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Top 10! Tefillah, Torah and other Tips for Teaching on Shabbat

Dear Educator,

With soccer, music lessons, homework, work schedules and shopping filling up our students and

families‘ lives, how do we make Shabbat part of their regular “to dos”? What can we as educators do to

make Shabbat programming more engaging and appealing, so that (even with soccer gear in tow),

Shabbat activity is still a memorable and enriching part of the student “Saturday” experience?

This resource will provide quick tips to enrich your Shabbat educational programming. You can try these

activities out on Chagim as well. We can still engage children creatively without a Smartboard, crayons,

or scissors. This user-friendly guide provides quick tips and ideas presented with many sample activities.

Please also reference the Guides to Creative Tefillah: Shabbat Shachari on the USY Religion/Education

website. This guide provides teaching ideas for each Tefillah, discussion on why we pray, and other

resource ideas. And while you are there, you can also view several other Tefillah resources including:

USY's Guide to Creative Tefillah

B’hatzlacha!

Amy Dorsch Education Coordinator, USY Department of Teen Learning

http://www.usy.org/yourusy/reled/creative/


Content:

Section 1: Putting Out the Welcome Mat: Creating a warm, welcoming environment

Tefillah Training Tips

Playin’ With the Parasha

In the Synagogue

Prayer Space is NOT a Building: Creating Sacred Space/Makom Kavu’a

Shevet Achim Gam Yachad: Integration within the adult congregation

Prayer Couture: Tallit, Tefillin and Kippah

P.A.C.T Programming – Parents and Children Together!Prepared by Susan Wyner, USCJ

Director of Learning Enrichment

Appendix - Sample Activities and ideas that work courtesy of IKAR


B’ruchim Haba’im!

10 Tips for Creating a Warm, Welcoming Shabbat Environment

10. Technology is great, but “old fashioned” communication is personal and difficult to ignore. Call

participants on Thursday before Shabbat and remind them that you’re excited to see them on Shabbat

for a special activity.

9. Assign roles to participants as you plan and alert them ahead of time. This helps to guarantee that

participants will recognize that their participation is important.

8. Stand by the entrance of the room and welcome everyone by name and with a “Chai Five.” Ask

participants about personal interests for example, “Jacob, how was your math test that you were

nervous about last week?”

7. Begin each session with mixer games. Ease participants into the educational component. Create “Find

Someone Who” questions, or “Think-Pair-Share“ questions about what participants like to eat, favorite

books, school subject, ice cream flavor, etc--make them playful.

6. To minimize the formation of cliques, give each participant a little picture or sticker of an animal/

Judaic image at the beginning of the session and have each image/animal group sit in chevruta so that

participants mix and no one is left out.

5. Week in Review

Show you care by asking participants to share something about their week. Example: Ask participants to

share a “Kvetch” (complaint) and a “Kvell” (something they’re proud of). As each person shares, have

people with shared experiences link arms to build relationships based on common experiences.

4. Ask participants to bring in an object that makes them proud to be Jewish. Create a personalized

Jewish museum in your room (and store in a safe spot during the week), so that each person feels

“personally” part of the space.

3. Prayer Warm Up Exercise

Try a different prayer warm up exercise each week. Examples include: An Adon Olam Sing-Off with

different tunes or throw a ball around a circle and answer questions such as “I’m grateful for, I’m afraid

of, I’m nervous about…” before starting the prayer experience.

2. Minimize inhibitions with a drama or singing game such as the “Sing Down“ exercise where you give

the group a word and they have to come up with as many songs as they know that have that word in it.

1. So, glad you came!


Give participants a “TEASER,” something fun to look forward to or something to present for the

following week, so that they feel part of the group and part of an ongoing experience. Close with a cheer

or chant to get them excited to come back and be part of the group (such as a camp cabin song).


Tune Up Your Teaching Techniques

10 Tefillah Training Tips 10. Review Key Words

Unfamiliarity with Hebrew can make Tefillah boring and intimidating. To alleviate this problem, some

ideas include:

Before Shabbat create a “ Wordle“ (See an example at www.wordle.net) using key words from

prayers or use key Tefillah words as “magnetic poetry.“

Students can even create their own prayers using these key word magnets (No magnets? Use

small pieces of paper they can manipulate).

Sample key words can be any word with the B.R.CH. root, k.d.sh root, or other frequent siddur

words (Shabbat, melech, yom, erev).

Help participants recognize that Jewish prayer doesn’t always have to come directly from the

siddur.

9. Create comfort and familiarity with Tefillah and the siddur using activities like a Siddur Scavenger hunt

or teach the order of the Service through a human board game. Get them out of their seats!

8. Why pray? Why pray in a Jewish Way? [Focus discussion and activity on these key questions]

Begin your Tefillah time with a “Why pray?” exercise. Include questions about personally defining prayer

and different ways of expressing prayer. You can use an agree/disagree spectrum activity with “Why

pray?” statements or post pictures around the room with images of why people might pray. Have

participants stand by the images they relate to most.

7. For tougher Tefillot, review words in playful repeat-after-me fashion, even if you think they already

know the words. Turn the activity into a performance or “So You Think You Can Daven” contest (similar

to the game shows or reality TV contests). Let volunteer leaders start each prayer.

6. Depending on the minhag (custom) of your community or opinion of your rabbi, bring in props to rev

up the Ruach of Tefillah, such as hand shakers or tambourines or a bag filled with objects--let students

decide what each object has to do with prayer!

5. Teach a new tune or sing the the Tefillot to the melody of a popular song. Ask Parents to join you for a

“performance” at the end.

4. G-Chat


Help your participants understand what it means to talk to God, by putting “God” in the hot seat. Form a

circle and put a chair in the center to represent God. Students approach the empty chair and pose

comments and questions. Then ask the group--what are some ways that God might answer. Or switch

the emphasis: “What do you think God would ask you?”

3. Prayer and World Religion

Prayer is not just a Jewish practice. Bring in examples of prayers from other faiths and ask participants to

interview their non-Jewish friends about their prayers based on what they learn with you. Amazing

what comparisons can be drawn!

2. Bring in examples from pop culture that reflect Jewish prayer concepts. Ask participants to share their

own examples. If it’s a movie clip, Google search the movie script and hand out an excerpt from a scene.

If it’s a song, bring in copies of the lyrics.

1. Keva and Kavanah

Most Shabbat morning programs focus on Jewish prayer skills and teaching of Keva or the structured

prayer service. But what about Kavanah-- understanding and internalizing the concept of prayer and

focusing inward on our spiritual selves?

Include spirituality exercises to improve the teaching of Kavanah.

One example is teaching a niggun or wordless melody prefaced by some key questions to make

participants think. You can find lots of great resources to assist your with creative planning in the USY

Program Bank.

Most of all: Not all prayer comes from the siddur. Use words and phrases such as “I wish,” “I hope,” “I

wonder,” “Help!” as prompts to formulation one’s own prayer. Start with a warm up - use a fun Hebrew

song with hand actions such as David Melech Yisrael--and get out the ruach!


Playin’ With the Parasha

Activities to explore the weekly Torah Portion 10. Resources such as Sedra Scenes by Stan Biner and Parashah Plays (Richard J. Allen) provide

wonderful short skits to teach the content of the parasha. But, are your participants truly learning and

understanding the parasha when they act out these scenes? Break participants into small teams and

provide questions about the parsha. Have participants defend their positions using actual p’sukim (lines)

from the Chumash as text to support their defense. Let them interpret the story and make their own

play!

9. Interpreting storiesby Genre

Have participants choose a genre and “rethink” the parasha through this lens. Explain the concept of

Midrash using this method. Ask the rabbi if the students can perform their skit as an introduction to the

Torah reading.

8. Use bibliodrama

Bibliodrama is a pedagogic method where participants become the characters of the story, both living

and inanimate. Participants interview each other in character. For example: Someone can play Moses’

walking staff and someone else can play Yocheved. Then remain in character as other participants ask

them questions: “How did you feel when…; Who did you talk to next?”

7. Art Midrash

Prior to Shabbat, do a Google Image search for characters or pictures that represent the biblical text

(example Noah’s Ark rainbow). Bring in samples of images from the parasha and have participants

create their own interpretation or drash of it through the images.

6. Lil’ Lawyers

Create a mock trial for parshiyot that may be controversial or have debatable issues. (Ex: The Flood, the

Destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah, Abraham sending Ishmael into the wilderness)

5. Getting the Story Straight

Give each person a Pasuk (line) from the parasha/Torah reading on a piece of paper. Have the students

recreate the story chronologically by standing in the correct order.

4. Modern Midrash


Have participants “retell” the Torah story in modern terms. Example: If Moses got an email from God, it

would say…; If God and Moses texted each other they would say... What would be equivalent today to

the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea?

3. Freeze Frames

Split the group into pairs. Assign a pasuk to each pair and have each pair come up with a freeze frame

photo of their assigned pasuk. Tell the story as a moving museum of “frozen photos.”

2. Parasha Symbols

Have participants go on a scavenger hunt around the room to look for symbols or artifacts that are

connected to the content of the parasha. For example: a stuffed animal could reflect Parashat Noach or

a footprint picture from a hallway bulletin board could symbolize Lech Lecha.

1.The Edible Torah

Use the resource Tasty Bible Stories byTami Lehman-Wilzig, to connect biblical stories with recipes.

Prepare the baked recipes in advance or make the no-bake options with your participants! Examples:

Eve’s Apple Dip or Jacob’s lentil spread (kids may not eat it, but it’ll be fun to make it and find the pasuk

where the Hebrew word for the main ingredient, is mentioned).

Take it to Kiddish and have the participants serve samples to the Kehillah!


In the Synagogue Prayer does not have to be in a synagogue space, but it helps to find comfort in a designated

prayer space. What makes a designated Jewish prayer space holy? How can we create comfort and familiarity for our participants in our physical space?

10. Makom Kavua

Teach participants that although prayer can be anywhere, a synagogue space gives them a set place for

prayer and reflection.

Ask them to close their eyes and picture their ideal Makom Shel Tefillah (Prayer Place).

Ask them to keep their eyes closed and call out examples of what could make a something a

prayer space or a place of spiritual reflection.

9. Use Lego, modeling clay, cardboard and other craft supplies to create a diorama or model of what you

would find inside a synagogue or of what one’s ideal makom tefillah may look like compared to a typical

synagogue space (see next section). Give the participants a vocabulary list to build their version of a

sacred Jewish prayer space. Use the book “What You Will See Find Inside a Synagogue” (Hoffman and

Wolfson) for ideas.

8. Ideally, you could create a scavenger hunt inside the sanctuary, but it is likely in use at this time! If

you have a chapel available, use that and create a scavenger hunt using a vocabulary list. Make it more

challenging--use the Hebrew words.

7. Extreme Makeover Shul Edition

Makom, a name for God, also means ‘place.’

Begin with a reading of Parashat Terumah when the Mishkan (Tabernackle) is constructed.

Brainstorm the physical requirements to get one in the mood to pray or connect with God.

Explain the concept of Makom Kavu’a and have students “build” their idea of sacred space.

Have materials available such as a blanket, pillows, pictures, instruments (if permitted), etc.

6. What do we do in a synagogue space? Explore the purpose of a synagogue space through the three

names for what we call ‘synagogue’ or ‘temple‘-- Beit Midrash (House of Learning), Beit Tefillah (Prayer),

Beit Knesset (Gathering). Frame all programming and activities through these three lenses for students

to gain an understanding of the purpose of a Jewish center. Any space of learning, gathering and prayer

can be a Jewish holy space!

5. The Oy and the Joy


The Synagogue is a space where people find comfort during difficult times and joy during times of

celebration. Use this explanation of Beit Knesset to teach the importance of making Minyan to say

Kaddish. Teach the community participation parts of the Kaddish as well as a wedding song to illustrate

involvement of a Kehilla in the good and sad times of one’s life.

4. Do the walls of your synagogue reflect what is experienced there? The Hebrew school may dominate

the wall “real estate,” but take some space for your Shabbat morning program to be representative of

“holy space”. Ask participants to bring in photos that represent them or that define prayer for them,

quotes, artwork, etc. Make some space theirs so that they feel welcome and part of the action!

3. 21st Century Architects

Have participants describe a prayer space design that includes traditional ritual items such as Ner Tamid

and Aron, and suggest an ideal set up that defines the synagogue as House of Prayer, Study, and

Gathering. What would make our often intimidating sanctuaries feel more comfortable and more like

home? Bring in furniture catalogs or design magazines and have them redesign the sanctuary.

Key Questions: How does a space prepare one for prayer? How would this space help motivate or

inspire Jewish prayer?

2. Take the participants to other spaces in the synagogue and teach them prayersthat take place in

those spaces.

Examples:

Kitchen- Brachot for food, Birkat Hamazon

Outside of Restroom – Asher Yatzar Prayer

Rabbi’s Office- Learning Torah- La’asok B’divrei Torah

Explain that prayer can happen anywhere for any occasion!

1. Pray where you are

Not everyone prays in the same way or feels comfortable in a structured prayer space. Set up different

models of a prayer space and have participants travel from model to model to test out where they feel

most spiritually alert or aware.


Beyond the Building

Creating Sacred Space/Makom Kavua outside the physical synagogue space, defining prayer beyond the typical prayer space

These ideas may seem new and a little “out there,” but if what you’ve got isn’t working, try something

different!

10. Building off of the ideas in the previous section, help participants recognize the concept of Makom

Kavua – Sacred Space. Sacred space can be found anywhere we feel comfortable to experience prayer

and spirituality. Take them outside of the building to the synagogue garden or lawn.

9. Chavurah –

Shabbat morning programming outside of the synagogue can be an excellent community building

opportunity, despite participants separating themselves from the adult Kehilla. Parents and participants

may be more willing or comfortable in a family living room or kitchen. Try it once and see what feedback

and response you get. If this works, inquire about borrowing a Torah from the Kehillah.

8. Inspiring Surroundings

Walk to a park, neighboring area, beach, or body of water (lake, pond, ocean) and hold an

unstructured prayer experience surrounded by nature.

Do a guided reading or meditation that focuses on breathing and/or our relationship with God,

our friends and family, and ourselves.

Use resources such as Spirit in Nature: Teaching Judaism and Ecology on the Trail for inspiration.

7. Invite or join a community of special friends such as Jewish senior citizens or special needs young

children and create a prayer experience of lively Tefillah with them.

6. Meet at a sculpture garden or art exhibit and experience prayer through the visual arts. Connect the

art with some concepts from the structured Tefillah.

5. Body and Soul

Use a large open space (can be the synagogue social hall if not being used for Kiddish) to experience

movement and prayer. Invite a Yoga educator (and connect yoga poses to concepts in Tefillah) or use

resources such as Torah Yoga: Experiencing Jewish Wisdom Through Classic Postures as inspiration. Go

into detail about how the body is used in Tefillah (steps, bending, bowing).


4. Sacred space means different things to people. For example, sacred space could be defined as any

place where you feel a spiritual connection whether that’s through prayer, the environment, or the

people you’re with. See sample activity in Appendix.

3. Connect the body with a prayer experience such as Yoga or Torah Tai Chi. Ask a community member

or parent to assist you in the Yoga or Tai Chi instruction and then tie-in Tefillot associated with

movement and the body (Tefillah choreography, Asher Yatzar) to the physical exercises. Ask the

participants how they felt using their bodies to pray. 2.Use the synagogue playground equipment, if

available, for a Siddur Quest - Capture the Flag style game. Include challenges such as completing the

Tefillah sentence, word searches, or Name the Nusach.

1. Using Visuals

Turn the hallways into a Tefillah Museum of images and/or items from various types of prayer

spaces (or even synagogues around the world).

Use different art pieces and ask participants to apply concepts of Tefillah to the art work.

Describe how images can transform a typical space in a Makom Kavu’a or sacred space.

Use Tefillah phrases as captions for the artwork and have participants choose which quote they

feel best suits the image or item. You may use the phrases or Tefillah words as literary art

(poetry) to include in the museum “display.”


Shevet Achim Gam Yachad

Integrating youth with Adult Congregation

Most youth programming occurs separately from the “main sanctuary” prayer space, creating separate

communities of youth and adults. Let’s work on lowering the average age of our morning minyanim with

these tips! Make sure to meet with your clergy person to ask for opportunities to involve youth.

10.If the clergy person agrees, have a pair of youth give the introduction to the Torah reading (bonus if it

is through art or drama)

9.Have youth participants present something they may have created or performed in your sessions

together.

8.Have youth prepare their own personal prayers and share them aloud before Musaf when the prayer

for the country and congregation are recited.

7. Pair youth participants with older “buddies” and have them share their prayer experience. This may

be particularly special if there are elderly Kehillah members who come on their own and may appreciate

some assistance.

6. Have youth participants teach a new tune or teach a “ruach” song found in the siddur.

5. Train youth to gabbai (with adult support/supervision) as co-captain Gabba’im

4.If you create anything visual in your youth activity session, display it at the Congregational Kiddush and

make sure the Kehilla is made aware of the display.

3.Have youth give announcements instead of the President (they can read and if given a role, they may

stay for kiddish!)

2. Role reversal: Have youth invite older members to join them in Adon Olam!

1. Ask the clergy to introduce the Amidah with the Avot bracha and pose a challenge to Kehilla members

to share one word of advice to the younger generation and have youth share one word that would give

hope or faith to the the older generation. Most people aren’t used to speaking out loud or participating

like this in a Kehillah prayer setting. Let it feel different and new!


Prayer Couture: Tallit, Tefillin and Kippah

Sample Activities to be inspired by attire! 10. Paper Dolls

Create a male and female paper doll as well as a variety of Jewish objects (e.g. tallit, tefillin, kippah,

magen david necklace, etc.). Ask the students to attach objects onto the doll that they perceive wears

the item. Go around and have each student explain what they attached and why. Next, ask them to

attach objects they believe are the standard in their community- unclear what this means? Like if

women wear tallit? and have the students explain what objects they attached and why. You can ask

them a variety of questions such as how did this doll look 25 years ago or how do you want the doll look

10 years from now? Is anything that would make this doll look “wrong”?

9. Teach the skill of Wrapping Tefilin with creative supplies

Use ribbons and/or Fruit by the Foot: Teach students how to wrap tefillin properly by using ribbons

and/or fruit by the Foot! Give each student a long piece of ribbon or a Fruit by the Foot to wrap around

their arm. For their head, give them another long piece of ribbon. As you demonstrate how to put on

tefillin, be sure to explain why we wrap it seven times on our arm, make a shin-dalet-yud on our hand,

and have the tefillin box placed in the middle of our forehead. Afterward, they can eat the fruit by the

foot -- just don’t eat the ribbon! See USY’s Tefillah Resources webpage for video instructions.

8. Competition

Divide students into groups of three orfour. Have one person from each group volunteer for a special

assignment and come to the front of the room. Next, give each group a roll of toilet paper (or, to be

more eco-friendly, use ribbon). Tell students that you are going to call out an item and they need to use

the ribbon to put said item in it’s proper place on the volunteer. The first team to get it right, wins that

round. For example, if the educator says tefillin, the students need to run to their volunteer and wrap

tefillin properly on their peer. It can be as broad or as specific as you would like. You can say tefillin or

you can say tefillin shel yad. Bonus points to the team who can explain the symbolism behind the ritual

objects.

7. Advertisement/Commercial

Divide students into three groups and assign each group one item--tallit, tefillin, or kippah. Tell them

they are selling this item and need to come up a TV commercial that advertises their product. Provide

them with a description of the item and then give them 15 minutes to read it and create an

advertisement to present to the group.


6. Four Corners Game [Play on Words with the Four Corners of the Tallit]

Ask the students a question and give them four possible answers. If they think the answer is option A,

tell them to run to the far right corner. If they think it’s option B, tell them to run tothe far left corner,

etc. Repeat as many as times you want (or for as many questions you have). Note: this activity is also

great to do with the Parsha Hashavuah.

5. Print pictures of various types of tallit (long, small, colorful, Jerusalem background, from different

countries etc.) and scatter or hang them around the room. Have students walk around the room, look at

the tallitot, and pick one that sticks out to them. Have students share in pairs and then present their

tallitot and what they discovered about it to everyone.

4. Show and Tell

Invite parents, siblings, and members of the synagogue to bring their tallit to Junior Congregation. Have

them share when they received their tallit and it’s importance to them. Is it one that has been passed

down from generation to generation? Were they able to pick their tallit? Why that tallit? What does the

tallit mean to them?

2. Project Runway Shabbat Edition

Prepare an outline of a Tallit on a piece of poster paper. Have participants design their own tallit using

images, brachot or words from various tefillot, personal touches and images or themes. Discuss the

concept of “you are what you wear” in terms of the design on the Tallitot. Ask participants to share

stories about what they would want represented in a prayer garment. Teach about the Tzitzit and Atara

before the discussing the design. You may discuss the idea of women and Tallit and how tallitot and

Kippot have become more feminine to reflect women participating in this mitzvah. What can we do with

Tefillin?

2. Head’s Up

Compare head coverings of other faith groups with the Kippah. Bring in explanations of why members of

other faiths cover their heads. Discuss how the kippah helps us acknowledge the presence of God. Bring

in different examples of Jewish head coverings, especially newer styles of Kippot for women such as the

beaded wire Kippah.

1. Use the Tallit for an exercise in spirituality. Have participants sit close together under a Tallit

“chuppah” or canopy (You may mention that Tallit is often used as a Chuppah at a wedding and ask

why). Teach a niggun and ask them to envision the prescence or protection of God. Teach phrases such

as “U’fros aleinu Sukkat Shlomecha” (spread over us Your shelter of peace, from the Hashkivenu prayer)

and “Tachat Kanfei Hash’chinah” (Under the protection of the Divine, recited in the El Maleh Memorial

prayer).


P.A.C.T. Programming: Parent and Child Together Activities

Prepared by Susan Wyner, USCJ Director of Learning Enrichment

Kids tend to prefer learning activities that they believe are valued by their parents as well as their friends. The more opportunities that we provide for parent engagement and participation, the more likely that the children in the family will participate with enthusiasm and engagement in the learning we provide.

Because it occurs each week, Shabbat is the perfect vehicle for family engagement and parent involvement. These recommendations are just a few suggestions to increase opportunities for parent involvement on Shabbat.

Planning for Your Audience: Ask parents about the kinds of Shabbat programming they would value.

1. At school registration time or when families sign their children up for Kadima or USY, include a

questionnaire for parents that offers opportunity for feedback about the kind of Shabbat learning or

activities that might attract them. Allow them to choose from a broad variety that might include

Shabbat congregational meals, text study, Jewish parenting programs, how-to learning opportunities,

classes to learn Hebrew decoding, theme-related Shabbatonim--a medley of social and study

possibilities to hit the variety of Shabbat appropriate activities you might offer during the course of the

year.

2. Create a parent committee to partner with you in planning activities to which they would happily

invite family and friends to participate. Their task would include creating a schedule of activities and co-

planning to bring them to fruition, as well as promoting these programs within their own social circles.

3. At the end of each program, provide a brief evaluation form that can be completed using signal

dot stickers for feedback, or an electronic survey that will assist you in planning for the future.

4. Schedule regular calls or meetings with parents to have conversations about their goals for their

children, themselves, and their family to grow Jewishly, and discuss how the congregation can partner

with them to make that happen.

Parents Are Teachers, Too: Parallel Study with Parents in Mind

1. Provide opportunities for parents to study some of the themes and topics their children are

studying in school, or experiencing through youth group events. Provide parallel learning that is adult in

approach. It can be led by the educational leader, a teacher or youth group leader who is comfortable

with adults, or a rabbi.


2. Create programming where students study the parasha with their teachers, parents with an

adult educator, and then bring students together for a shared activity relating to the parasha. It can be a

matching game using pictures of objects and the corresponding word in the Torah reading, a word

search within the text (how many times do you see the word “Shabbat” or “seven (sheva)” or “mayim

(water?)” A variety of recommended activities follows.

Scaffolding: Provide the Foundation for Parent Involvement

1. Our congregations are filled with wonderful adults and parents who are knowledgeable and

competent in their jobs. But often, these same skilled parents are not so skilled when it comes to prayer,

Jewish knowledge, or Jewish text. We can help parents by providing study guides, transliteration, and

additional readings to fill in the gaps they may have in their own knowledge either before a program or

during participation.

2. While teachers or USY staff are involved with the kids, provide Jewish parent programming on

topics that all Jewish parents are concerned about. Often the right people to present these topics are

members of our kehillot: rabbis, pediatricians, psychologists, attorneys, and public school educators are

often happy to share their expertise for congregational parent programs. Recommended topics might

include:

B’nai Mitzvah as family opportunities

Transitions in our Childrens’ Lives

Navigating the Dynamic World of the 21st Century (Pre)Teen

Preparing Yourself for Your Child’s Israel Experience

Transitioning Your Child Back to or from Jewish Summer Camp

Letting Go: Preparing Yourself as Your Child is Ready to Fly

Putting the “Jewish” in Your Child’s College Experience

The Dating Game

Bully-Proof Your Child’s Life

The Ups and Downs of Jewish Parenting


Sample activities for Family Shabbat engagement

1. Potluck Shabbat dinners. Parents volunteer their homes to host a dinner. Families sign up to

bring the various components to the home on the given Friday night. Assign families to the various

homes so that each home will have all of the components for a Shabbat dinner. (Make sure that those

with kosher homes have kosher guests so that everyone is comfortable.) Provide a Shabbat game or

Torah activity to spice up the evening.

2. Family Torah Study. Parallel Torah study--students with teachers or advisors, and parents with

rabbi or educator. Bring families together for an interactive and intergenerational activity such as:

4-corner exercises based on a value-laden question from the parasha. Example: The Lord has appeared

to you to announce the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah. Do you: Plead the case for these cities,

despite their sins? or Hold your tongue, because God knows best? or Go to Sodom and Gemorrah to

warn them to change their ways? or Set up a school to teach others the ways of the Lord? Put each

answer in a different corner of the room, have people walk to the answer they would choose and

discuss why they are there. After each group presents, participants have the chance to remain in their

groups or make a change.

Board games created based on a Torah reading. Example: “Showdown at Behukotai Pass”--Create a

board game that takes the players through the blessings and curses provided in parashat Behukotai.

“I know what they said!” Provide a dialogue from a Torah reading with incomplete sentences. Parents

and children take turns completing each sentence. Ex: Moses takes B’nai Yisrael to the foot of Mt. Sinai

and declares:___________; God calls down to Moses saying: _____________; The people at the foot of

Sinai felt the ground shake, heard the shofar blasts and said: ___________________.

Parasha Plays: Using Sedra Scenes (by Stan J. Beiner, ARE Publication available at

www.behrmanhouse.com), invite a mixture of parents and kids to act out a scene before an audience of

participants who will serve as “reporters on the scene.” Someone serves as the facilitator to hold a press

conference, so reporters interview the “players” who remain in character throughout the activity.

Costumes, character name signs, and a few starter questions can be helpful.

Name that Jewish Hero: Create a series of character descriptions that challenge teams of families who

attempt to identify them. Put them on slips of paper in baskets, one for each table. As a team, each

table tries to guess who all of the “heroes” are. Once they have made their guesses, provide an answer

key so they can gauge their success.

Shabbat singdown: Divide participants into two or more teams of mixed-ages. The facilitator calls out a

theme, and each team comes up with as many songs they can sing that includes that word, in English or

Hebrew. Each team chooses one song at a time to sing at least until they have sung past the “magic


word”. The round ends when each time there is only one team left who has not run out of songs.

Potential words might include: Peace/shalom; Love/ahava; Good/tov; Land/eretz; Israel. This activity is

a lot of fun and a great conclusion to a Shabbaton!

Apendix A: Sample Activities

Playing with Parasha Sample Activities

Sample Activity 1: Paper Bag Parasha

Each group will receive a paper or plastic bag filled with different items. Give each group a bag and a

description of a scene from the parsha which they are to act out using the items in the bag as props for

their performance. The groups will perform the scenes in chronological order. Once every group has

performed, they will put the items back in the bag and the groups will switch bags and receive new

scenes. Note: you can make this as specific or broad as you want. You can do it with different scenes

from a parsha or whole stories like Creation, Noah, and the Binding of Isaac. Use this activity to reach

concepts such as P’shat (Literal text) and d’rash (interpreting the text).

Sample Activity 2: Twenty Questions

There are various ways to play this game. (1) The students must guess who or what you are. The

students only have 20 “yes” or “no” questions to ask (to make it more challenging, drop down to 10).

The who/what can range from characters in the Torah to actions, commandments, things (e.g. angel,

Jacob’s ladder, the ark or dove, etc.). Whoever guesses correctly will be the next person/thing of whom

the students ask questions. (2) Ask parents, older siblings, friends, or synagogue members to help out

with this one. Assign each volunteer a character from the parsha or Torah story. Have each volunteer sit

in different spaces on the outskirts of the room and give them their character on slips of paper with

paper clips (as characters many as there are groups; as many paper clips as characters). Divide students

into groups and give each group a sheet of paper with numbers on it (as many as there are characters

they need to guess). The groups will run around to each volunteer and must guess who they are, and

they have twenty questions (yes or no) to help them figure it out. If they correctly, the volunteer gives

the group one of the slips of paper with a paper clip to attach to the paper. If they don’t get the correct

answer, the group must return to this volunteer later and will receive up to 20 more questions. The first

group to guess every character correctly, wins. Note: If you would like to make it harder, assign each

character a number and the groups must get #1 right before they can get #2, and 2 before 3, etc.

However, they do not know which volunteer is which number so they could go to 4 first and get that

right but they need to find 1, 2, and 3 before getting the slip for 4.

Beyond the Building: Sample Activity


Create a list of statements that students can either agree/disagree with or that students can identify.

Take your students outside to a park, beach, or even the synagogue sukkah and have everyone stand in

a circle and read one of the statements. If you agree or identify with the statement, step into the circle.

If you disagree or do not identify with the statement, remain in your spot.

Take a moment so people can look around and see who stepped in and who did not move, and then

have everyone return to the circle and read another statement. Repeat this process until all statements

have been read (or you feel students are ready to discuss).

At the end, discuss the student‘s findings and the goal of the activity. Statements can be about prayer,

family, community, school, Judaism, etc.

Appendix B: Ideas that Work: Teaching on Shabbat at IKAR1 Prepared by Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal

A Text Study on Shabbat

"The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the

tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on

which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the

mystery of creation; from the world of creation to the creation of the world." Abraham Joshua Heschel,

The Sabbath

Shabbat at IKAR

IKAR's Shabbat is spiritually charged and divinely inspired, fusing accessibility and authenticity.

How can we do this?

We want our students to experience the greatness of Shabbat – the beauty of resting, of ceasing to

create and of not making an impact on the world. It should not only be about all the things we CAN’T

do. Instead, it should be about the possibilities that Shabbat opens for all of us. At IKAR, we teach

things that have been taught and experienced on Shabbat for centuries; Torah, holidays, tefillah and

Shabbat. We leave the other parts of our curriculum for exploration during the week so that we can

devote our Shabbat learning to topics that naturally lend themselves to the holiness of the day.

1 Used with permission


So what can we do?

Drama – make up or perform a play about the holidays or the Torah or tikkun olam or any other

topic

Theater games

Around the World game

Reading stories

Hebrew freeze tag (you get unfrozen by reading a Hebrew word)

Making letters or words out of our bodies, clay, play dough, wiki sticks, tin foil, popcorn, or

whatever you can think of!

Stickers- can be used as a substitute for writing if prepared in advance.

Velcro

Clay

Study Torah or open up a Torah and look inside

Tell the Torah story using costumes

Singing – either songs that you already know or making up your own

Dancing

Pray with soul- teach a lot of short songs with upbeath rhythm

Drumming

Have a deep conversation prompted by a controversial statement

Take a nature walk and recite the Brachot Hanehnin

Play tic-tac-toe with Hebrew words or letters

Play memory using Tefillah words and images

Interview parents or other IKAR members about how they celebrate Shabbat


Do a Shabbat Friendly Mitzvah – bring a can for SOVA, help set up Kiddush, help clean up after

services, visit someone who is sick, be a mentch

Play Jewish Jeopardy or other trivia games

Make a human barometer (ask kids to stand on a continuum based on what they think about an

issue)

Invite in a guest speaker

Ask kids to bring in photographs or look at photos about something you are studying

Teach the parsha using building blocks

Bring in small dolls or toys and have the kids create diorama scenes. Set up a museum.

Set up an art gallery with paintings of Torah stories and have the kids analyze them

Explore Jewish symbols, either that you bring in or that you have the kids bring in

Map Limudim – bring in a large map and have kids put stickers on where they were born, where

their parents were born and where their grandparents and great grandparents were born.

Use the parachute to learn colors in Hebrew

Walk around the building or the classroom and learn the Hebrew names for things. For older

kids, have them look it up in the dictionary.

Have a holiday celebration – you can even make food like charoset or Israeli salad that doesn‘t

require cooking.

Bring in a variety of foods and have the kids learn the Hebrew names for them

Do Yoga or meditation

See how many tunes you can come up with for Adon Olam (while learning the words)

Sand Art (filling different shaped bottles with sand to create Israel’s desert landscape)

Hebrew Mad Libs (if you create the words options beforehand and Velcro them on)

Charades, Taboo or other games that can be adapted for Jewish content (example: Make your

own Taboo cards)

Paper bag dramatics


Ok, but there are things we are not allowed to do, right?

*The following list includes typical prohibitions in a traditional Conservative Kehilla. Speak with your

rabbi about your Kehilla’s Halchik boundaries. This will vary from Kehilla to Kehilla

Writing, drawing, coloring, painting, glue (stickers may be okay, check with your rabbi),

scissors/cutting

Musical instruments (aside from percussion instruments)

Use of electricity

Cooking (Non-bake activities may be okay, check with your rabbi)

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