Uh oh! Curious Sammy Spider slips from his web and accidentally accompanies the Shapiro family to a wedding. Sammy watches the Jewish ceremony as the bride and groom stand under the beautiful chuppah, hears the seven wedding blessings, and, phew, narrowly escapes as the groom’s foot breaks the wedding glass.…
Read More
Five Little Dreidels, a new rhyme for Hanukkah
Happy Hanukkah to all my friends. Enjoy this rhyme in your class room or at home. IT’S HANUKKAH THE DREIDELS SHOUT, TIME FOR LOTS OF FUN. COME AND JOIN THE PARTY. START SPINNING EVERYONE.
Read More
Fun with Jewish Holiday Rhymes is Available and Free
As a Jewish educator, keeping Jewish learning alive has been a priority. Early in my career, I taught two-year-old children and I wanted to find a way to engage them in learning about Jewish holidays and traditions. I was familiar with secular rhymes and finger plays and saw how they…
Read More
What is your favorite fruit for the Sukkah? An apple? A watermelon?
Five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot begins. It is a fall harvest holiday which dates back to the time of Moses. While wandering in the desert, the Jewish people built temporary huts. Upon reaching the land of Israel, they became farmers. At harvest time, they built little huts near their…
Read More
How the children in my classroom inspired me to write Sammy Spider’s First Simchat Torah
Our Rabbi’s, past and present, have taught us the importance of being a part of the community and have admonished us by saying, “Don’t separate yourself from the community.” Embodied within the Torah are values which teach us how to treat others. Several years ago at Simchat Torah, I showed…
Read More
“Sorry is the word we use to show how much we care” Yom Kippur Observance for Children and Families
Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It is a day on which adults fast and pray. We ask God to forgive us and we apologize to those we have wronged during the past year. At the end of Yom Kippur services, the…
Read More