It’s Kislev – is your pocket full of heart?

Want to see something cool?

Both of my kids’ schools are making a huge deal out of something I’ve literally never noticed. The name of the current Hebrew month, Kislev (כסלו), can be divided - with only a little wizardry - into two separate words: kis (כיס/pocket) and lev (לב/heart). (That’s the wizardry – the “vav” is swapped out for a “vais”/”vet”.)

So GZ brought home this “mitzvah note” project from Kitah Alef (Grade One), where we have to use this month fill up his “pocket” with love and nachas.

Which I think is just an absolutely terrific excuse to praise a kid who’s three months into his first real year of school and hovering halfway between feeling confident because he knows the routines and feeling like he’s drowning in the despair that comes from realizing there are so many months (and years) still to go.

Very cool. Why didn’t they do this at either of my kids’ Jewish schools back in Canada? No idea.

A good friend of mine growing up, who moved from Russia to Israel and then to Canada, told me he acquired his overwhelming love of puns because they didn’t exist in Hebrew. But from what I’ve seen, Israelis love puns and use them often; the cheesier, the better. And in this case, a little pun can do a lot of good for your kids’ self-esteem.

Sort of like a little “kiss”… straight to their “lev.”

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Tzivia / צִיבְיָה

[kiss photo credit: Yogi via Wikimedia]

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