Family Education

Shalom,
Family Education is so important on many levels. It is our goal to enrich the Jewish lives of parents and students at school and in their homes. We also need to facilitate connections between families in the school to create a school-wide community. We need to create avenues (printed information, items to borrow, etc) that will enrich parents’ understandings of Jewish values, Jewish holidays and other aspects of Jewish life. We should offer school-based or non-school-based programming for children, parents and families. Ultimately we need to try to help families make Jewish connections during and beyond the preschool years.

Some Ideas:

Mom’s Night Out Mezuzah Making
Go to a Local Pottery place and have each of the Moms make their own Mezzot. Do a mini teaching on the reason why we hang Meuzzot on doorposts. Provide a list of Websites where they can order a Kosher scroll for the Mezzot.

On the doorposts of traditional Jewish homes you will find a Mezuzah. (Heb.: doorpost), because it is placed upon the doorposts of the house. The mezuzah is not, as some suppose, a good-luck charm, it is a constant reminder of G-d's presence and G-d's commandments. The commandment to place mezuzot on the doorposts of our houses is derived from Deut. 6:4-9, a passage commonly known as the Shema (Hear, from the first word of the passage). In that passage, G-d commands us to keep His words constantly in our minds and in our hearts, by (among other things) writing them on the doorposts of our house. The words of the Shema are written on a tiny scroll of parchment, along with the words of a companion passage, Deut. 11:13. On the back of the scroll, a name of G-d is written. The scroll is then rolled up placed in the case, so that the first letter of the Name (the letter Shin) is visible (or, more commonly, the letter Shin is written on the outside of the case).

Challah Baking
“Mmm… Challah!” Everyone love to eat Challah on Shabbat! Bring in a baker or get a group of parents together and make Challah. Provide an explanation as to why we eat Challah.

On Shabbat every Jew is commanded to eat three meals (one on Friday night and two on Saturday). In Judaism, a "meal" includes bread. Hence, Jews will traditionally eat Challah at the beginning of their Shabbat meal. As with any other type of bread, the blessing "Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha'olam, hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz" is recited before the Challah is eaten. Translated, it means "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth." One of the greatest mitzvah that Jewish woman have is the privilege of performing the mitzvah of separating the Challah. (Men are also required to separate the Challah if they are the one making Challah). The two Challot (pl. of Challah) placed on the Shabbat table is called Lechem Mishneh (Double Bread or Extra Bread), because before Shabbat Hashem brought down a double portion of mann (manna) for each person. (Shemot 16:4-5, 14-16). It is traditional to cover the challot with a Challah cover representing the mann that was covered above and below with dew from heaven.

L’Shalom,
Lori Kowit
Gannon Gil Preschool of The Temple-Tifereth Israel
lkowit@ttti.org
Beachwood, Ohio