Doing Jewish During the Summer

Summer is a time to relax, play, rejuvenate and celebrate quality time as a family. Here are some suggestions on ways you can view your summer through a Jewish lens.

Most of these ideas are specific to the Washington DC area - if that is not your locale, check out your Jewish Federation’s website (you can get local contact information for YOUR area by visiting this website) – they often have many community resources, ranging from volunteer resources to cultural highlights.

Visit a Jewish Museum! We have a number of wonderful Jewish museums in our area. Here are a few to check out:

• US Holocaust Museum (www.ushmm.org) – Even if you’ve visited this museum before, there is always something new to see. While the main exhibit is most appropriate for older teens and adults, the children’s exhibit “Daniel’s Story” is appropriate for a younger audience. Don’t miss the special exhibit “State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda” currently on display – this is perfect for adults and teens.
• Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum – First synagogue in Washington DC. The Jewish Historical Society also provides walking tours of Jewish Washington and other related activities. www.jhsgw.org. Visit the “Jewish Life in Mr. Lincoln’s City” exhibit held at Washington Hebrew Congregation through July 20^th.
• Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore (history, immigration) www.jhsm.org
• The Dennis and Phillip Ratner Museum (art depicting bible stories) www.ratnermuseum.com

The Zoo Take your own Jewish adventures through the zoo! Many zoos include animals who are highlighted in the Torah – if you’d like a copy of a zoofari adventure guide (created for a local synagogue program), contact me (efrumkin@bethelmc.org) and go wild!

See a Movie or Read a Book There are so many wonderful books out there with Jewish themes – check out the Association of Jewish Libraries’ website (www.jewishlibraries.org) to see their list of Notable Books of Jewish Content for Children and Teens for 2010.

Want to catch a summer flick? Start your list of favorite Jewish movies – you’ll find a bunch on Netflix or at Blockbuster. Need some ideas? This page has a list of what they consider to be the top 50 Jewish movies – maybe there are more you would add! Leave a comment if you think something should be added.

Study and Discuss Torah Together A favorite weekly activity for Shabbat is to discuss the weekly parshah. For summaries, commentaries, and ideas, visit Jewish Family Living every Thursday for our synopsis and discussion questions.

Want more resources for Torah study? Check out the following websites: USCJ’s Torah Sparks is a great resource(http://www.uscj.org/Torah_Sparks__Weekly5467.html) and the Jewish Theological Seminary has many commentaries on each portion (www.jtsa.edu).

Internet Activities for a Rainy Day:

• http://www.babaganewz.com/ Check out the many child friendly activities, including art activities, games, and so much more.
• http://www.jewishheritage.gov/index.html - Discover this government site that honors National Jewish Heritage Month (May). Read stories about Jewish parachutists, learn about Jewish places on the National Register of Historic Places (maybe visit one!) and much more
• Jewish Women’s Archives – www.jwa.org This website is a wealth of information about Jewish women in American history. Read their stories, listen to their voices. Also find tools for creating an oral history of a family member.

Do a Mitzvah Project!
There is so much we can do to improve the world around us. Raise money for a good cause or spend time helping others. For some ideas of volunteer opportunities currently available, visit the DC Jewish Federation’s website (www.shalomdc.org) – you can find information on volunteering under the “Get Involved” tab.

Dealing with Disagreements

Parshat Korach
Numbers 16:1 - 18:32


Synopsis
Korach, a Levite, and two members of the tribe of Reuben - Dathan and Abiram - lead a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. They accuse Moses and Aaron of raising themselves about the community of Israelites, all of whom are holy. In return, Moses chides Korach for aspiring to privileges above those reserved for the Levites. He tells Korach that God will choose who is holy by accepting or rejecting an incense offering.

When Moses sends for Dathan and Abiram they refuse to come.

In the morning, each of the rebels, together with Moses and Aaron, offer incense in a fire pan to God before the Tent of Meeting. The presence of GOd appears and threatens to destroy the entire community, but Moses intercedes and the Israelites are told to withdraw from the dwellings of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram. Moses tells the people that the rebels died an unnatural death, that will be a sign that Moses is God's chosen leader. The ground opens and all of Korach's people are swallowed up. A fire destroys the 250 rebels in his party. Their fire pans are declared sacred, collected by Eleazar the priest, and hammered into plating for the altar.

But the people then protest that Moses and Aaron bear responsibility for the deaths of the rebels. As God prepares to annihilate the Israelites, Moses tells Aaron to make expiation for them. Those who Aaron reaches are saved from the plague, but a total of 14,700 perish.

God tells Moses to collect the staffs of the chieftains of each tribe and to leave them in the Tent of Meeting. The staff of the man chosen by God will be made to bloom as a further lesson to the rebels. Overnight, Aaron's staff spouts almond blossoms.

Then God speaks to Aaron telling him that he and his sons are directly responsiblef or the Tabernacle, the Levites are to serve under the priests and are to take care not to touch any of the sacred furnishings on pain of death.

All sacrifices and offerings, first fruits and first-born animals, and the redemption price of the firstborn - gifts to God - are given to the priests for all time. The Levites are given the tithes of the Israelites in return for their service in the Tabernacle, but are to receive no share of the land. One tenth of the tithes and the best part of the gifts are to be given by the Levites to God as their donation.
Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• What makes a good leader? What qualities do you think a leader should have?
• Why do we need leaders?
• When you are playing with your friends, who usually makes decisions about what and how you play? What happens when not everyone agrees?
• How do you feel when someone tells you to do something you don't want to do? When is it important to go along with the rest of the group, even if you have a different preference or idea of what to do?

And now... your weekly Torah cartoon from g-dcast.com

We Can Do It!

Parshat Shelach Lecha
Numbers 13:1 - 15:41

Synopsis
God tells Moses to send twelve men to scout the land of Canaan. Among the scouts are Caleb from the tribe of Judah and Hosea son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim. Moses changes the name of Hosea to Joshua and he instructs the scouts to investigate the natural properties of the land and to evaluate the strength of its people.

After 40 days, the scouts return, bearing a branch with a single cluster of grapes so heavy that it must be carried by two men. They report that the land is indeed bountiful, but that its inhabitants are large and powerful.

In the face of the fearsome report of the majority of the scouts and the weeping of the people, Caleb and Joshua argue that if the people have faith in God and God's promise to their ancestors, they will surely overcome the inhabitants of Canaan. As the Israelites converge to stone Caleb and Joshua, the presence of God appears to all.

Moses is told that God will destroy the Israelites because of their lack of faith and make a great nation of the descendants of Moses. But Moses urges God to act with forbearance and mercy and to save the Israelites. He tells God that if the Israelites are destroyed, the Egyptians will say that God was powerless to bring them into the promised land.

God forgives the people, but consigns them to wander 40 years in the desert. With the exception of Caleb and Joshua, none of the generation that was redeemed from Egypt will survive to enter the promised land.

The Israelites hear this and repent. They set out in the morning for the Land. The Amalekites and Canaanites do battle with them and the Israelites are defeated at Hormah.

The portion goes on to detail the sacrifices that are to be given to the Lord. The people are permitted to eat of the bread of the Land, but are bidden to set aside some of it as a gift for God. The sacrifices and offerings to be made in instances of inadvertent sin are describe. A person who purposely sins against God, however, is to be cut off from the people.

In the wilderness, the Israelites come across a man gathering wood on Shabbat. The man is brought before the whole community and stoned to death as God commands Moses.

Finally, God tels Moses to instruct the Israelites to tie fringes on the corners of their garments as a reminder of God and the commandments.
Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• Moses sent out twelve scouts to the land of Canaan - they all seemed to see the same things, and yet their reports differed. Why might this be the case?
• If you had been with the Israelites in the dessert, how might you have reacted to their reports? Would you have been swayed by Caleb and Joshua?
• When the scouts return from their appraisal of the land of Canaan, most of their reports were quite frightening to the Israelites, but Caleb and Joshua tried to assuage their fears. Think of a time when you felt scared but someone said something to make you feel brave. What did they say? How did it help you?
• Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist? Share a time when being an optimist helped you overcome a difficult challenge.
• The very last lines of the parsha details God's instructions to tie fringes on the corners of the Israelites' garments, which is the reason why Jews wear a tallit today when praying. How do you feel when you wear a special garment - have clothes ever affected the way you feel? How do you feel when you put on special Jewish articles of clothing, like a kippah or a tallit?

This week's g-dcast cartoon of Shelach Lecha: