Dress Up Your Seder Plate with this Moroccan Custom

True, we’ve just finished with Purim, but that doesn’t mean you should pack up your costume kit. If you read my Passover blogs last year, you’ll remember that I suggested a Turkish custom revolving around a play complete with costumes to start the Seder night. If you haven’t read it, then please go into this blog’s archive. I still think it’s a wonderful way to involve children, plus it serves as a great companion for the following Moroccan custom. With the food symbols in place, some Moroccan Jews “dress up” their Seder plate by covering it with a beautiful scarf. It is brought out to the table once all the guests are seated, so that it can be passed around. Apparently the scarf is removed at this point. Background music accompanies this practice, with everyone singing songs expressing a love for Israel. The last stage of this ritual is gently placing the plate on a child’s head and tenderly turning it around so that all can see the different symbols. Although everyone is sitting, this is a custom that keeps you on your feet – one small slip of the plate, and ooops, you’re a slave to cleaning up the mess.

I know you have loads of Passover preparations and lesson plans to get ready, but please don’t tell me you have enough on your plate. This is a custom you can adapt to your classroom. For starters, here’s a link to some favorite Passover songs. The spiritual “Let My People Go” is a perennial favorite. Next, have a scarf beauty pageant. Ask each student to bring in the most beautiful scarf s/he has at home and have a panel of judges decide which is the winning scarf. Finally, hold a model Seder with your class and make sure to start it with the Turkish play from last year, followed by this custom.

Sounds good to you? In two week’s time I’ll bring you another custom to help you get more kids involved on Seder night.

Happy Passover Planning…Tami

Here’s a French Purim Custom that Should Be Carved in Stone

Haman was like Pharoah. He had a heart of stone. Today, the thought of having to live with any type of Haman within our midst leaves us stone cold. Could a combination of these two factors be the reason that French Jews created a unique Purim custom using stones? It seems that at one point in history French Jewish children would take smooth stones and either write or engrave Haman’s name on them. They would then take two stones each to the Megillah reading and bang them together whenever Haman’s name was mentioned. The logic behind this custom lies with the Biblical verse in the Book of Exodus (17:14-16): "And God said to Moshe: Write this for a remembrance in a book, and repeat it in Joshua's ears, that I will surely wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.” We all know that Haman was the Amalek of his time. By smacking the two stones together the children would wear away his name little by little, so that it would be “erased” by the end of the Megillah reading. In my opinion, this custom is not only a unique alternative to groggers but also a timely way to vent our frustrations about today’s Amalek. He comes from the same country as Haman and his name deserves to be erased as well. Anyone for putting the name Ahmadinejad on two stones and using them as this year’s grogger?

I hope you are enjoying my blogs. I’m off to the States so both this blog and Zvuvi will be on vacation for the next 4 weeks.
See you on February 21st.
Le’Hitraot…Tami

Tu B’Shvat is Three Weeks Away: Adapt an Ancient Jewish Green Custom to Your Curriculum

The original “Arbor Day”, Tu B’Shvat, dates back to the second century CE, when Jewish Rabbis were hard at work writing the Mishnah and developing the first ecology lesson plan by creating the “New Year for Trees”. The lesson plan was expanded in the 1600s, by the kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Luria of Safed. Together with his pupils, he began a new tradition – a Tu B’shvat Seder celebrating the fruits and trees growing in the Land of Israel. I found another ancient custom practiced in the Land of Israel, tying in with Tu B’Shvat. Following a child’s birth, a tree was planted on Tu B’Shvat. Cedar trees were planted for boys and cypress trees for girls. As each child grew so did the tree planted for him or her. The pioneers of the modern state of Israel used the same line of thinking by turning Tu B’shvat into a reason to plant trees as a way of symbolizing the rebirth of the Jewish state. The JNF – Jewish National Fund – is responsible for all tree planting in Israel. Their website reports that Israel is only one of two countries in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees. While Israel is not blessed with natural forests, hand-planting has done the trick.

Today we know that planting trees helps reduce pollution because trees filter out pollutants and help the atmosphere stock up on oxygen. So here’s an interesting way to adapt the above ancient Jewish Green custom to your classroom curriculum between now and Tu’Bshvat. How about doing a research project on the different types of trees mentioned in the Bible and how many of these tree types still stand in Israel today? Have your students find out about the benefits of each tree, the kind of soil and climate they require, the types of fruit or flowers that they yield and in what seasons. If you can, take this a step forward by seeing how many of your students have names that stand for trees and ask each one to research his/her name, including the ecological benefits of the specific tree. Let me get you started: My name is Tami, the Hebrew nickname for Tamar, which is a palm tree. Palm trees grow in tropical or warm climates. They are great for the ecology because they are susceptible to very few pests and diseases. Palm trees supply food (dates and sometimes coconuts) and oil. Palm oil can be used for cooking and making soap. In fact, back in the 1700s the English used palm oil as a medication and a hand cream.
I’ll stop here and let the Tamar in your class continue. Do you have students named Alon or Alona to research oak trees? Anyone named Oren who can look into fir trees?
Have a lot of green fun.
Tami

Connecting the Fast of the 10th of Tevet to Jewish Genealogy

Today is the fast of Asarah B’Tevet – the 10th day of the month of Tevet, commemorating the day when Babylonian King Nebuchadnetzar blockaded Jerusalem – the first step to destroying our holy Temple on Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av. In my November 14th post I mentioned an Italian custom linking Hanukkah with Tisha B’Av, an important Fast Day on the Jewish calendar that falls between the curriculum cracks because it occurs during the summer. It’s true that some of you are on vacation until January 2nd, and that once again another Fast Day will get lost in the shuffle, but I still want to provide you with an interesting way to tuck this day into a lesson plan.
Israel has an interesting take on Asarah B’Tevet. In addition to stressing the historic importance of this fast, it has designated the day as Yom Hakaddish Haklali – the umbrella day of mourning for all Jews whose date or place of death is unknown. Last night I happened on a religious radio program discussing this very topic and linking it to Jewish genealogy. That immediately caught my attention since my paternal grandmother was a victim of the Nazi genocide and to this day the family has no idea as to her exact day of death. The radio panel pointed out that these loved ones lost in time can serve as the bond to family roots. To my surprise, I then discovered that Jewish Genealogy has been transformed into an academic subject taught at and promoted by The International Institute for Jewish Genealogy and Paul Jacobi Center at the Hebrew University’s National Library of Israel.The center is certainly not kid oriented but it might give you some good ideas to pursue. In fact, you may want to use the fast of Asarah B’Tevet as your launching pad for a “Family Roots” project that you can start now and end in June. I’ve already talked about Jewish Genealogy and various kid sources to pursue for the classroom in my June 2nd 2009 post, so you may want to go back and have a look. And you may also want to stop and think about the importance of Fast Days. Yes, we want to make sure they go by fast, but behind each day is a lesson in Jewish history that kids should be aware of. FYI: the next fast day falls on February 25th – Yud Aleph B’Adar. It’s Ta'anit Esther -- the Fast of Esther. While Purim is meant to be fun, fun, fun, without fasting Esther wouldn’t have had the courage to expose Haman and his wicked plot. How’s that for “fast” food for thought for your Purim lesson plan?
Kol Tuv...Tami

Connecting the Jews of Avignon, France with Hanukkah & Rashi

We have just finished this year’s first Shabbat Hanukkah, which brings me to a wine & dine custom practiced by Avignon Jews in Southern France. We all know that the French are masters of haute cuisine and wine making. French Jews have taken on these cultural habits as well, applying them to the evening following Shabbat Hanukkah. That’s when the Jews of Avignon open new casks of wine to sample and toast the holiday. Of course something savory accompanies the wine – sugar dusted beignets. Apparently, this deep fried pastry became a French export, eventually reaching the shores of New Orleans. I have found a wonderful, short video clip to show you how to make this treat. Yes, the voice-over accent is not ours and beignets are certainly not the healthiest dish around for the cholesterol and weight-watching minded, but it’s Hanukkah, so if you want, cheat a bit.

Food aside, how can you connect this custom with Rashi? The link is in the wine. Our great Biblical commentator followed in his father’s footsteps of learning Bible while working to make a living. Rashi was an only child born in Troyes, Champagne, located in northern France. His father was a winemaker. When Rashi was five, his father gave him his first Torah lesson and continued to be his Torah teacher until Rashi reached adolescence. Apparently, Rashi learned the trade from his father as well. Common knowledge has it, that like his father, Rashi was a vintner. His extensive knowledge of the utensils used to make wine comes through in some of his commentaries. The importance to stress to students is not the wine, but “Torah ve Avodah” – Torah study and work…and to that we can say “Le’Chayim”.
Happy Hanukkah…Tami

For Kurdistan Jews Hanukkah is a Time to Reuse & Recycle

The three “Rs” – Reduce, Reuse & Recycle – have become today’s environmental mantra. As Westerners who really have it all, we never stop to think that there are Jews who don’t need the ecology cause to practice the “Reuse” principle. Take the Jews from Kurdistan and their charming, low budget way of shedding light on Hanukkah’s oil miracle. Kurdish Jews who could not afford a Hanukkiah used eggshells as cups for wicks and oil. There was no egg on anyone’s face because they didn’t have enough money. On the contrary. Eggs were eaten either for breakfast, lunch or dinner and the cracked egg shells were saved for lighting what I call the Eggnukia, every night. Tell your students to scramble home and try out this neat Hanukkiah alternative. Every which way, it gives the correct message – they’ll learn how to reuse and at the same time not take material goods for granted. If anything, maybe it will prompt them to start accumulating their own nest egg for next year’s Hanukkah presents.

For more Hanukkah customs don’t forget to take advantage of Kar-Ben’s 20% discount on Hanukkah Around the World when you shop at Kar-Ben’s online store. Use the special code TAMI when you check out. This offer is available until January 15, 2010.

Chag Sameach...Tami

The Right Book for Giving Hanukkah 8 New Angles

In four weeks’ time we will be celebrating Hanukkah and I’d like to introduce you to my new book Hanukkah Around the World. If you’re looking for 8 new angles on how to present Hanukkah to your class, this is the book for you. It captures everyone’s imagination by transforming Hanukkah into a trip across the globe through 8 original stories revolving around customs, many of which you’ve never heard of. Take your students on an exciting expedition to Australia, Israel, Italy, Poland, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and the United States. Each story is accompanied by a sidebar giving you the background of the Jewish population in that country plus a matching native recipe. You couldn’t have a yummier way to celebrate each Hanukkah day. The book provides you with even more added value through its intro with unconventional interesting facts, and the “Potpourri” section at the back that includes 10 more customs.

To whet your appetite, let me tell you which story is my favorite. It’s the one that takes place in Turin, Italy describing a very touching custom linking Hanukkah with Tisha B’Av. The latter is an important fast day that falls through the classroom curriculum cracks because it occurs during the summer vacation. By connecting Hanukkah with this most important day on the Jewish calendar you get a chance to make a lasting link that your students won’t forget.

Enjoy the book and let me know what you think. You can benefit from a 20% discount on Hanukkah Around the World when you shop at Kar-Ben’s online store and use the special code TAMI when you check out. This offer is available until January 15, 2010.

I’ll be back in two weeks with an unusual Hanukkah custom.
Tami