Adventures in Mama-Land

I love Naomi Rivka’s take on the concepts in these parshiyos, which are all about our efforts and how Hashem listens and answers our tefillos if we make an effort.  Which translates, in Naomi’s imagination, into “better hairdo.” PANEL 1 - Two girls are sharing their most fervent hopes and dreams:  Girl #1 (hair in a bun):  “Isabell, I wish for your hair to be in a bun, not on your shoulder!” Girl #2 (hair curly and loose):  “Yes, Laura….  I wish rain in Israel!” PANEL 2 – the same two girls, standing in the rain: Girl #1 (hair in a bun):  “My wish came true!” Girl #2 (hair in a bun):  <<silence>> Something in me finds this utterly hilarious, encapsulating perfectly the concept that Hashem answers prayers… and that the most important, most urgent prayer is for Good Hair.  Girl #2 doesn’t need to say anything – standing in the rain, hair in a bun, she is perfectly, perfectly content.  What more of a bracha could she ne...

Despite a largely useless computer due to various hard drive failures (new one on its way), I wanted to do something special for this week’s parsha… except I like the hands-crossing Ephraim/Menashe activity so much, we’ll probably just do that again. But then I remembered – this is not only parshas Vayechi, but it is also the last parsha in sefer Bereishis – which is totally worth celebrating! This is a pop-up 3-d text project where the words Chazak, Chazak, v’Nischazek (חֲזַק חֲזַק וְנִתְחַזֵּק) can be coloured by the student, then jump out and make a delightful statement.  Geesh; I know I’m WAY overtired when I use the word “delightful.”  There’s also a song of Chazak, to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb (borrowed from Morah Morah Teach Me Torah – you can listen to the song here – search for “chazak” on the page).  It, too, is delightful. You can do this on a few different levels of complexity, depending on the age of your kids.  For the very youngest kids,...