If you have never been to Temple Micah Religious School on a Sunday morning, it is difficult to imagine how much goes on. Every inch of space is used, so much so that the fifth, sixth and seventh grades must walk up the street to Saint Albans and hold their classes there.

Let me tell you about a recent Sunday morning.

School starts at 9:30 a.m., and by 9:15, the galleria has begun to fill up with families. Micah Mocha is selling bagels, cream cheese, juice and coffee. Many breakfasts are eaten before we all go into the sanctuary for Boker Tov, a half hour of prayer and music for students and their parents. Rabbi Zemel tells the story of the burning bush, and in all our imaginations his shoe becomes a stick of wood and the flowers on the bimah are a fire. Suddenly, the story of the burning bush becomes much more accessible more accessible for all ages. Teddy Klaus leads the service with wonderful music, and everyone learns how to sing "Hatikvah," as we prepare for Israel's 60th anniversary.

After Boker Tov, students in grades three and up, with their families, remain in the sanctuary for a one-woman performance of the "Anna Shulman: The Queen of H Street." This is a play about a woman who came to Washington and had a dry goods store. She mesmerizes young and old alike with her tales of Washington in the 1930s and her founding of the Jewish Aid Society. Our own Stan Shulman is her grandson, and has graciously sponsored this play.

In the meantime, the kindergarten, first and second grades have learned prayer with Meryl Weiner and music with Klaus. With their teachers, they learn about Tu B'Shevat, what it is to do a mitzvah, Bible stories and Hebrew letters. They do art work, have a snack and have fun being together. There are several madrichim, or student assistants, in these classes, and they are a wonderful addition, helping teachers and becoming friends with the younger students.

Fourth graders are learning about the Jewish life cycle, and they have Teddy bears that go through bar and bat mitzvah, consecration and all Jewish life "with" them. Today, they are beginning to make tallitot for their bears and are learning what the fringes on the tallit mean, where in the Torah we are commanded to wear fringes and how to tie the tzitzit. Our librarians, Ruth W. and Karen M., come into the classes with a cart of books. The students are excited to check out books from the Temple Micah library.

The eighth graders have a guest speaker this morning, the Rev. Mark Schaefer, the United Methodist chaplain at American University. He teaches the students about the Methodist religion, and about some of the differences between Christianity and Judaism. In prior weeks, students in this class have visited a mosque and a Catholic church. Later in the month, the students from Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church will be guests of the eighth grade at a Shabbat service, and Micah and Metropolitan Methodist students will share prayer and pizza together.

In the high school classroom, we have four very special Temple Micah members who have come to share their stories of the Holocaust, World War II and the founding of Israel. Molly C., Eva J., Mace B. and Bob W. tell fascinating stories about their lives and the lives of their families during the first half of the 20th century. Students learn firsthand what it was like to escape from Germany, to fight in the war and to survive when survival seemed impossible.

While all these activities are going on, parents may be found in every corner of the building: drinking coffee and schmoozing with friends, reading the newspaper or simply enjoying sitting quietly by themselves, ignoring the controlled chaos around them. School is over at 12:30 p.m., and by 12:45 you would never know what a busy, interesting, fun and creative morning all have had.