ACHREI MOT/ KEDOSHIM

PARSHA PUZZLE:

1)Yoni was sad and a note you did send,

Always try to be nice to your friend.

A child in your class broke a leg when he fell.

Go over to visit, go wish him well.

An older woman just got off the bus,

Give her your seat, get up without a fuss.

Give Tzedaka and help those who are poor,

You’ll feel even better than you did before.

If someone is sad, try to make him smile,

You’ll see that your efforts are really worthwhile.

Treat your friend like you want him to treat you,

If you know the answer, you just guessed this clue.

2) In the garden I grew a tree,

It seemed like I waited until eternity.

When will my tree bear its fruits?

I looked at the leaves and at all the roots.

The tree just grew but it still was bare,

I waited a year and another year.

But wait, now look a fruit came along,

Can I eat from one I waited oh so long…

No you can’t have from any of them,

These are the fruits that belong to Hashem.

You must have patience, you need to wait,

This teaches a lesson that is so great.

During the  Beit Hamikdash in the 4^th year,

The fruits were taken to Yerushalyim and eaten there.

What is this called do you know?

If you do you are a parsha pro.

PLAYING WITH THE PARSHA:

One of the most important mitzvot is “ Veahavta lereiacha kamocha, “love your friend as yourself.” The great Rav Hillel explains this to mean "What is hateful to you, do not do to your friend." Rabbi Akiva added, “Zeh klal gadol baTorah.” This is a great principle of the Torah, that man should love and treat everyone equally as he loves and treats himself. This, according to Rabbi Akiva is perhaps the most important Mitzvah and possibly the most difficult to observe.

Many times it is easier to see the faults of a person and not his good traits.  We don’t always take the time to tell someone how we appreciate them. We are quick to judge and are also quicker to tell someone their faults.  At your Shabbos table is a great way to teach the lesson of Veahavta Lereiacha kamocha.    Go around the table and have every person say something nice about each person.  You will see how good it feels when you say nice things to each other and see your siblings, parents and guests smile and feel good about themselves.

Don’t forget to continue to do that throughout the week.  Say nice things to your family, teachers, street cleaners, , friends and more.  It costs nothing, but you will feel like you are worth a million bucks!  

This week’s Parsha teaches us “Lifnei Iveir Al titein Michshol”.  This literally means not to put a stumbling block in front of a blind person.

The simple explanation for is that if you are leading a blind, don't purposely put something in his way or make him fall..

The real meaning of this mitzvah is that you should not try to trick someone or give them wrong advice.  For example if you offer someone a ride and then when he is not looking you leave without him.

Here is a fun game to play called blind man’s bluff.  Choose someone who will be blindfolded.    Cover his eyes with a scarf or towel and make sure he cannot see.  Then spin him around and stand next to him.  Have him get from point a to point b by explaining to him what to do.  He will be totally dependent on you.  You can try to put chairs and blocks along the way, but make sure you guide him to go around it.  This is a good parsha lesson!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

This week’s mitzvah is a reminder that we don’t own our fields, or what grows there.  Everything belongs to Hashem. We are given the mitzvah to leave a corner of the field for those who are needy. The fallen fruit of your vineyard you shall not gather, for the poor…you shall leave them,” (Vayikra 19:10).  We learn the mitzvah of Peah and Shechicha.   Here is a great cake to make, although you will see it will be completely gone…

What you will need:

9x13 inch cake

Coconut

Green food coloring

Candies that look like fruit

Chocolate rock candies (optional)

Plastic toy tree (optional)

Vanilla  Leket cake:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 vegetable oil
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder

1. Grease a 9x13 inch pan
2. Preheat oven to 350degrees F.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs.
4. Gradually beat in the sugar, then the rest of the liquids.
5. Beat in flour and baking powder.
6. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 When the cake has cooled, place the coconut into a plastic bag.  Add some drops of green food coloring and mix well.  Add more food coloring as needed, to make it look like grass.  Spread the coconut over the cake, making sure to cover the whole  thing.  Add the candies and tree on the corner of the cake.  You can add the rocks on the side as well.  Enjoy your sweet parsha treat :-)! 

This week’s Parsha teaches the mitzvah of Peah, leket and Shichicha.  What a perfect cake to remember about what each mitzvah is about.  Try to “leave some cake over” for everyone to have.

What you will need:

Orange Chiffon Cake

Green sour sticks

Frosting for writing and covering (optional)

Orange Chiffon Cake:

5 eggs separated

1 ¼ cup sugar

½ cup oil

Grated rind of 1 orange

1 cup orange juice

1 ½ cups flour

Powdered sugar- (optional) for the top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whip yolks with ¾ cup sugar until thick.

Pour in the oil slowly and continue whipping.

Add orange rind.  Slowly add flour with the orange juice, alternating between the 2.

In another bowl whip the whites and gradually add ½ cup sugar until it is firm.  Beat 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, gently fold the rest.

Pour into oiled baking pan.

Bake 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool.  Decorate with powdered sugar or frosting.  Cut the sour sticks as shown in the picture to resemble, peah, leket and shichicha.

Answer to Parsha Puzzle:  (Vehahavta lereiacha Kamocha) 
  (Orlah.  You wait until the 5^th year to be able to eat from them.  This teaches us to have patience and show that everything belongs to Hashem.

                                   Have a wonderful Shabbat!!

TAZRIA/METZORA

I hope that you all had a wonderful Pesach.

This week we bless the new month of Iyar, which is Sunday and Monday.  Don't forget to count sefirat Haomer...

In Israel we read Parshat Tazria/Metzora and in America we read Shmini.

This week’s Parsha tells us that on the eighth day, the Metzora must bring Korbanos to complete his Taharah. The animal Korbanot of the Metzora include two male sheep and one female sheep. One of the male sheep is offered as an Olah and  the other as an Asham. The female sheep is offered as a Chatat. After all of the Korbanot were offered, the Kohein pours some of the oil in his left hand and sprinkles it seven times towards the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. He must dip his right finger in the oil each time. Here are sheep cookies and the Kohein’s “hands”.  I will hand it to you that it will be great!

What you will need:

Shortbread cookies

Sheep shaped cookie cutter

Hand shaped cookie cutter

Fondant

Chocolate chip or edible marker

Corn syrup and paintbrush

Shortbread Cookie:

1 ½ cups margarine

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tbs. vanilla

3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325 F. Place everything in a bowl and mix until well blended.

Place a plastic tablecloth on your table and sprinkle with flour.  Roll out the dough and shape into sheep and hands. Place on cookie sheets covered in baking paper.  Bake for 16-18 minutes and let cool.

In the meantime, roll out the fondant and use sheep shape cookie cutters.  When the cookies are cooled paint corn syrup (it will be like glue) on the cookie and place the fondant on top.  Decorate as desired.

“hand”le with care.

This week is a minhag to bake a challa with a key inside.  I wrap mine in aluminum foil before baking.  This is supposed to be a segula for a good parnasa.

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 bat (daughter...) and Imabba meaning "with Abba" and Ima Abba written together!  Thanks Abba and Ima :-)

This week's Parsha talks about women giving birth and when a boy is born, we have a brit mila for him.

Usually the bracha given by a brit milah is

כשם שנכנס לברית כך יכנס לתורה לחופה ולמעשים טובים.

Just like when you have a brit, it stays with the child forever, so to, the Torah, chupa and maasim Tovim should stay forever.

Why is it called Brit?  The gematria of brit is 612.  We have 613 mitzvot.  We are teaching the child that the first mitzvah, the brit mila, we are giving him forever and now it is up to the child, to hold the rest.



PARSHA PUZZLE:

Bracha’s dress was not so nice,

and Sara came home with some lice.

Shalom sang low in a play,

and Moshe misbehaved today.

Chaya’s family is poor,

Devorah’s clothes are all over the floor.

Esti’s baby is not so cute,

And  Racheli cannot play the flute.

You cannot wait until Tova’s call,

So you can really tell her all.

You really have to think this twice,

besides that all this isn’t nice.

You know that you really should,

always judge people for the good.

And anyway we learn this week,

Guard your tongue from what you speak.

There is a pasuk and a famous Rav too,

If you know it, you guessed this clue…

PLAYING WITH THE PARSHA:

This week’s Parshas Metzora talks about a person who was stricken with tzaraas. Tzaraas was a punishment from Hashem for a person who spoke Lashon Hara ( evil speech). Lashon Hara hurts many people. It hurts the listener, the one being spoken about, and all those who hear about it after. 

Hashem gave us the power of speech and we have to use it wisely.  If someone talks bad about someone else it is very hurtful.  Once you say something to someone, you can never take it back.  Imagine counting feathers and then taking it outside on a windy day and letting it go.  After a while, if you try to collect the feathers, you will never be able to retrieve all of them.  So too is lashon Hara.  Once you tell one person, it spreads.

A great game to play is telephone.  Have one person at the table whisper a sentence to the next person.  The next person will then whisper what he heard to the next one and so on.  No one can repeat what they whispered.  The last person has to say what he heard out loud.  Most of the time, it is different than what the first person said.  So to is lashon hara.  It never comes back the way it started.  Good lesson!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

This week we will make a cake in the shape of a house and tzaraat all over it.

What you will need:

9x13 inch pan

Red sprinkles

Lemon Cake

9T margarine                                                                                   2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cup sugar                                                                       ¼+1/8 tsp salt

3 eggs                                                                                            3/4 cup pareve milk substitute

2 1/4 cup flour                                                                        grated rind of 1 lemon

Cream margarine and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs.  Sift dry ingredients, and add alternately with milk to egg mixture.   Stir in the lemon rind.  Pour in a greased and floured 9x13 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 for around 25 minutes, until cake springs lightly to touch. 

*Optional glaze: Combine ¾  cup sugar with the juice of 1 lemon.  Spoon onto hot cake.  Return to oven for 5 more minutes. 

When the cake has cooled cut ¼ of the top of the cake.  Cut that in half diagonally so that you have a triangular shape.  Place the triangle on top and now you have a cake that looks like a house!  Sprinkle to cake with red sprinkles- and there is the house with Tzraat in it.

Answer to Parsha Puzzle:(Mi haish hechafetz Chaim, Ohev yamim lirot tov, Netzor leshoncha meira… 

Have a great Shabbat!  Ruchie

SHMINI

PARSHA PUZZLE:

In this week’s Parsha- parshas Shmini,

We learn about kosher food very clearly.

How does one distinguish between kosher and not,

We will review this for you in case you forgot.