Chanukah is around the corner...chag sameach !

 
What we learned about chanukah at Sunday Funday ?

Last week we read the story of how the maccabees fought so that we today have the freedom to pray together to go to shul openly.  We read how the Maccabees hid in the hills and after a difficult fight against the greeks, took back the temple and after cleaning rededicated the temple and a miracle happened.  A little bit of oil lasted 8 days...

Today we celebrate hanukkah over 8 days lighting a candle each night :

Lighting the chanukah menorah

The Chanukah candles are lit at sunset.  So when you look out the window and you see three stars then you know you can start lighting the candles. 

The chanukah candles (there are 8 one for each night) cannot be used to light each other, which is why we use the Shamesh Candle to light the Menorah. It's not one of the 8 Chanukah candles, so we set it in a place above the rest.  The Shamesh is also known as the ‘servant candle’.

On Friday night, we have to light them before it gets dark and before we light the Shabbat candles.

How do we light the candles :

We place candles in the chanukiyah from right to left, but we light the candles from left to right. We light them the same way as we read hebrew
On the first night we light one candle on the right side. On the second night we light the new, candle first, starting from the left and moving to the right. We continue this way every night of Chanukah, adding a candle each night.

Before the first night of Chanukah (or the first time on Chanukah you perform this mitzvah), recite all three blessings. On all following nights, say only the first two:

1. Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam A-sher Ki-de-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-tav Ve-tzi-va-nu Le-had-lik Ner Cha-nu-kah.

2. Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam She-a-sa Ni-sim La-avo-te-nu Ba-ya-mim Ha-hem Bi-zman Ha-zeh.

3. Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam She-heche-ya-nu Ve-ki-yi-ma-nu Ve-higi-a-nu Liz-man Ha-zeh


A few pics of the kids working hard making their chanukiyah :  Chag Sameach

 

 

 

 

Sunday Funday chanukah sing along :

 

  

 

Our first Sunday Funday

 

Sunday - Oct 20th, 2013
 
Today we had our first Sunday Funday and we made many new friends.
 
Shalom to Lilah-Liesl, Max, Felix, another Max, Léa, Nathael, Simon, Claire, ...
 
Today we learnt the Shema :  Shema Israel, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad / Hear, O Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is One
 
We also made our homemade mezzuzahs for our bedroom doors.
 
Craft : 
 
Empty or dried out glue stick
Paper to decorate and cut around tube, and another for the lid
Glue
Crayons, markers or stickers
Optional décorate
Tape to mount to doorframe
 
Instructions :
Twist glue stick until bottom of the inner tube is fully extended, then pull straight out. 
You should see the inner spindle around which you will put he scroll later
Color, draw or decorate paper or simply use pretty paper. 
Glue paper around the tube and around the cap
Choose a front side of the tube  and add the letter shin or draw the letter on the front of the decorated paper.
Add any other decoration to the front of the tube, but keep the back smooth
Insert the scroll (with shema noted on it) and mount...

Book :  A mezzuzah on the door,  by Amy Meltzer (Kar-Ben Productions).

A story of a little boy Noah who moves into a new house in the suburbs.  He misses the smells and noises of his old apartment in the city.  Noah has trouble sleeping too.  The next morning his mother says they were having a Hannukat Habayit.  A dedication ceremony of their jewish home.  So they go to a store to buy one for the front doorpost and one for Noahs room.  Noah learns that they use special paper called parchement (just like the torah) and that the words of the shema is written on it, this is then put Inside the mezuzzah.  That night all their old friends come to celebrate. His father places the mezuzah on the front doorpost, they say a blessing :  Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav, vitzivanu lik'bo'a mezuzah

 

We look forward to seeing you all at our next Sunday Funday, Nov 17th when we will be preparing for hannukah !  See you there !

 

CALENDAR 2013-2014

Save these dates / Bloquez ces dates:

20/10/2013  - Mezzuzah / Shema
 

17/11/2013  -  Hannukah :  making our very own menorah

15/12/2013 -  Shabbat, baking challah & making challah covers

12/01/2014 - Tu B'shvat : Let's plant a tree

09/02/2014 - Noah

09/03/2014 - Purim : baking hamantaschen + mischloah manot baskets

06/04/2014 - Pessah

18/05/2014 - Shavuoth

08/06/2014 - picnic

Feel free to contact me / N'hésitez à me contacter :  feldmancs@noos.fr

SUNDAY  FUNDAY



Tomorrow we start our year of Sunday Funday fun !

RDV :  KG17 @ 3pm.  Please bring along something to share for snacktime.


Sunday Funday est de retour et recommence demain.

Rdv chez KG17 à 15h00.  Apporte un petit quelques chose à partager pour le goûter...

Tu Bshvat @ Sunday Funday

Sunday, Jan 27th we celebrated Tu Bshvat at Sunday Funday.

Tu = 15
B' shvat = of the month of shevat.

We talked about the importance of nature, the importance of growing trees.  We learnt the word etz  which is hebrew for trees. 
Tu Bshvat is also known as the New Year of trees, some also say it is the birthday of trees, so we had a cake and sang Yom Holedet Sameach to the etz :-)

We said that trees was important to help us breathe, to shade us from the sun and great place to have picnics.  Trees are a great place to play as well, we could have a swing in it, a tree house, or just climb on its branches for fun...but we also said that trees gives us fruit and vegetables to eat,.

We then drew tree decorations, planted seeds in a cup and decorated it.  Once our little tomatoe trees start sprouting we will replant them so that we could have some cherry tomotoes for our passover seder.

We had a mini seder.   A seder is a meal with a special order, just like at passover :

We said the bracha for the grape juice :

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melekh haolam, boray pri hagafen.

We drank four cups of different grape juice. We mixed white grape juice with the red. We saw how the colour changed.  We spoke about the different seasons and colours we see outside. 

1st cup — all white grape juice, symbolizing the cold weather of winter and the land covered in snow.  We saw lots of snow this winter !


2nd cup — white with a little red mixed in, symbolizing the coming of spring. We are all looking forward to sprring when our cherry tomatoes will be growing !

3rd cup — red with a little white mixed in, symbolizing the warmth of spring
4th cup — all red, symbolizing the heat of summer and the full blossoming of nature.

We learnt the blessing for fruit :
Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melekh haolam, boray pri haetz.

We also ate different kinds of fruit which grows on trees and which grows in Israel.

Adding the sand to plant our seeds...

 

Abigail - all set to go !

 Toby nearly there...  look at those green fingers

Our mini seder...

Hannukah with Sunday funday friends

 

 

The kids hard at working making their ceramic

 menorahs with much excitement for the holidays...

 

 

Challah making with Sunday Funday

Sunday, November 25th our little bakers rolled up their sleeves and got their little hands covered in flour and dough as they learnt to braid and bake challah, they decorated challah covers and learnt the bracha.  We even had time to celebrate Abigail's birthday !