Adventures in Mama-Land

Our older daughter is engaged!!!  We are so utterly overjoyed.  If you are among the many, MANY people we care about who weren't able to make it to the vort tonight (given that it was held in Toronto with only 3 days' notice), I wanted to share this with you.  Know that we were thinking of you and are sharing our simcha in spirit if not in real live actual person. Speaking after the father of the chosson and one of his rebbes, I could have gone on and on and on all night – you know me – but I was told we only had 3 minutes to speak, so this was it.  Enjoy! ----- In this week’s parsha, Balak, an unusual thing happens. After Bilam tries to curse Am Yisrael, he comes up with another plan, to lead them into avoda zara through Midianite women. When this happens, Moshe Rabbeinu is not only silent, but he stands weeping. This is one of only few times in the Torah that Rashi says “nitalmu mimenu halacha,” the halacha was concealed from Moshe. There are five places in the To...

Do you know what Judaism teaches about reincarnation? Many people are surprised to hear that this is even part of our worldview. I read on Chabad.org that the reason we aren’t aware of previous incarnations is because if we were, we wouldn’t be able to have complete free will. Because of this, learning what Judaism teaches about reincarnation might seem useless, since it has no practical benefit. Also, there’s an idea that these mystical concepts can easily be misunderstood, or carried to misleading conclusions. That, it said, was “why this and similar subjects are only hinted at in scripture.” So what does this all have to do with this week’s parsha? Everything. Because those hints are there, once you start looking for them. This week’s parsha starts with a throwback to last week’s parsha. The parsha is actually named after a guy who did a really brave but slightly shocking thing in last week’s parsha. His name is Pinchas, and he killed a man named Zimri.   Who the heck a...

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be blind? Picture yourself in a world of darkness, groping around, not knowing where - or what - anything is.  Last month, I got to go to the Dialogue in the Dark exhibit at the Israel Children's Museum in Holon.  You're immersed in a darkness so intense you can't see even the outlines of the other people in the room. Our blind superhero You're lost in a hopeless, unsolvable maze.  Are you near a wall, a door?  Are you about to bump into something?  Your only hope is to trust in the skills of your guide, an all-seeing miracle worker who can somehow navigate her way through total darkness. Our guide was Michal.  Michal is blind, but there, in the dark, she was strong.  She knew her way around better than the back of her hand.  She memorized our names and called them out throughout the tour to make sure we didn't get lost.  She warned us about obstacles and coached us to "look" around ourselves wit...

בְּמִדְבַּר / Bamidbar / Numbers 22:2-25:9 Click for printable PDF version . Don’t forget to read my Parsha Poem and parsha overview .  Plus… copywork and parsha activities – something for every week of the year! Art credit:  Once again, actual original artwork, specially commissioned from a talented illustrator on fiverr … פָּרָשָׁת בָּלָק for Parshas Balak בְּמִדְבַּר / Bamidbar / Numbers 22:2-25:9 [1] Well, Balak was king in Moav land Just as the Jews drew near Summoned Bilam with a wave of his hand To __________ the Jews out of fear. [2] You might think that Balak feared the Jews For the thought that they’d kill, wound and maim, But here’s how we know that this wasn’t the news He worried about, though that’s his claim.  How do we know? [3] Who are we reminded of, but in a wicked way, When Bilam wakes up in our tale and goes about his day? Here’s one hint: you might assume that things are going wonky When a man who’s so well-known would saddle his own ...

A little bit different this week… because it’s been a while since we had a nice, straightforward story in the parsha.  Not that this IS a nice, straightforward story, but at least it’s one you can tell your kids pretty clearly. This story is also available in printable PDF eBook format , as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. The Story of Bilam and King Balak במדבר כ"ב from Numbers 22:2 A bad king named Balak was scared of bnei Yisrael. King Balak wanted to win a war against them, but Hashem always helped them. He called Bilam, a bad navi, to come curse them.  Bilam said no.  King Balak said he must come. So Bilam got on his donkey. The donkey walked and walked. Then the donkey saw a malach. The malach was standing in the road.  The road was blocked! Bilam could not see the malach. So he hit the donkey.    The donkey did not go.  It talked! It said, “why do you hit me?” Then Bilam saw the malach. The malach had a sword. But the m...

Well, not exactly new – but just in time for next week’s parsha, Balak!  This is just about the same story as last year (and every year, because the Torah hasn’t changed much… ;-)).  But I have splurged (um, thank to Fiverr and unemployed cartoonists willing to draw anything for $5!) and commissioned semi-exciting new graphics that you may enjoy somewhat more than the stolen graphics in last year’s edition. If you use this site's resources and want to help support my Fiverr habit (ie acquiring legitimate, fun images to use for the parsha summaries, riddles and mini-books like these), please click... Download this and many other mini-books and parsha/holiday resources from my Limudei Kodesh (Jewish Studies) page, here .  (scroll down or search the page for “Balak”) For general-studies downloads and printables, including bilingual Hebrew-English science resources, click here .

בְּמִדְבַּר / Bamidbar / Numbers 22:2-25:9: Read it ;  hear it ; colour it . Printable PDF version here . No parsha narrative overview this week, but I did create a cool FREE Parshas Balak printable, eReadable mini-book for early readers!  Copywork and parsha activities available at this page – updated weekly. From Pirkei Avos (Ethics of our Fathers) 5:6 – “Ten things were created on the Sabbath eve at twilight. They are: the mouth of the earth [which swallowed Korach], the mouth of the well [which accompanied Israel], the mouth of the donkey [which rebuked Balaam], the rainbow, the Manna, the staff, the shamir worm, the script, the inscription, and the Tablets. Some say: also destructive spirits, the burial place of Moses, and the ram of our father Abraham. And some say, also tongs -- which are made with tongs." (it’s in italics ‘cuz I didn’t write that part – it’s background!) Ten things Hashem made in the time before time, When His words made th...

In honour of Parshas Balak – a parsha story kids can read for themselves! It’s a printable PDF easy reader mini-book, this time for a bit more of an advancing reader.  Naomi (aged almost 6.5) was able to get through this bookie cover to cover in about ten minutes without much difficulty. I’m making it available in two formats – I printed it, then decided I wanted it on my Kobo (ideally, I would have figured this out FIRST, to save paper), so I reformatted the text into the weency 9cm x 12.5cm page size the Kobo demands (because scrolling around a larger PDF page is a big pain; ditto tilting the page to make the view wider). Download this and many other mini-books and parsha/holiday resources from my Limudei Kodesh (Jewish Studies) page, here .  (scroll down or search the page for “Balak”) For general-studies downloads and printables, including bilingual Hebrew-English science resources, click here .

Welcome to my Limudei Kodesh / Jewish Studies copywork and activity printables page.  As of June 2013, I am slowly but surely moving all my printables over to 4shared because Google Docs / Drive is just too flaky for me. What you’ll find here: Weekly Parsha Copywork More Parsha Activities More Chumash / Tanach Activities Yom Tov Copywork & Activities Tefillah Copywork Pirkei Avos / Pirkei Avot Jewish Preschool Resources Other printables! For General Studies printables and activities, including Hebrew-English science resources and more, click here . For Miscellaneous homeschool helps and printables, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you just want to say Thank You,...