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Italian Theme:

Things you will need:

• Strainer
• breadsticks
• biscotti
• garlic
• pasta
• pasta sauce
• oregano
• garlic bread

Do you like Purim, or do you find it a pain?
So much to do and all of that strain…
Don’t you wish you could just leave your home,
Go to places like Venice, Milano or Rome.
We know that’s too hard, so we brought it to you,
The pasta, the sauce and oregano too.
You’ll enjoy these delights, we can guarantee,
We added the breadsticks and some biscotti.
The garlic was included- I’m not quite sure why,
I guess it’s a sign to ward off the evil eye.
Enjoy your fresh garlic bread, it is so divine,
And you could top it all off with some Italian wine.
Oh- if you can’t find the wine- then you must not recall,
Right when you got this- you finished it all!!!

 Arba Parshiot:
Things you will need:

•             Small white board that erases

•             Moon shaped cookies

•             Elite Chocolate with cows on them

•             Chocolate Coins

 

Purim is here and you all must admit,

Pesach will be here before we all know it.

Between all the planning, we forget to take note,

That we also do read the arba parshiot.

Since we get so distracted, we kind of forget,

Which parsha we read or haven’t read yet.

It is important -and we really do care,

But we just don’t have the time to prepare.

Shkalim comes first; please don’t let it melt,

But now you can see why the chocolate gelt.

And Parshat Parah- yes the chocolate cow,

You’re catching the theme, are you getting it now?

Parshat Hachodesh, cookies shaped like a moon,

By then you sure know Pesach is very soon.

Yes we remembered that there is one more,

How could we forget that there’s Parshat Zachor?

Write things to remember, but don’t you mistake,

Make sure you erase the zecher of Amalek.

To make it easier for you, you could write what you can,

A happy Purim to you from the whole _____ clan.

Beach Theme:

Watch this for the theme of this Mishloach Manot!

Things needed for this Mishloach Manot:

beach bag

rolls

peanut butter

jelly

Spring (brand) drink

marshmallows

chips

Munch & Crunch (optional)

Look inside the beach bag and you will sea,

The rolls, peanut butter and jelly.

Or make a sandwich with tuna fish,

wave goodbye and have your wish.

So if it suddenly springs to mind,

To go relax at the beach, and unwind.

The marshmallows will fill your tummy,

Munch and crunch on the chips they are yummy!

And don’t forget to set aside,

Your very beautiful shvimkleid.

Life is a beach that is for shore (sure)

A very Happy Purim to you and many more!!

Haman's Garbage:
Things needed in this Mishloach Manot:

Small garbage can with lots of “ junk”  to fill inside….

Can you believe it’s Purim, can you believe it’s here?       

Where has all the TIME gone by?  It passed another year.

This holiday is busy, this holiday is fun,

And now take in a deep breath, cuz all the work is done.

You changed your mind a thousand times , your costume is complete,

You finally figured out what you’ll be, boy that was a defeat!

The stores were all so busy, a long list you’re family wrote,

What will be made for the seuda and put in mishloach manot.

So much JUNK is out there, you were not sure what to buy,

And you want everyone to be happy; you don’t need them to cry.

There is so much GARBAGE that is sold; you’ll buy it if you’re willing,

And boy we are sure by now the dentist makes a killing!!!

Well in our Purim story, it’s Haman we do mock,

When he rode Mordechai around, boy was he in shock!

And Haman’s wife and daughters had a very nasty plan,

They’ll be ready for Mordechai and dump their whole GARBAGE CAN!!!

They were all so happy; they were having so much fun,

Until they realized that the trash was on their evil Haman.

So in honor of the story, we’re giving you some JUNK,

Be happy and be merry as the men get a little drunk!

You can learn a lesson; you can learn something new,   

Be careful with your garbage, see who you’re giving it to.

       Have a wonderful Purim!

                   Ruchie

TETZAVEH

Shabbat Parshat Zachor( Devarim 25: 17-19)                                              בס"ד                

PARSHAT TETZAVEH

PARSHA POINTS

•    At the beginning of the parsha, Moshe is commanded to take special olive oil to light the lamps in the Menora.

• Parashat Tetzaveh continues to detail the building of the Mishkan. In this week's parsha we learn about the jobs of the Kohanim, and the special outfits that they wore during the avodah.    
• A Kohen Hedyot (regular Kohen) has four special garments to wear: the michnasayim (pants), the Ktonet (the tunic), Migba'at (the hat), and the Avnet (the belt). 
• Aharon (and future Kohanim G'dolim) wear the four garments that regular Kohanim wear, in addition to an extra four garments that they wear as well: The Tzitz, the Ephod (an apron with bells), the Choshen Hamishpat, and the Me'il (the jacket).   
• Hashem details the korbanot (sacrifices) that will be sacrificed during the Chanukat Hamishkan. Afterwards, he details the Korban Tamid that will be offered every day.  
• We learn about the Mizbeach hazahav, which is used to burn incense.

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 :-)

 The Parsha starts out by saying: "ואתה תצוה"  and you should command.  First, you should- you should take care of yourself and do what you have to do and only then can you tell others what to do.

   Moshe Rabbeinu's name is not mentioned in this week's Parsha. Moshe Rabeinu says "מחיני נא מספריך שכתבת"  
"erase me please from the book that You wrote".  We learn from here that a person should always be careful with the words that come out of his mouth.
The Shambat adds that when Hashem requested "דבר נא באזני העם"  requesting that  the Bnei Yisrael  take the gold and silver, Moshe begged Hashem to take out the "נא", from the sefer.  Moshe realized that the gold and silver that Hashem asked to please take would end up being the gold used for the Golden calf.
 "ויקחו אליך שמן זית"  The Bnei Yisrael are compared to olive oil. When you take any liquids and mix them together, you cannot identify which one is which.  Oil though, always rises to the top.  The same is with the Bnei Yisrael. They separate themselves from the goyim and rise to the top. Just like one squeezes out the olives with difficulty to get olive oil, so to the goyim try to squeeze the Bnei Yisrael.

PARSHA PUZZLE:

The Kutonet was a woven white garment,

It was of a checkered design,

It was long from the shoulder to the ground,

The material was very fine.

The Avnait was a colored belt,

Wrapped around the kohein’s waist,

The Michnasayim were white linen shorts,

The material was all in good taste.

The migbaat was wound around the head,

It was shaped into a pointed hat,

It was an impressive wardrobe of items

How did they manage all that?

The Aifod and the mitznefet,

Choshen mishpat, tzitz and me’il,

The Cohen was dressed in these items,

Covered from his head to his heel.

Who wore the first 4 items?

Who wore all of the rest?

If you know the answers to the riddle,

You just past this week’s Parsha test!

PLAYING WITH THE PARSHA:

Parshas Tetzaveh is the only sedra in the Torah from Moshe's birth until his death without Moshe's name in it.  Why?  Some Meforshim say it is because this Parsha is close to Moshe Rabbeinu’s yartzeit (7^th Adar), and the absence of his name is symbolic of his yarzeit.

 Others suggest that by Cheit Haegel the people sinned and Hashem was going to wipe them out and start over again. Moshe begged Hashem to save them or: "Erase me from your book that You have written!" The effect of those words, therefore, was that somewhere in the Torah, his name would be erased. Thus it is that in the week when we remember his passing, Moshe’s name is gone.

 

Since Moshe’s name is not mentioned in this Parsha, play a game that you can speak but are not allowed to say the letter M (for Moshe).  See how hard it is to communicate!

·  Have the kids prepare a paper doll and clothing to dress the doll.  Have them make a shirt, pants, belt, turban, coat, apron and strip (or help them make it).  Let them dress up the doll and explain to them the clothing of the Kohen. 

·  On top of the mizbeach was a crown.  Have your kids make a crown before Shabbat.  At the Shabbat table pass the crown around and each person can say something special about himself.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Choshen:

 What you will need:

1.     Rectangular cake

2.     Frosting divided into 12

3.     Food coloring to color the frosting

·        Mix each frosting with a different color.

·        Frost the cake in 12 even squares.
Or you can use fondant and frost each fondant a different color and shape then into small rectangles.

Kohen Gadol Clothing:

What you will need:

1.     Cookie dough

2.     Clothing cookie shapes

3.     Sugar icing

·        Shape the cookie dough into clothing shapes.  Turban, shirt, pants, belt, coat, apron. 

·        Discuss the different garments the Kohen Gadol had to wear.

Recipe for Rectangular cake:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups oil
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup cocoa
• 2 cups strong hot coffee

Directions:

1.     1 Preheat oven to 350degrees Fahrenheit.

2.     Beat eggs and oil together in large bowl with electric mixer.

3.     Add sugar and vanilla and beat until well-mixed.

4.     In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cocoa together.

5.     Slowly add dry ingredients to large bowl with liquids, scraping down occasionally, until evenly moistened.

6.     Slowly add coffee, pouring over the mixture.

7.     Pour mixture into a greased, 9 x 13 pan.

8.     Bake 1 hour.

Let the cake cool.  In the meantime pour  6 ounces of chocolate chips with a teaspoon of oil in the microwave.  (You can double the recipe for a thicker chocolate layer).  Pour over the cooled cake and put in the refrigerator to harden.

For the frosting: whip a container of dessert whip and add a package of vanilla frosting. Take a small amount in a bowl and mix with desired food coloring.  You can divide each color into 12 small bowls or you can take one bowl and place one color at a time.  Shape into squares on the cooled cake.

You can also use colored fondant and shape them into squares and place them on your cake.

Thought of the week:

The sin of Adam and Chava brought many unfortunate changes to the world as detailed in Sefer Bereishit. The Shlah adds that if not for Adam and Chava's sin, there would not be specific holy places in the world because holiness would be everywhere. There would also be no need to choose specific people (Kohanim and Leviim) for Avoda and Kehuna because everyone would be worthy.

 According to the Shlah, we had our chance to rectify Adam and Chava's sin at Matan Torah but we squandered our opportunity. Through Moshe's intervention, the situation was partially salvaged, and Hashem allowed us to build the Mishkan. This ensured that there was one place on earth in which Hashem's Shechina dwelled. In the Mishkan, Aharon was chosen in place of Adam to come closer to Hashem. During his service in the Mishkan, Aharon wore bigdei kehuna which were bigdei kodesh in place of the clothes that Adam and Chava had to wear as a result of their sin. The Shlah writes that the future geula will usher in an era where the world will finally return to its original status at creation. May we speedily merit to witness that special time!

Answer to parsha puzzle:  (The ordinary Kohen (kohein Hedyot) wore the first four items and the Kohein Gadol wore the last 5.)

Enjoy!  Have a fantastic Shabbat!  HAPPY PURIM!!!!!!!!!!

                                              Ruchie

MISHPATIM

We bless the new month of Adar which will be on Thursday and Friday!

PARSHA POINTS:

·      After Bnei Yisrael receive the Ten Commandments, Hashem gives them many more laws (mishpatim) which comprise part of the mitzvot.

·  Some of the laws we learn in this week’s parsha are: Shmitta, Eved Ivri, Loans, as wells as things that are forbidden, like Witchcraft.

·  At the end of the parsha, Hashem calls Moshe up the mountain again, to receive the commandments and Torah from Him. Moshe goes up for forty days and forty nights.

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 Imabba meaning "with Abba" and Ima Abba written together!  Thanks Abba and Ima :-)!

 In this week's Parsha it starts out by saying:

"ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם".  

These are the laws that you should put on them."  The Torah here teaches us that Mishpatim (laws) are Mitzvot Ben Adam Lachavero. First you have to learn how to treat your fellow brother, and then after that, comes learning Torah. Derech Eretz Kadma latorah.  What an important lesson

 

an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for a hand....

 Why does it say Ayin Tachat Ayin?  An eye under an eye?  It should say an eye for an eye. We learn from here that this Ayin refers to money.  How can we learn that from here?  Take each letter in the word Ayin, (ayin, yud, nun), and see what comes after that letter.  What comes after the letter ayin?  Pey.  What comes after yud? kuf.  Affter nun comes samech.  If you take those three letters pey, kuf and samech, you get kesef. So we can see from here that you do not take out an eye for an eye literally, but you have to pay the person back with money

PARSHA PUZZLE:

This Parsha teaches us how to behave,

Between a neighbor or a friend,

One must be careful how he acts,

From beginning until the end.

We learn that one must be aware,

If he plows or digs a pit,

He must think and also make sure,

That no one falls into it.

And if an animal does, then here we learn,

What he has to do….

Do you know the answer to this?

Look in your chumash for the first clue.

If a person has a slave,

He has to guarantee

that after a certain amount of time,

he has to let him free.

Do you know how many years that is,

This is question number two,

and if he wants to stay some more,

what must the owner do?

What is something that we can’t have together?

This is question number three.

What is it that we cannot eat?

Do you know what it could be?

There are many laws that we can learn,

From the parsha we read today,

And one more thing do you know,

From what must you stay away?

PLAYING WITH THE PARSHA:

This week’s parsha talks about the mitzvah of Hashavat Aveida, returning something that was lost.  Here is a fun treasure hunt game that you could play.

Treasure Hunt.  Find items that you can hide around the house. Make sure you place a clue at each item you placed, that will lead everyone to the next item. Make the treasure the yummy parsha cake. Give everyone their first clue. Let them head out to find the clues and see who will arrive at the treasure first.

To make it interesting, give clues based on this week’s parsha. 

 

This week talks about staying away from lies- מדבר שקר תרחק.  Talk about how important it is not to speak Lashon Hara. Play the telephone game.  The first person whispers a phrase into someone’s ear.  The next one repeats it into someone else’s ear.  When the last person hears it, he must say it out loud.  See if it came out the exact way as it started.  This is a good lesson to teach the child that once you say something bad about someone, it might change along the way and sound very different than what you said.

Another activity to do during the week is counting a bunch of feathers and placing them in a bag.  Go outside on a windy day and open up the bag letting the feathers fly away.  After a while have the children collect the feathers.  Do you have the same amount that you started with?  Some of the feathers got lost in the wind.  This teaches us that when you say something bad about someone, people start spreading the news.  You could never take it back.

This Parsha talks about Shmita.  Shmita occurs in the seventh year.  See how many things in Judaism you can come up with that have the number seven in them.  You would be surprised how many things there are!

       

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

In this week’s Parshas Mishpatim, Hashem teaches many laws on how to act and behave with another fellow man.  Why not make a heart shaped cake to remember that “Vehavta Lereacha kamocha”  treat your neighbor like you would like to be treated. You will love this dessert wholeheartedly!

What you will need:

Heart shaped pan

Apple crumble recipe

Pareve ice cream

Apple Crumble:

• 6-8  large Golden Delicious apples
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 8 tablespoons margarine, cut into small pieces 
• Pareve  ice cream, optional

Directions

Preheat to 350 degrees F. Peel, core, and slice apples into slices. Place apples in a large mixing bowl and toss with sugar, lemon juice, flour, and cinnamon. Place into a lightly greased heart shaped baking dish, and spread out into an even layer. Set aside.

In another large bowl, mix together the nuts(optional), flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in the margarine until crumbs are formed.

Top apples evenly with mixture and bake, about 45 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla pareve ice cream..

 Shalosh Regalim:

What you will need:

·        There are different ways that you could symbolize the sholosh regalim.  You could buy 3 marzipan challa to resemble the 3 regalim. 

                      Or:

1.     Round cake

2.     Frosting

3.     Licorice to divide the cake into three.

4.     -    On one third make a lulav and Etrog out of fondant or from candy (A lemon looks like an Etrog).

-         On the next third make a matza cookie out of fondant or cookie dough

-         On the final third make a little mountain out of fondant and the luchot on top ( made from melted chocolate in a luchot shaped tin).

ParshatShkalim:

What you will need:

·        Buy chocolate coins and put them out in a small bowl.  The kids will love the chocolate and you can discuss how it relates to this week’s Parsha.

Chodesh Adar:

What you will need:

1.     Cookie dough

2.     Cookie shaped fish

3.     Gummy fish

Answer to Parsha Puzzle: 1)When anyone opens a pit or leaves one uncovered and an animal falls into it, the person leaving the pit uncovered is responsible for the harm done to the animal. He must make fair payment for the loss but may keep the dead animal.  2) he shall serve six years and in the seventh be freed. 3) milk and meat you cannot have together 4) Midvar sheker tirchak- stay away from lies.

Enjoy!  Have a great Shabbat!
Ruchie

MISHLOACH MANOT THEMES

                                                                                                                                                         בס"ד

     Ginzei Hamelech:

Ginzei Hamelech the King’s treasure chest,

We put in all this treasure, found only the best.

But the real hidden treasure is right in front you can see,

It is the chesed and care from friends and family.

Enjoy these rich treats, we hope that you have fun,

Wishing a Happy Purim to everyone!!

What you will need:

Chocolate coins, treasure chest box, necklace candy, any treat you desire.

     Hodu Vead Kush:

Achashveirosh had a lot of possessions- rechush,

He ruled from Hodu all the way until Kush.

So here for you is a kush- chocolate cake,

And a Hodu (Turkey) sandwich for you to take.

Wishing you happiness, and lots of good health,

Happy Purim to you and enjoy all your wealth.

What you will need:

Chocolate cake, Turkey Sandwich

      Shushan Habira:

127 lands Achashveirosh did own,

In Shushan Habira he sat on his throne.

Bira- the beer, and Shushan that’s the rose,

This is the theme that for this year we chose.

Enjoy your great Purim, time quickly passes,

And don’t forget; look at life through rose colored glasses!

 What you will need:

Beer, Chocolate rose, rose shaped muffin, rose colored glasses

   Dagim:

Did you notice we have a theme?

Mazal of Adar is Dagim.

We even added extra spice,

We thought it would look very nice.

Munch on crackers with tuna fish,

And make sure to tovel the pretty dish.

We hope you like the things we sent,

We’re fishing for a compliment

What you will need:

Fish dish, fish spice, fish crackers, jelly fish, water.

  Vayimalei Haman Cheima:

Everyone bowed down to Haman except Mordechai,

He simply refused, he did not even try.

Vayimalei Haman cheima, he was angry what should he do?

Cheima also means butter, we prepared some with a roll for you.

Peanut butter, butternut squash and a butterfly you can see,

A Happy Purim to you and your whole family!

What you will need:

Peanut butter, butter, butternut squash muffins, butterfly...

Naddeda Shnat Hamelech:

The King couldn’t sleep, he was twisting all night,

Something he felt was just not quite right,

He asked his servants to bring his memory book,

He opened it up to have a good look.

He found out a story that he did not know why,

He never rewarded this man Mordechai.

Maybe he should have tried to count sheep,

And drink milk and cookies to fall back asleep.

What you will need:

milk, cookies, notebook.

Migadol vead Katan:

Achashveirosh made a party and invited everyone,

It tells us in the megilla- migadol vead katan.

BIG COOKIE, little cookie and the same with the wine,

BIG CHOCOLATE, little chocolate we think it’s divine.

So here is a little something it was not a BIG deal,

Have a wonderful Purim and enjoy your Purim meal!

What you will need:

big chocolate, little chocolate, big petit bars, little petit bars, big wine, little wine.

 Venahafoch Hu:

Etihw rehto eht dna kcalb syas eno fI,

Thgir syas eno dna gnorw syas eno fi

?od uoy nac tahw ?yas uoy dluohs tahw

!uh hcofahanev yas ffo ti hgual tsuj

Enjoy this opposite theme, and the inside out,

Because having fun on Purim is what it is all about.

(read this poem from right to left…)

 What you will need:

Bag to turn inside out, anything you want that you could put upside down or backwards.

Enjoy!

I would love to hear your creations.  More to come...

Have a great week!

Ruchie