Shalom Atid Families,
In this week’s Parsha, Vayechi, we read that when Jacob was 147 years old, he asked Joseph to bury him in the land of Canaan when he died. Joseph swore that he would fulfill his father’s request. Later, weakened by illness, Jacob blessed Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who had come to be with him.
“And he blessed them that day, saying: “In your name shall the people of Israel invoke this blessing- May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh…” (Genesis 48:20)
Jacob then proceeded to evaluate and predict the future of his twelve sons. Traditionally on Shabbat, we bless our children. Jacob’s blessing has become the blessing for sons. Many wonder why Jacob chose to bless his grandsons before his twelve sons, sources suggest it was because these were the first set of Biblical brothers not to fight. Ephraim and Manasseh were born and raised in a secular Egypt where morality was low and yet they were able to remain faithful to the morals and ideals that their father Joseph raised them with.
The Shabbat Blessing for a Son
English: May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe
Transliteration: Ye’simcha Elohim ke-Ephraim ve hee-Menashe
The Shabbat Blessing for a Daughter
English: May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.
Transliteration: Ye’simech Elohim ke-Sarah, Rivka, Rachel ve-Leah.
The Shabbat Blessing for Children
(After the above is recited, many recite the following priestly blessing)
English: May God bless you and protect you. May God’s face shine toward you and show you favor. May God look favorably upon you and grant you peace.
Transliteration: Ye’varech’echa Adonoy ve’yish’merecha. Ya’ir Adonoy panav eilecha viy-chuneka. Yisa Adonoy panav eilecha, ve’yasim lecha shalom.
This Shabbat, as a family, try reciting the Shabbat Blessings for Children. It is traditional to put your hands on the child’s head.
As a family, discuss what the experience was like.
What other qualities do you hold and wish to bless each other with?
What qualities did Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah have that we want to bless our children with?
Your partner in Jewish learning,
Luisa
Kitah Alef (K-2)
Teacher: Limor Dahan
Sunday we:
-reviewed all the Hebrew letters we have learned so far and made sure each students Alef Bet book is up to date. -learned the letter hay ? in Hebrew
-using our Let’s Discover The Synagogue booklets we explored the sanctuary and the special objects that are in the sanctuary.
-explored Havdalah – the separation between Shabbat and the rest of the week, the kids each made their own spice bag and in the end of the morning we went to Meirav’s class and did the Havdalah service.
Have a great week and stay warm.
Kitah Bet (3-4)
Teacher: Meirav Shahar
Sunday we:
-learned about Havdalah, the ceremony that separates Shabbat and the rest of the week.
-learned how we use our five senses in Havdalah:
We see the light of the candle, we feel the warmth of the fire, we smell the spices, we hear the blessings and we taste the wine.
-did a fun set of experiments of the senses
(we tasted and smelled different things with our eyes closed and tried to find out what they were.
We tried to guess items from a grab bag using only our sense of touch. We had to determine where a sound was coming from using our sense of hearing. We determined differences in height with our sense of sight!)
-worked on our Hebrew books from pages 31-37 on the subject of Havdalah and learned a new vowel of Sh’va.
Our tzedakah total as of today: $161.82!….Lets keep that going!
Kitah Gimel (5-6)
Teacher: Yosef Landy
Sunday we:
-weighed the pros and cons of lying vs. telling the truth
-Students provided examples of lying and the way they felt afterwards
-took turns reading through the story of Jacob and Eisav’s blessing.
-After reading through the story, we reviewed the lies in the story. We also put Jacob on trial (where students pretended to prosecute Jacob in trial – one student was a prosecutor, another a judge, another a defense lawyer and another as Jacob)
-Students were introduced scenarios in which they had to decide to lie or tell the truth
-As a wrap up for the first lesson, we concluded that different scenarios arise throughout life, that puts us in a position of lying/telling the truth. It is up to the individual to think of the consequences of either decision.
– discussed the term “Bal Tashchit” and how Jewish law protects the environment (the land of Israel)
-Students provided examples of waste (garbage, pollution, etc), and introduced ways we can reduce it
-We watched a video about preserving wildlife in Israel
-In conclusion, students came up with ways we can protect the environments near us
Questions for take home:
1. Has your child ever lied to you? Have you ever lied to your child? If so, how did you feel about lying/being lied to? What are ways you can set an example of honesty?
2. Protecting the environment is important. What are ways YOU are protecting the environment? Are there other ways you can help out? (reduce plastic usage, recycle more, compost, etc).
Mark Your Calendar:
SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, February 11, 2017 Youth Shabbat/ Game Shabbat
