This blog is filled with ideas to turn everyday moments into Jewish moments, especially for families with young children.
All in Holidays
One of the four blessings of Havdalah (the ceremony at the end of Shabbat on Saturday night to begin a new week) is for besanim (fragrant spices).
Havdalah is a little space in time when we separate the end of Shabbat from the beginning of a new week. It takes place on Saturday evening when three stars are twinkling in the sky.
Have you ever noticed just how many Jewish holiday traditions revolve around food - challah and chicken soup on Shabbat, hamantaschen cookies for Purim, and potato latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) for Hanukkah (just to name a few).
When I was 14 years old, I visited Israel with my parents and younger brother. It extra special because it was at the beginning of Hanukkah and we were visiting my older brother who was living at the time on Kibbutz Tzora in central Israel,
Hanukkah celebrations wouldn’t be complete without lighting the Hanukkah menorah (also called Hanukiyah). We light the menorah in the evening at sunset when the stars first appear in the sky.
It’s wonderful when children have the opportunity to participate in an act of kindness for someone else. Yesterday, we made mini challahs, and today, we are going to package up them up into little loaves of love for a special challah delivery.
It’s almost the official start of winter! If you find your family spending more time indoors as the weather gets chiller (or looking for meaningful activities to do while your children are on winter break from school), it might be fun on your next Shabbat to take a break from your normal routine and do something special, like bake mini challahs for Shabbat with your children!
One traditional way to celebrate Sukkot is to build and decorate a sukkah! To “build” a sukkah on a small scale, you can make DIY edible sukkahs! Make a lot, and you can invite friends over to have an sukkah decorating party!
Sukkot celebrates the fall harvest. It is the longest and happiest festival of the Jewish year! It began in ancient Israel, when most Jewish people were farmers.
Children of all ages love unicorns! They’re colorful, bright, fun-spirited and full of magic! This first Shabbat of the New Jewish Year (5780) feels a little magical, so we’re celebrating by making this delicious challah.
The Hebrew word for sweet is Ma-tok! Honey comes in many varieties (from flowers, citrus, and even palm trees - if you live in Florida)! It's fun to have a family honey tasting to see which honey tastes sweetest for Rosh Hashanah apple dipping!
What I love most about the Jewish New Year is the opportunity to have a fresh start. Growing up, my mom explained that Rosh Hashanah was a time when you were given a clean slate.
On Rosh Hashanah, apples taste extra sweet because we dip them in honey! A fun way to thank the honeybees for their honey is to learn more about them by visiting at a bee farm!
It's fun to extend the theme of growing and changing for the Jewish New Year by helping your children make their own butterfly wings!
The Hebrew word for butterfly is Par-Par. We thought it would be special for children to take a "butterfly" home from the butterfly garden, so it could watch over them as they grow and change throughout the New Year.
One of my favorite books for the Jewish New Year is Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. While this might not have been written as a "Jewish book," the idea of growing and changing (like a caterpillar into a butterfly) is a Jewish theme for Rosh Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah gives parents the opportunity to talk to our children about mistakes, and say, "I'm sorry." No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, but with each New Year, we can try to do better.
Rosh Hashanah is the perfect time to take your family on a "Birthday of the World" Nature Walk!
A special way to incorporate apples and honey into your Rosh Hashanah celebration is by crafting a fuzzy apple pom-pom necklace.
Cereal necklaces are a wonderful way for small children to practice their fine motor skills and celebrate a holiday!
