“Fun!” That’s what Daniel David Slate, known as Danny, 10, thinks about Cub Scouts. In particular, he said, “it’s fun to earn awards.”
He ought to know. Besides earning the pins and patches that all Cub Scouts do, Danny, a Los Altos resident and fourth grader at Springer School, has independently earned the Aleph Emblem, the Jewish religious award for Cub Scouts.
The Cub Scout religion award is available for boys of any faith or denomination, embodying the Scouting tenet that devotion to God is an important part of good character.
While all Cub Scouts must fulfill some religion requirements, only a few boys take the time and effort to earn their religious emblem.
Danny had watched Chris Siegal, another Cub Scout from Pack 36, receive the Aleph Emblem last year. When he started Hebrew school last fall, Danny worked with his mother, Jan Pepper, and the principal of his Hebrew school, Simone Schweber, to complete a detailed set of requirements over six months. Danny did reports on famous Jews like Albert Einstein and Louis Brandeis, learned Hebrew alphabet and language, and studied Jewish customs, holidays, and objects, filling a notebook with his work.
Schweber presented Danny with the Aleph Emblem on May 22 before Cub Scout Pack 36 of Springer School. Family and friends gathered for the awards ceremony at the Mountain View Scout Hall. Schweber asked Danny to demonstrate some of his knowledge, and he acquitted himself with poise and humor.
Finally, Schweber led the audience in a short Hebrew prayer for Danny. The applause for him was loud and long.
Kathy Wright, Danny’s den leader for the last three years, said, “Danny is a hard working Cub Scout. When he takes on something, he takes it very seriously. Cub Scouts like Danny make it all worthwhile.”
Outside of school, Danny plays computer games and collects insects, among his hobbies.
