A Tradition of Creating Meaningful Rituals
From JewishBoston
Imbuing a ritual with meaning distinguishes it from routine or habit.
Cindy Kaplan of Newton is raising a daughter with significant special needs. Now 16 years old, Mira has become a driving force behind her family’s Shabbat observance. It’s a celebration infused with ritual that Mira has embraced through her participation at Boston-based Gateways: Access to Jewish Education. As a student in the organization’s Sunday school over the past 10 years, Mira has become a bat mitzvah and thriving member of the Jewish community. Like Mira, all of Gateways’ students are nurtured to become full-fledged participants in Judaism.
Mayim reflects on her son’s Bar Mitzvah
By Mayim Bialik from GrokNation
From her outfit, to the service, to family issues, we have all the details on the festivities
I promised you a report on my FirstBorn son’s Bar Mitzvah which was last weekend, and I will not disappoint. Here it is!
As I wrote last week, my son entered the holy covenant of “adulthood” by becoming a Bar Mitzvah this past Shabbat. And indeed he did! He read the things you read, he chanted the things you chant, he spoke the things you speak, and he completed the ritual.
Make a wearable mantle (Torah cover)
This recipe is featured in Jvillage Network's Sukkot & Simchat Torah Guide. For more articles, recipes, crafts, and ideas, visit here.
From ReformJudaism.org
Using an on old bed pillow cover for each child, cut a hole for the head in the end opposite the opening and two arm holes near the top of each side. Let each child use a variety of materials to decorate their mantle. Wear them to march with the Torahs.
7 Fun Things to Do With Kids on Simchat Torah
This article is featured in Jvillage Network's Sukkot & Simchat Torah Guide. For more articles, recipes, crafts, and ideas, visit here.
PJLibrary
Simchat Torah is next week. Start planning.
After the High Holidays, Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret, it’s time for Simchat Torah, the "Celebration of the Torah." On this special day, Jewish people around the world celebrate the completion of the annual cycle of the Torah reading. Many synagogues even unroll the entire Torah scroll for everyone to look at.
Since Simchat Torah is a joyful holiday, there are lots of wonderful ways to involve kids. Traditionally families dance, decorate flags, and start the next annual cycle of reading. Here are seven ways to mark Simchat Torah with your family:
Build a Mini (Edible) Sukkah
This article is featured in Jvillage Network's Sukkot & Simchat Torah Guide. For more articles, recipes, crafts, and ideas, visit here.
By Brenda Ponnay for ToriAvey.com
A sukkah is a temporary hut, or booth, built especially for the week-long Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. In the Torah, in Leviticus, God commands the Jews to build “booths” and live in them during the festival of Sukkot. This temporary structure is known as a sukkah; it is constructed with three or four walls and a roof known as a “schach” made from natural organic materials. Traditionally, Jewish families decorate the sukkah with a variety of decorations including homemade ornaments, paintings, and streamers.
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