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