Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide

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Including netilat yada’yim, either in the mornings or before saying ha’motzi, either every day or just on Fridays before eating challah, should be a school-wide decision, after a check-in with the rabbi. Practice should be consistent throughout the school, and with some forethought it can spiral up through the age groups. Perhaps two-year-olds will say netilat yada’yim only on Fridays when they say ha’motzi and eat challah, three-year-olds who eat lunch at school will wash every day, and four-year-olds will include the ritual in their morning circles with Modeh Ani. Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide USCJ Department of Education Maxine Handelman Handelman@uscj.org 97
Food Blessings In the words of the Talmud, whoever enjoys this world’s pleasures without reciting a blessing is tantamount to one who steals from God. (Berachot 35a). We eat every day, many times a day. When we pause before eating to say a brachah (blessing), we invite God into the simple act of eating. We transform that first bite, and all that follow it, from an ordinary rote action to a holy action, a moment infused with the presence of God. Teaching and using food brachot (blessings) is a straightforward way to teach about God’s presence in the world around us.* When teaching brachot to children, it is best to introduce each brachah with concrete symbols. Merely saying the brachah before eating will not teach young children what they are saying. Introduce each new brachah in circle time, show the children the food that they are blessing God for creating. For example, what does it mean to “bring forth bread from the earth”? Show the children pictures of wheat in the field, then show them what wheat looks like after it has been harvested. Show children flour and yeast, and then show them how yeast makes dough rise. Give them a context for what they are saying. When teaching the brachot for things that grow on an eitz (tree) and in the adama (ground), show children pictures of fruit trees and produce that grows from the ground. If we teach through concrete symbols and give children a context, they will truly understand what they are saying and can appreciate more fully how saying the brachah invites God to the snack table. Each food has a blessing. Following are all the food blessings. With children of all ages, it is important to say the correct blessing with each snack and at each meal time. Saying ha’motzi with every snack and meal robs children of the opportunity to learn something new about God with each different food they eat. Bread - Ha’motzi –When a meal contains bread, it is customary to say only ha’motzi, which then covers all the other foods consumed at that meal. 2 + * " ! , 1 " - () &. % Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, ha’motzi lechem min ha’aretz. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. Why is bread so important to the Jewish people? The rabbis regarded bread as the staple of their diet and a meal was not considered complete without it. They instituted a special blessing to be recited before eating bread. On Shabbat, two loaves of challah are placed on the table in remembrance of the double portion of manna that the Israelites received in the wilderness every Friday (Exodus 16:5). When the motzi or any other food brachah is recited before eating, you should eat immediately, without talking or pausing for too long (Klein, p. 43). *For more about why God’s presence is so essential in early childhood, see the God and Spirituality section in this Vision. Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide USCJ Department of Education Maxine Handelman Handelman@uscj.org 98
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Vision for Conservative Early Child
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Vision for Conservative Early Child
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Introduction Early childhood educat
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clergy and other synagogue professi
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Ethical Behavior “Justice, justic
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How to Use This Section Jewish valu
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“I would like to have a drink of
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they shared the wheat equally each
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For class discussion: 1. How could
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Then one day, Jacob was walking nea
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Dima ben Netina and the Ruby: A Sto
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Made with Love: A Story of Ma’ach
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Aaron and the fighting friends: A S
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That night, when the sun disappeare
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The next morning King Solomon woke
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So Abba and Ima went back to their
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All the other parts of the body lau
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For class discussion: 1. Why couldn
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Impatient Abraham: A Story of Teshu
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Stone Soup: A Story of Tikkun Olam
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Rabbi Zusya and the Birds Who Would
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The Holy Miser - a story of Tzedaka
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“Almost perfect?” questioned th
Page 47 and 48: Jules, Jacqueline, The Hardest Word
Page 49 and 50: Values by story - grid 1 continued
Page 51 and 52: God and Spirituality Among the most
Page 53 and 54: Preparing Yourself for Wrestling wi
Page 55 and 56: their questions. Do not avoid the c
Page 57 and 58: • Celebrate and acknowledge life-
Page 59 and 60: 5. We are thankful for God’s gift
Page 61 and 62: • Morning Brachot The rabbis tell
Page 63 and 64: • Shabbat Tefillot Fridays are an
Page 65 and 66: Barchu Barchu et Adonai ha-m’vora
Page 67 and 68: Informal Ways to Invite God into th
Page 69 and 70: Bibliography and References Coles,
Page 71 and 72: Jewish Learning Raise up a child in
Page 73 and 74: Children’s Learning The goals for
Page 75 and 76: Low-impact strategies: • Post pho
Page 77 and 78: Expanding Knowledge The literature
Page 79 and 80: Low-impact strategies: • Suggest
Page 81 and 82: what we teach in class with real li
Page 83 and 84: Low-impact strategies: • Offer ti
Page 85 and 86: Low-impact strategies: • Provide
Page 87 and 88: Continuity The most valuable early
Page 89 and 90: Ritual Observance and Halachah Ritu
Page 91 and 92: Kipot A kipah, also known in Yiddis
Page 93 and 94: There are many ways to explain the
Page 95 and 96: Kashrut - Dietary Laws The dietary
Page 97: Netilat Yada’yim -Ritual Hand Was
Page 101 and 102: Cakes , Crackers And Cookies - Bore
Page 103 and 104: Birkat ha’Mazon- the Blessing aft
Page 105 and 106: Bringing Shabbat into the Early Chi
Page 107 and 108: Challah On Shabbat, we put two loav
Page 109 and 110: Havdalah Havdalah is the second sid
Page 111 and 112: 3. Spices We lift the spice box and
Page 113 and 114: Rosh Chodesh - The New Month Young
Page 115 and 116: Bibliography and Resources Dosick,
Page 117 and 118: Appendix A - More Kashrut Details B
Page 119 and 120: Appendix B - Sample Letter from the
Page 121 and 122: Staff Handbook one example Our scho
Page 123 and 124: Working With Clergy (and Other Key
Page 125 and 126: Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner of the Jack
Page 127 and 128: Creating a Jewish Environment The e
Page 129 and 130: • Hebrew labels transform a print
Page 131: Conclusion In the summer of 2007, e
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