LET THE PASSOVER FUN CONTINUE

After the Seder, then what?
Yes, the Seder is the main event, but we don’t want children to lose sight of the Passover message after the Seder is over. How can we get across the concept of freedom during Hol Hamoed, or if we want to stretch it, on the first day of school after the Passover vacation?

Here’s a quick, cute and fun way. It’s one of the most creative Passover customs that I’ve come across. On the 7th night of Passover the Ger Hassidim in Jerusalem get together in their shteibel (small synagogue) to reenact the crossing of the Red Sea. They throw a barrel of water on the floor, lift up their long coats and “wade” through the water, calling out the different names of towns on the way to Ger. In contemporary kid terms, they create their own mini water park. What and how you do it in your class or at home, are up to you. One thing is certain: it will be a splash!

Chag Sameach.
Have a wonderful and meaningful Passover.

Play-Full Passover Customs for the Seder

With Passover right around the corner, we’re all asking: “how can we make this year’s Seder different from all Seder nights in the past?” The answer is simple if you incorporate a few Sephardi customs plus one from Hungary, and tie them all together.

If you’re familiar with my book Passover Around the World you know that Turkish Jews literally have a first act to their Seder. As the Seder leader breaks the middle matzah in half and covers one part for the afikomen, a designated guest leaves the table, slips into a costume, returning as an Israelite – much like the illustration above from my book.

They then put on a little play that goes like this:

A knock is heard at the front door.

Seder Leader: Who could that be?
The Seder leader gets up and opens the door wide so everyone can see the guest.
Seder Leader: Where are you coming from?
Guest: The land of Egypt
Seder Leader: What!! You’re no longer a slave?
Guest: No. Now I am free.
Seder Leader: And where are you going?
Guest: To Jerusalem

At that point everyone sitting around the table applauds and the guest is invited in.

I’ve discovered two more customs that sound like a lot of fun and easily complement the Turkish script. The first one comes from Yemen, where in many households it was the Seder leader who pretended to be one of the Israelites. Using a wood cane, he would walk around the table, telling everyone about his life as a slave and the miracles he witnessed. Let’s say we stick with the Turkish script and give it a Yemenite twist. After everyone applauds and the guest steps in, the guest circles the table, recalling life as a slave. When s/he finally sits down, a custom practiced by some Egyptian Jews can then be incorporated – tying a piece of Matzah into a small sack made out of a napkin, placing it on one’s shoulder (the same way a slave would carry an object), then passing it around the table from shoulder to shoulder. My suggestion here is to continue the play. Have everyone say something as the matzah “sack” is placed on his/her shoulder. Finally, let’s get the Ashkenazim into the act with a custom practiced by some Hungarian Jews. They decorate their Seder tables with gold and silver jewelry as a way of remembering the precious metals the Egyptians gave the Israelites, hoping that the plagues would stop. My suggestion: when you reach the 10 plagues, stop either before or after the 10th plague and have some of the Seder participants pretend they are Egyptians offering their jewels to the Israelites, begging them to end the plagues.

If I’ve gotten your creative juices flowing, write up the entire script and try it out in the classroom, at your home Seder, or both. Want to share it with me? Send your script to tami@tlwkidsbooks.com and I’ll post it.

Interested in more customs? Please visit my website to find out about my book Passover Around the World.

Finally, a quick reminder: Don’t forget to take advantage of this exclusive offer for TAMI LEHMAN-WILZIG KIDS BOOKS readers! Kar-Ben Publishing is offering 10% off your next order. Go to their online store and use coupon code TAMI when checking out. Offer expires August 10, 2009. One use per customer. Offer not valid with any other discounts.

Purim Stands for Precipitation

What’s the meteorological connection with Purim? Coming from Israel, I can tell you that the rule of thumb is it always rains on Purim – it’s the last winter downpour. Now that I’m in Providence for the year, and we’ve just experienced a classic, major snowstorm, I’m beginning to wonder if it will snow on Purim. If it does, ironically I just stumbled on a Bukharan Purim custom that will fit the bill. Since Purim always coincided with the snowy season, Jewish Bukharan children built a snowHaman next to the synagogue. His head was large with charcoal eyes, a carrot nose and a beetroot mouth (sound familiar?). His hat was made out of a broken pot. Meanwhile, his physique was equally odd -- funny-shaped torso with long thick elephant-like legs. This snowHaman was not meant to melt naturally. After the meal, the whole community got together and surrounded their snow creation with wood, rags and paper – all of which were used to light a large fire. With the fire lit, they sang Purim songs while watching snowHaman melt in the heat. So if Mother Nature decides she wants to give us one last blast of freezing snow this Purim, you might consider this fun way of keeping warm outdoors.
For your classroom: Explain the origins of Bukharan Jews

True, I did say one custom per holiday, but I just couldn’t resist sharing this with you.

I’ll be back after Purim with an unusual Passover custom. In the meantime, don’t forget to take advantage of this exclusive offer for Tami Lehman-Wilzig Kids Books readers. Go to Kar-Ben Publishing’s online bookstore and get 10% off your next order. Use coupon code TAMI when checking out. Offer expires August 10, 2009. One use per customer. Offer not valid with any other discounts.

Purim Same'akh!

This Purim, Let’s Take a Look at the Country Where the Holiday Began

Iran and its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are making headlines all the time. Having a modern-day Haman bent on the destruction of the Jewish State feels like déjà vu. It also makes me curious as to how Iranian Jews celebrate Purim. Here’s what I’ve found:

When Israel was established in 1948 the Jewish population in Iran numbered 100,000. By 2006 that number had dwindled down to a little under 11,000. For obvious reasons, I can’t tell you exactly how Jews in Iran observe Purim today, but I can tell you what happened in the past.

While Purim provided Iranian Jews with a reason to celebrate, by and large it was considered a serious holiday. The story of Purim was so much a part of the Jews' consciousness, that they traveled to Esther and Mordechai’s tomb throughout the year. The tomb – located in the city of Hamadan – still stands and is considered an important shrine thanks to Esther’s status as Queen of Persia. Want to see the tomb?

If Iranian Jews couldn’t make it to Israel and the Kotel HaMaaravi (Western Wall), this was the place to go to cry and pray.

For the Jews of Iran, Purim was very much a part of their persona. Religious and secular Jews kept “Ta’anit Esther” – the Fast of Esther observed the day before she revealed her Jewish identity to Akhashveirosh and told him about Haman’s plot to kill the Jews.

Jewish children in Iran did not get dressed up in carnival costumes. They did make a Haman puppet with a triangular hat and pull the puppet on the floor behind them, as though he were their slave. Since the date of Purim was very close to that of the Iranian New Year, children often received gifts and coins. That certainly sounds like the same influence Christmas customs have had on the way we celebrate Hanukkah!

What about Hamentaschen? That’s another Western invention. The favorite Purim dessert for Iranian Jews is halva with the consistency of a Mexican flan. Halva is associated with events of happiness – such as weddings – and sadness, such as a shiva. Purim is the perfect bridge. It begins with the misery of Haman’s evil intentions but ends with the merriment of victory. Nothing honors the holiday better than mouth-watering halva carved into different theme designs and decorated with almonds, saffron, pistachios and other goodies.

If you want to go all the way, do a web search for an Iranian Halva recipe. Here's one I found.


Try whipping it up with the kids in your class; have them also make a Haman puppet and enjoy an Iranian-style Purim!

In the meantime, don’t forget to take advantage of this exclusive offer for Tami Lehman-Wilzig Kids Books readers. Kar-Ben Publishing is offering 10% off your next order at their online store: Use coupon code TAMI when checking out. Offer expires August 10, 2009. One use per customer. Offer not valid with any other discounts.

To find out more about my books please visit my website
See you soon...

Jewish Holiday Customs Around the World for the Classroom

Shalom:
As many of you know, I am in Providence, accompanying my husband on his Sabbatical at Brown University. I am using this year to travel the country, giving presentations on my books at JCCs, Jewish Day Schools and Hebrew Schools. What has struck me is the year-round interest in my book Passover Around the World. This Sydney Taylor Honorable Mention (2008) has 8 original stories revolving around Passover customs in America, Israel, Gibraltar, Turkey, Ethiopia, India, Iran and Morocco. It also has a “Potpourri” section that includes an additional six customs from around the globe. From the moment this book hit the bookstore shelves, the enthusiasm has been tremendous. So much so, that my publisher Kar-Ben/Lerner commissioned me to do a second book – Hanukkah Around the World – which is scheduled to appear Fall 2009. As my book writing credo is “Added Value”, I have decided to extend it even further by creating a blog dedicated to Jewish Holidays Around the World. Approximately a month before each holiday, I will describe and explain one unusual custom from a foreign land. Interested? In order to automatically receive my blog, all you have to do is contact me: tami@tlwkidsbooks.com
Do you have colleagues that might be interested as well? Send them either my email address or the address of this blog: http://www.tlwkidsbooks.blogspot.com/
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Exclusive offer for TAMI LEHMAN-WILZIG KIDS BOOKS readers! Kar-Ben Publishing is offering 10% off your next order at www.karben.com! Use coupon code TAMI when checking out. Offer expires August 10, 2009. One use per customer. Offer not valid with any other discounts.