We spent the morning learning and making with Early Childhood Educators at the East Bay Federation Jewish ECE conference. We immersed ourselves in the detailed description of the high priest’s clothing in the week’s Torah portion. The high priest wore two stones on his shoulders, and twelve stones on a breastplate that bore the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Inspired by the Hasidic concepts of Hibat Hakodesh (amplifying and expanding on a section of Torah in resonance with our own unique perspective, while remaining rooted in the source), and the concept of living with the weekly Torah portion, we made our sacred vestments, that (in the words of artist Arielle Tonkin) would position our bodies for the work we want and need to do in this world. What might we wear so that our students, our colleagues, and everyone who plays and has played a part in our role as teacher can be - with specificity! - on our shoulders and on our hearts?
