Most have two sets of dishes, two sinks, two dishwashers at their house, etc. to keep kosher. They live in a community where there are plenty of kosher restaurants: no Mickey D's, but there is a Burger World. None of them have ever eaten at a McDonald's in the U.S., but they all assured me there is a kosher McDonald's in Israel.

The highlight of the week, though, was during Quiet Sing. Every evening, the musically inclined staff lead songs on their guitars before we dismiss the kids for bed. One night, the Rabbi came out of nowhere with the guitar he had brought to start playing along to "Rhinestone Cowboy." At one point, my boss turned to him at a break in the music and yelled enthusiastically, "Hit it, Rabbi!"

Oy vei, indeed.