. כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, מְבִיאֲךָ אֶל-אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה: אֶרֶץ, נַחֲלֵי מָיִם--עֲיָנֹת וּתְהֹמֹת, יֹצְאִים בַּבִּקְעָה וּבָהָר. ח אֶרֶץ חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה, וְגֶפֶן וּתְאֵנָה וְרִמּוֹן; אֶרֶץ-זֵית שֶׁמֶן, וּדְבָשׁ 7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey;
Parsha Points: On His way to his Uncle Lavan's house, Yaakov has his famous dream. Yaakov takes 12 stones and puts them under his head before he goes to sleep. (The 12 stones turned into one). Yaakov dreams that there is a ladder that stretches from the earth until heaven. On the ladder the malachim are ascending and descending. Hashem appears to Yaakov and promises that he will protect him. Yaakov goes to Charan and meets Rachel at the well. Yaakov knew that he was destined to marry Rachel. Rachel ran back to tell her father Lavan that Avraham's grandson had arrived. Yaakov contracts with Lavan to marry his daughter Rachel. He agreed to work seven years, and then get her hand in marriage. Lavan switches daughter's and secretly puts Leah instead of Rachel. Yaakov has to work another seven years before marrying Rachel. Yaakov loved Rachel more than Leah. Leah gave birth to Reuven, Shimon Levi and Yehuda. Bilha (Rachel's maidservant) gives birth to Dan and Naftali. Zilpa (Leah's maidservant) gives birth to Gad and Asher Leah gives birth to 3 more children, Yissaschar, Zevulun and Dina. After many years of being barren, Hashem grants a child to Rachel. She names him Yosef. After 20 years, Hashem tells Yaakov that it is time to go back home. Yaakov went to ask Lavan permission. Rachel steals her father's idols without telling anyone. Yaakov flees from Lavan. Lavan catches up to him and asks him why he is running away and why did he steal his idols. Yaakov, not aware that anyone took the idols announced that whoever stole the idols will die. Yaakov and Lavan separate. Lavan goes back to Canaan and Yaakov goes to Eretz Yisrael. Parsha Puzzle: Devorah, Adina, Nechama and Miri, Were busy with the design. Aliza, Malka, Yehudit, Lior, and Chedva, Worked hard to reach the deadline. Esti, Sara, Daniella, and Raizy, Worked together as a team. Talya, Nitzan, Shoshana, and Avigayil, Wanted to fulfill their big dream. Morah Tzippy gave them a project, And somehow they had to try. To design an item or object, That somehow could reach the sky. Rachel, Ruchie, Racheli and Rochel, Put their heads together in thought. Can they think of something unique? From all of the things they were taught. The big day finally came, It was such an exciting day. All of the girls together, Had to prepare their display. There were planes, rockets and gadgets, Birds, kites and fancy cars. One of the groups prepared, All kinds of shooting stars. Rachel, Ruchie, Racheli and Rochel, Were forgotten amongst all the rest, All they had with them was a ladder, They thought that their answer was best. Can you look in your Chumash, And find out 2 things from this rhyme, What does this have to do with the parsha? Can you guess the answer this time? (answer on the bottom...) Playing with the Parsha: Here is something fun to play. Before Shabbat, prepare random words from the Parsha. (i.e. dudaim, naftulay, be'er,vayashk etc... Place Chumashim on the table and have a race at the table who could find the word and the pasuk first. This gets everyone into the parsha (literally :-). Have fun!! ShABBAt IMABBA: Here is a great way for my father and I to learn a little bit of Parsha each week, even though we live far from each other. ( I like the play on words of Abba in the word Shabbat and Imabba meaning "with Abba" and Ima Abba written together! Thanks Abba and Ima :-)! In this week's Parsha it says about Yaakov, "Vayeitze" and "vayelech." Why does it say he went out and he went? The two seem redundant. We learn from here that Yaakov was torn. His father told him to go out to find a bride and his mother told him to run away from his brother Eisav. The 2 words show that he listened to both of his parents and had kibbud horim. We know the famous story that Yaakov put his head down on 12 rocks (the 12 shvatim) and they were all fighting and it turned into one stone. Why did the one stone not quarrel? Yaakov should put his head on my corner, or no he should put it on mine... This shows us, that when everyone unites together, and there is unity, Achdut, then there are no quarrels. The gematria of Sulam is mamon= money. If you use money wisely,for tzedaka, mitzvot, then you will reach "hashamayma" towards heaven. If you do not use it wisely, then you will be on the ground, like an ostrich with his head in the sand. "Hinei Sulam mutzav artzah" behold the ladder is on the ground. The word Hinei in Hebrew is spelled the same forwards and backwards. When you use a ladder you can turn it either way and use it. Notice how you need to lean a ladder against something to hold it up. The same is true of human beings. You need other people to lean on. One gives to the other and one should always care and help the other person out. If you place a ladder straight without it leaning on anything it will not be useful, so too, you should bend sometimes and be flexible. Parsha Cake: In this week’s Parsha, Yaakov has his famous dream where he sees angels climbing and descending a ladder to Heaven. We are familiar with the Medrash (quoted by Rashi) that relates how Yaakov gathered the stones and placed them around his head. The stones began quarreling with one another. "I want the tzaddik to place his head on me!" "No, I want him to rest his head on me!" Hashem performed a miracle and the 12 stones combined into one. You can make 12 chocolate balls to resemble the 12 stones. You can add one big one with the leftover dough. You will have a ball making these- and then eating them up! You will need: Chocolate Ball Recipe Round cake (to lean the ladder) Toy ladder or ladder made from cookie dough Man cookie or figure Chocolate Ball recipe: Ingredients: · 1 pound (500 grams) chocolate biscuit cookies · 1 cup (2 sticks) margarine · 100 grams bittersweet chocolate · 1 cup sugar · 6 tablespoons cocoa powder · 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules · 1/3-1/2 cup soy milk Preparation: 1. In a food processor, grind biscuit cookies into finely crushed crumbs. 2. Melt chocolate and margarine in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes. 3. Using an electric mixer, combine biscuit crumbs with melted chocolate and margarine, sugar, cocoa powder and coffee granules. 4. Add the soy milk slowly. 5. Shape the mixture into balls (1-2 tablespoons of mixture per ball). 6. Roll each ball into sprinkles or coconut. 7. Chill in the refrigerator. How to assemble: Lean the ladder on the cake. Place the 12 balls on the side of the cake and lay “Yaakov” on top of them. Enjoy your heavenly treat! Have a wonderful and relaxing Shabbat! Ruchie :-) Answer to Parsha puzzle: (Yaakov 's dream: There was a ladder set on the ground and its top reached the heavens. Vayeitzei 28:12 and the second part is found in Vayeitzei 30:22 when Hashem “remembered” Rachel and she had a child.)
Parshas Pekudei starts with Moshe makind an audit of all the materials collected for the Mishkan to determine which supplies were used ...
This Parsha has the clothing of the Kohen Gadol. One of his most famous garments is the choshen and urim v'tumim which my children and I depicted in this weeks Parsha Cake Explanation The Choshen was set on a fabric that was 1/2 an amah by 1/2 an amah (about 9 square inches) The fabric was woven with a mix of red, purple, gold, and white and gold thread. Designs were woven into the fabric instead of being embroidered on top. The stones were set in gold and mounted in four rows of three. Row 1: Reuven, Red, Shimon – deep Green, Levi - Red, White, and Black Striped Row 2: Yehudah - Bluish-Green, Yissachar - Blue, Zevulun - ClearRow 3: Dan - Blue, Naftali - Purple, Gad - GreyRow 4: Asher - Blue-Green, Yoseph - Black, Benyamin - A Stone Possessing All the Colors The order of the stones is a subject of dispute. Technique I made one yellow cake mix and divided into 5 bags and dyed blue, purple, red, yellow and left one blain. I piped the mix into the pans and then used a fork and toothpick to make the pattern. The squares were made with yellow Duncan Hines frosting. For the stones, we used jelly bellys for some. For other colors we didn't have in jelly belly we crushed dum dums. To make the black and gray stones we added black food coloring to the clear dum dums.
In this weeks parsha we learn that even though Avraham Avinu had just had a bris, he was still desperate to have guests to perform the Mitzvah of Hachnasas Orchim. His tent is described as having 4 openings so that guests could in come from any direction! I tried to coat the outside with chocolate. It didnt work so I left them plain instead. Enjoy!
In this week’s Torah reading, Parshat Yitro, we read about the monumental moment of the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. According to the text, “There was thunder and lightning and a heavy cloud on the mountain” (Shemot 19:16). In addition, the midrash tells us that although Har Sinai was situated in a desert, in honor of the Torah the mountain sprouted flowers. Making a Har Sinai cake is a fun and easy activity for this week’s Parsha or for Shavuot! Materials: Cake mix Whipped cream Chocolate frosting Deep pyrex bowl Graham crackers Tinfoil Green icing Instructions: 1. Make cake in pyrex bowl. Let it cool, turn it upside down, and frost. 2. Decorate with flowers (we used those plastic flower candleholders) and grass (green icing). 3. Cut tin foil into the shape of a lightening bolt and stick into the top of the cake. 4. Carve graham cracker into the shape of the tablets and stick into the top of the cake. 5. Right before serving, add some whipped cream to the top to represent the clouds that engulfed the mountain! 6. Eat and enjoy! Emily Shapiro Katz has been a community Jewish educator for over ten years in Jerusalem, Atlanta, and San Francisco. She lives in Beer Sheva with her husband, Andy, and 4 children. Her contributions to this website reflect her interest in teaching Tanach, doing craft projects, and entertaining her kids. Emily blogs about her Parsha Projects at http://parshaprojects.blogspot.com/
When I asked my children what they wanted to do for a parsha project, my son said he wanted to do something connected with Ephraim and Menashe. He wanted a chocolate cake, and I suggested one decor…
Bnei Yisrael are fleeing from Mitzrayim and find themselves between the sea and the Mitzrim that are chasing them. They realize there is nowhere to go other than walk into the sea. This is a big test for bnei Yisrael. They have to show complete faith in Hashem. They show that they trust that Hashem will perform miracles and get them across the sea. Nachshon ben Aminadav is the first to jump into the water. He walks in until the water is shoulder deep and then suddenly the water completely splits. There is dry land infront of them and the water forms into glass walls. These cupcakes are decorated with whipped Riches whip to illustrate the splitting of the sea. Using the back of a teaspoon, (like I did with the burning bush) create the waves and the wall. then mixing the whip with a different colour, make little dots for the people walking through. When Bnei Yirael arrive at an area called 'Massa' they realize that they are thirsty and there is no water in sight. Moshe is commanded by Hashem to hit a rock and water pours out of it. hoping you have a wonderful Shabbos!
Naase Venishma crown cup cakes made with home made plastic icing.
In Parshas Vayeshev, Yosef really upsets his brothers and they decide to punish him by killing him. Reuven however, convinced them to rather throw Yosef into a pit filled with snakes and scorpions instead. This is Yosef in the pit surrounded by snakes (no scorpion shaped sweets). I made a chocolate chiffon cake as the ground and pit, covered with chocolate gnache, and for Yosef I made ginger bread men. have a wonderful Shabbos!
The kohein Gadol stands in the courtyard with 2 goats. One will be dedicated to Hashem and the other will be sent to 'azazel' Goat Cake Pops Pops Cake recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar 4 eggs 2 1/2 cups flour 1 cup water 3/4 cup oil 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla essence Method: 1. Beat egg and sugar for a few minutes till fluffy 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. 3. Pour into greased cake pan 4. Bake in preheated oven (180 degrees C/360 degrees F) for about 35 minutes or until a knife insterted comes out clean. To make the Cake pops Ingredients: 220 grams parev chocolate broken into small pieces 1 cup parev whip cheerios almond slices White chocolate Method: 1. In a double boiler, heat up the parev whip. 2. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Allow the mixture to cool. 3. Im a mixer, place the cooled cake and using a k beater (paddle attachment) crumble. Keep going until all you have is a bowl full of crumbs. 4. While still beating, pour the chocolate mixture in. Make sure its mixed in properly. 5. Form balls and place in fridge to harden for at least 1 hour. 6. Melt some white chocolate. 7. Using the white chocolate as glue, insert the cheerios and almond slices as shown bellow. Cheerios cut in half as ears and the almonds as horns and goatee. 8. Insert the sweet stick the same way, first dipping in chocolate and then into the ball. 9. Dip pop into white chocolate. 10. The best way to allow the pops to dry is sticking them through a piece of polystyrene. 11. When dry, melt some brown chocolate and using a food brush or an ear bud, paint the horns, goatee and face. Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos Orit xxx http://www.facebook.com/ParshaDessert
Hashem commands every Jew to give a 'Machatzit Hashekel' Half a Shekel. This way the Jews can be counted. These are Machatzit Hashekel after dinner mints...
Happy Chanuka!!! בס"ד PARSHA IN REVIEW: Here is something fun to do: Print out the parsha review. You can make one or a few copies. Cut each line into strips. Mix them up and give it to your kids and guests to see if they could figure out the correct order. You can leave some chumashim on the table to help them out. We did this last week and the kids were into it! Pharoh dreams that seven fat cows are swallowed by seven lean cows. Pharoh has another dream, that seven healthy ears of grain are swallowed by seven skinny stalks of grain. Pharoh's butler remembers Yosef. Yosef is taken out of jail and appears before the king. Yosef interprets the dreams. There will be seven years of plentiful food in the land, followed by seven years of famine. Yosef suggests to Pharoh to store the excess grains of the plentiful years, so there will be enough to eat during the famine. Yosef becomes viceroy over Egypt. Yosef marries Osnat (Potifar's daughter) and they have two sons: Menashe and Ephraim. The famine begins.... Yaakov (Yosef's father) sent his ten sons down to Egypt to buy food. He keeps his youngest son, Binyamin, with him, since he is afraid for his safety. Yosef recognizes his brothers immediately, however they do not recognize him. The brothers entered the city from 10 different entrances and Yosef calls them spies. They are placed in jail for three days. The brothers are let free, but Shimon is kept in prison until the brothers return to Canaan and bring Binyamin, the youngest brother back. Yosef instructs his servants to place money and food into his brothers sacks, without their knowledge. The brothers return to Canaan and retell the story of what happened. Yaakov refuses to let Binyamin go, but Yehuda promises to be responsible for his brother. Yaakov reluctantly lets them go and sends a gift to the Viceroy. Yosef invites all his brothers to a feast. Yosef is full of emotions when he sees all his brothers. Yosef asks about their father. Before the brothers leave Yosef orders Menashe to fill their sacks with grain. Yosef orders Menashe to place his wine goblet in Binyamin's sack. The Egyptian soldiers stop the brothers from leaving, accusing them from stealing the goblet. The brothers deny the accusations. The goblet is found in Binyamin's sack. Yosef allowes the brothers to leave, but forces Binyamin to stay. Yehuda begs to let him take Binyamin's place..... What will Yosef decide????? Tune in next week, as the saga continues.................... PARSHA PUZZLE: It’s Dovid’s Bar Mitzvah, there is so much to do, The party is on Chanukah night number two. His family is coming in from the United States, To hear him read the Torah on Parshat Mikeitz. He will lain at the kotel, on Thursday this week, His father and mother would like him to speak. He was thinking of how he could combine Chanuka, With his name and the stories in this week’s parsha. There must be hidden messages he was hoping to find, A nice dvar torah that is one of a kind. Dovid, Yosef and Yehuda Hamacabi, Are all famous people in our history. All of these tzadikkim believed in Hashem, And knew that their greatness did not come from them. They stood up for what they believed in, though they were few, That is a good lesson for every single Jew. We know that non pure oil in the Bet Hamikdash was forbidden, And the Nes of Chanuka was that something was hidden, So Dovid wants you to figure out this clue, What is Hidden in the parsha and on Chanuka too? Happy B-day Dovid! :-) PLAYING WITH THE PARSHA: Since this week is both Chanuka and Mikeitz, here is a little fun activity you can do for both. Prepare a small gavia filled with candy and hide it somewhere near someone. You can put it in your father’s jacket pocket and put his jacket over his chair. During the meal, claim that you lost something precious and you cannot find it. Have everyone look for it. Then it will be discovered and you could relate it to the parsha and Chanuka. Enjoy the treats at the end! Here are some fun Chanuka and parsha games to play: Pictured is a board game of Candles and Svivonim, played like Chutes and Ladders. Everyone has to answer a parsha or Chanuka question before they take a turn. We played it with a dreidel and therefore each letter represented a number. Nun-1, Gimmel-2, Hey-3 Pey-4. Yes we have a Pey on our dreidel! :-). Pin the Shamash on the Menorah Play the dreidel game with chocolate chips instead of coins. In this game- Each person puts 2 chocolate chips in the pot. Everyone takes a turn to spin. Nun- nothing, Gimmel, you get the whole pot, Hey- you get half the pot, Pey- you put one in. Have fun and be creative!!!!! SHABBAT IMABBA: Here is a great way for my father and I to learn a little bit of Parsha each week, even though we live far from each other. ( I like the play on words of Abba in the word Shabbat and Imabba meaning "with Abba" and Ima Abba written together! Thanks Abba and Ima :-)! Most years, Shabbat Chanuka and Parshat Miketz coincide. We can find hints in the parsha that connect Miketz to Chanuka. Pharoh dreams that seven fat cows are swallowed by seven skinny ones. In the story of Chanuka the Jews are smaller in quantity and the Greek army is stronger and larger. Yet the Jews win. In both cases, it is the weaker who win the stronger. We can learn a nice lesson here. It is not always the quantity that is important, it is the quality. When we do good deeds, help a friend, teach our children, we should always strive to do the best we can. Quality time is very precious. Just like on Chanuka we light one candle and add another each night, so too, every day we should strive to do more. Another hint in the parsha for Chanuka, is written in the first pasuk: "Vayehi Miketz shnatayim yamimim: The acronym for shnatayim stand for: Smoll Ner Tadlik Yamin Mezuza. Light the candle on the left side and on the right is the mezuza. Be surrounded by mitzvot and by good things. Have a wonderful Chanuka filled with happiness and light and quality time!! PARSHA CAKE: This week's Parsha tells us the story of the seven fat cows and seven skinny cows. The end of the parsha talks about Binyamin and the goblet that was found. Here is what you will need: Any cake recipe that you like. (please share with us your favorite and we will post it in future Parshiot!) bundt shaped pan plastic goblet frosting with blue food coloring added (you can just whip up a whip and add a few drops of blue food coloring..) 7 bars of Elite Chocolate with cow pictures on them. (your kids will love you for all that chocolate ;-) Candies, jelly beans, etc... to fill the goblet. Bake the cake in a bundt shaped pan. When cool, frost it with blue frosting (to resemble the river). Cut the bigger cows from the chocolate. (this is not so easy... some might break....). Cut the smaller cows and place all around the cake Place the wine goblet in the middle and fill with candies. I had candies with swirl shapes and it sort of reminded me of dreams so I added it on. So here you can have your cake and eat it too! Answer to parsha puzzle: (The small sealed jar of oil was hidden and the Goblet was hidden in Binyamin’s sack) Have a wonderful Shabbat and Chanuka! Ruchie
