Change in calendar

Hi everyone,
Hope you are all enjoying the lovely weather we are having.

This is to remind you that our Sunday Funday class will be at our locale in Paris on May 9th at 3pm. We will be learning about Shavuoth, the holiday celebrating the giving of the torah
See you there !

Next month :
June 13th - Sunday Funday party ! All welcome !

YOM HA ATZMAOUT

Yom Ha’atzmaout is Israel Independence Day… and guess what we are celebrating it TODAY! This is the second part of our lesson we missed. I am not going to give a complete history lesson to 3-6yr olds but just a few highlights of Israel and also introduce a few important people who without their dreams and vision the state of Israel may still be a plan on paper.

In the story of Jacob we see how Israel became a people. Today, Israel is a nation and a country.
Where is Israel ? If you look on a map you will see it in the middle of three continents : Africa, Asia and Europe.

This is the map of Israel :

In the north, the top end, it is very green. This area is called the Galil. Down towards the bottom, the south, it is very dry. This is desert area. This area is called the Negev. In the middle of Israel, the east (on your right hand side) this is very hilly. On your left handside, the left, it is flat. Most Israelis (that is what the people who live in Israel are called, like we say the French for people who live in France), well they live along the seaside. The Israeli’s speak Hebrew.

Look herebelow and you will see the Israeli flag.

This flag is called the degel. On Yom Ha’atzmaout people in Israel and elsewhere in the world where we have celebrations wave the flag. The jewish star, we call it the Magen David (a shield of David) and it is in the middle of the flag. It has been the symbol of jewish people for a long long time now. The two blue lines looks like the lines on a tallit (prayer shawl) .

How to draw the star of david

http://www.wikihow.com/Draw-the-Star-of-David

The story of modern Israel goes back a long time ago.

There were a few people who had a special dream and ambition. Let me introduce to them :

Theodor Herzl – the idea
He was a journalist in Austria more than 100 years ago. He dreamed that the Jewish people too could have their own home, just like the French who have France, the English who have England and so on... He wrote a book called “The jewish state” and in this book he told peole that they should work to build a new country for the Jewish people. He travelled all over the world to meet many important people and to try to convince them to build a jewish country. Many thought he was crazy. But he wasn’t scared of doing something difficult. He always said ‘if you will it, its not a dream.” Israel became a country 52 years after he wrote this book.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda – the hebrew language
Before most Jews spoke the language of the country they lived in. Eastern European Jews spoke Yiddish. Hebrew was the language of the torah. When Elieze Ben Yehuda was young he became a Zionist, that is someone who wanted to build a homeland for the jewish people. He knew that if this was to be so they would need a language for their homeland where everyone would be able to understand each other. SO he decided that since hebrew of the torah was the common language that would be the homelands language. The only problem is that the language of the torah was an old, old, old language and did not have modern words for the more modern things like DVD, or cell phone or shower, etc. So he invented new words. He made it possible that hebrew became an everyday language. He wrote the first hebrew dictionnary.

Berl Katznelson – the kibbutz
Berl wanted to help Jews move to Israel. Not many though knew how to be farmers. He too was a Zionnist who believed that Jews needed to reconnect with the land. He believed that working hard with your hands could build something great. Working together and living together was his idea. A kibbutz is a small village with farms and homes where a group of Jews live and work together. On a kibbutz everyone is equal and shares everything. It is hard work. Today many kibbutzim have guesthouses/hotels. You can spend time working in the fields too. Berl also played an important role concerning health issues in Israel's day to day life and had a great influence on young children when he was still teaching hebrew and history...


Menahim Sheinkin founder of Tel Aviv. He was one of the creators of the first hebrew high school in Israel. He was the one who suggested the name Tel Aviv. Tel means hill and Aviv means spring. So whilst hills (tel) is old, a spring (aviv) is new. So Tel Aviv is a mix of old and new. It is the first modern city of Israel. It is also well known for its lovely beaches. Today one of the busiest streets in Tel Aviv is named after him : http://www.sheinkinstreet.co.il/

http://www.telaviv-fever.com/index.php/2009/04/tel-aviv-whats-in-a-name/

David Ben- Gurion - Prime Minister of the state of Israel
He was from Poland. He too dreamed of building a Jewish homeland in Eretz Israel. In 1906, when he was 20 years old he moved to Eretz Israel to help build a new country. He leaves Israel to further his studies and become a lawyer. There was still a lot of work to be done, and returns after the first world war with his wife and his 3 children. He too travelled around the world to convince people of a homeland for the Jews and led the struggle to to establish the State of Israel. He announces Israels Independence and later became the first Prime Minister of Israel through the first national elections.

The national anthem is called Hatikvah which means The Hope. It was first sung in 1948 at the creation of Israel, but only became the official anthem in 2004. There are several artists who released versions of it and you will find an abundance of it on youtube. My favourite version is sung by Ofra Haza. And guess what she grew up in an area of Tel Aviv called Hatikvah...!

Translation of Hatikvah :-

In French :

Tant qu’au fond de l’âme, les juifs en tous lieux

gardent la flamme de retourner chez eux,

alors cette espérance s’accomplira ;

malgré l’errance jamais ne mourra.

L’espoir de vivre au pays promis,

d’y vivre libre après 2 000 ans d’exil,

d’habiter enfin sur la terre d’Israël,

en paix, à Sion, Jérusalem

d’habiter enfin sur la terre d’Israël,

en paix, à Sion, Jérusalem.

In English:

As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul still yearns,
And onward, towards the ends of the east,

An eye still gazes toward Zion;

Our hope is not yet lost

The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Craft : Try drawing the star of David and making your own flag.

Books : I highly recommend Sammy the Spider's First visit to Israel. This is now available both in English and french. Great read with tons of fun information for kids...

Let’s start at the beginning – The story of Jacob

Every story has a beginning and to know Israel’s story we have to go way way back in history.

The story of Israel starts with Abraham and Sarah, the first Jews. Abraham and his wife Sarah had a son called Isaac, and Isaac eventually marries Rebekkah. Rebekkah falls pregnant with twin – two boys. During her pregnancy she feels very uncomfortable and asks God why she feels as though her babies were fighting in her womb. They fought to see who would be born first, Esau won and became the oldest Esau was the oldest brother and his name means ‘hairy’ – he was big and tough and grew up to be a hunter. The youngest was name Jacob, his name means ‘heel-grabber’. Jacob was smart. They were very different. Whilst Esau became a hunter, Jacob was at home dreaming and thinking. One day Esau came home, he was very tired and hungry. Jacob was making soup and it smelled oh so delicious. Esau asked his brother to give him some. He really was very very hungry. But Jacob replied, ‘First you must promise to give me your birthright.’ Do you know what birthright is? It means that he took the ‘right’ to own all his father’s stuff after his father dies. Before this was always given to the older brother. And guess what, Esau actually agreed. This was not the only time Jacob tricked his brother. His mother helped him to disguise himself as his Esau because his father, Isaac was getting old. His father could not see so well anymore. Disguised as his brother Jacob went to see his father and his father blessed him. As soon as he was finished blessing Jacob, Esau came home. His father heard his voice and was confused. Esau was very upset. So Isaac blessed Esau too, but he was still not happy. In fact he became even angrier.

Question:
Do you ever feel a little jealous of your brother or sister, or your best friend? What did you do or say? Perhaps your mom or dad can tell you of a time when they were a bit jealous of their brother or sister?

Rebekkah then said to Jacob that he should leave home and go to her brother, at least until his brother calmed down. So Jacob left for his Uncle Lavans house. Jacob walked for a long time. That night he was so tired he fell asleep and had an amazing dream He dreamt of a ladder that goes up into the heavens. Angels were climbing up and down on it. Then God spoke to Jacob. This land you are lying on is the land I am going to give you and your children and you will have many children...
Then Jacob awoke, he was afraid. He promised that if God took care of him and his family then he will love God for the rest of his life.
Just before he arrives at his uncle he stops to drink. There he meets Rachel. He loved Rachel immediately. He told her that he was her cousin , Rachel was so happy she ran ahead to tell her father. Lavan was very pleased to see him. Jacob worked well and stayed with his uncle. He promised Lavan to work for him for seven years if he coud marry Rachel. Lavan agreed.

Now Lavan had an older daughter named Leah. Lavan wanted to be sure that she too would be married afterall she was the oldest. So on the day of the wedding, he tricked Jacob and switched the daughters. Jacob only realised this but it was too late, he was married to Leah. So he marries Leah and then seven years later he marries Rachel. Later Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter. Then came news that his father Isaac died. Jacob had to go home. He was afraid, afraid that his brother will still be angry with him. He was afraid that his brother would fight with him. But Jacob knew he had to go back home. On his way back he saw two angels. He knew that God was still with him. Jacob arrived in town late that night and decided to wait till morning to see his brother. That night he was alone. That night he wrestled with a stranger. They wrestled all night. No one could win. Then the stranger asked to go, but Jacob said that he would let him go if he blesses him . The angel gave Jacob a new name – Israel. He said that Israel means the one who can wrestle with God’

Jacob remembered wrestling with Esau. The next morning even though he was still afraid , he went to see his brother. And guess what, when he came to his brothers home, Esau was very happy to see his brother. There was no fighting that day.

Summary : Yisrael was the name of a man. This man was Jacob. One night Jacob wrestled with a stranger and got a new name. Yisrael had a large family, he had twelve sons and a daughter. The twelves sons later became known as the twelve tribes of Israel. His family was called B’nei-Yisrael (the family of Israel). The family grew and grew so big it became a nation. This nation is called Yisrael. AM-Israel is the people of Israel :

Song:

Am-Israel Chai
Am Israel Chai
Am Israel Chai
Repeat

Od avinu, od avinu, od avinu chai
Od avinu, od avinu, od avinu chai
Repeat


Activity :
Draw your family tree, try and see how far back you can go...

From Yom Hashoah to Yom Ha'atzmaot

This month our Sunday Funday lesson was suppose to look at Israel’s Independence Day also known as Yom Ha’atsmaot, but our lesson was cancelled and I promised to prepare an online summary of what we would have looked at and learnt. But before I continue I need to stop, be silent and reflect on some words I once read, it went something like this... we cannot think of celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut without remembering Yom Hashoah because without Yom Hashoah there would be no Yom Ha’atzmaut…

What is Yom Hashoah and why is it so important that we remember it.

‘Yom’ is a Hebrew word for ‘Day’ and Hashoah means ‘destruction’. So Yom Hashoah is a day when we remember the destruction of many Jewish families and lives. It is a day of remembrance. Over 6 million Jews perished during the holocaust and over 1 million of which were children. . Yesterday, in Paris like all over the world Jews remembered this day. It is a day of mourning, the day we remember and honor those who died.

It is our Jewish duty to remember those who have passed on, but it is also our duty as parents to never forget what happened and even more so to ensure that it never happens again.
How can we as parents help our kids to remember without overwhelming them? Perhaps a visit to the Holocaust museum, reading an age appropriate book or talking of your family history.

At Yom Hashoah commemoration ceremonies we light six candles to remember the six million who died and we say special prayers – the kaddish being one. But what about simply doing as many Dutch families do - in The Netherlands many families have a vase with 6 yellow tulips. 6- to remember the six million who perished, yellow to remember the star they had to sew onto their clothes , and tulips because it is the time of the year when tulips bloom and the same time we remember...
Remember a day that the home of many were taken away, the day they could not return and the day many did not return…
And for so many of those whose home were taken away, today they found a new home in Eretz Israel

Lesson for Yom Ha’atzmaut to follow…

A Yom Hashoah story for younger children

“THE TATTOOED TORAH” by Marvell Ginsburg



This is the story of a little tattooed Torah. It was always little but not always tattooed. Here is how it became tattooed. Many, many years ago, before you were born, when your grandparents were children, Little Torah lived in a handsome, wooden Aron Kodesh that had a velvet, purple parochet. It was in an old, beautiful synagogue in the city of Brno in Czechoslovakia. In the Aron Kodesh, with Little Torah, were many big Torahs wearing soft, velvet mantles of scarlet, purple, and blue, Little Torah was very proud to be there with them. Some big Torahs had silver crowns. Little Torah thought they looked like kings and queens. One day everything changed. Little Torah shivered. It heard a different kind of marching sound. It was not the sound of Jewish people marching into synagogue on Shabbat. It was not the sound of Jewish people marching into synagogue on a holiday. It was not the sound of children and grown-ups marching in the Simchat Torah procession. It was loud, mean marching, with loud, mean talk. Nazi soldiers were marching into Little Torah's town - into Brno! Their evil leader, Hitler, had started a war against the whole world. They marched into the synagogue. They ripped open the parochet. They pulled down the big Torahs. They threw off the silver crowns and jingling bells. Then they grabbed Little Torah. They didn't hug and kiss Little Torah. They didn't hold it gently in their arms and march happily and sing Hebrew songs. They were rough. They threw Little Torah on a pile of Torahs in the back of a dark truck. Little Torah cried. Many hours later, the truck stopped in the city of Prague. The Nazi soldiers opened the back of the truck. They took all the Torahs into a large warehouse where other Torahs from all over Czechoslovakia were stored. "We're getting rid of the Jews, forever," they jeered. "But we’ll keep their Torahs for souvenirs. Ha, Ha! We'll tattoo a number on each one. And we'll put the numbers in our record book so we'll know from which town they came." Little Torah was very angry. "They have no right to tattoo a Torah! A Torah is the most precious possession of the Jewish people and the whole world!" Day after day, Little Torah heard the Nazi soldiers march into the warehouse, saying mean things and bringing in fresh truckloads of Torahs. Day after day, numbers were tattooed on the Torahs and swastika tags were wired onto them. Day after day, numbers were put in the record book. Then it was a new day and the war was over. Friendly soldiers, called the Allied Forces, had won the war against the Nazis. The Nazis were gone from Brno. They were gone from Prague. But Little Torah still remained in the warehouse, because there were no Jews left in Brno to take Little Torah home. Many years after the war ended, a Jewish man named Arthur Weil was asked by his children's Hebrew school principal to find a small Torah light enough for young children to hold during services. After searching and asking where he could find such a Torah, Mr. Weil finally went to Prague. There, he was taken to the warehouse where all the Torahs from the synagogues all over Czechoslovakia had been stored by the Nazis. In the warehouse in front of him were hundreds of Torahs on rough wooden shelves - 1,500 of them. Mr Weil then flew to London where he went to Westminster Synagogue. He told the people abut the Torahs in the warehouse. "We must save those Torahs," he told them. The people shouted, "Yes, yes. We must save the Torahs!" And they did. They all gave money until they had enough to put all 1,500 Torahs on airplanes and fly them to London to be cleaned and repaired - all 1,500 including Little Torah. That's when Mr. Weil discovered and chose Little Torah. Now, again, Little Torah began to feel proud. "Oh, what a wonderful Torah," exclaimed Mrs Weil when she saw it. "It is just the right size for the children to hold. They will love it." "Yes," agreed Mr Weil. "Now we must build a special Aron Kodesh and a special parochet, the right size for our little Torah." And that's just what they did. When the new Aron Kodesh and parochet were finished, the school principal invited all the children, their parents, grandparents, and teachers to a special service in honour of their new little Torah. Little Torah shivered with joy as it was taken from the ark and everyone marched in the procession. Little Torah was bursting with pride. What a wonderful, wonderful day - even better than a Bar Mitzvah.