This year, the holiday of Shavuot is May 19 and 20. Also known as the Festival of Weeks, Shavuot falls seven weeks after Passover and marks the day when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites. Erev Shavuot (the night of May 18) is traditionally a night of study, when observant groups gather to read and discuss Torah. Since this isn't a realistic practice for families with young children (and early bedtimes!), why not add a Shavuot book to your regular bedtime story rotation? It's a wonderful way to share this special holiday with young readers.
For many children, preschool is a time for learning rules and understanding why they exist. In No Rules for Michael, a little boy wishes there were no rules, and the results aren't exactly what he wanted.
With 50 carefully chosen words and photographs of preschoolers acting out the Ten Commandments, Ten Good Rules introduces young children to the fundamental rules while teaching them to count from one to ten. The commandments have been recast in positive child-friendly language to make them easier for children to understand.
It is said that the words of the Torah are as sweet as milk and honey, so it is traditional to eat dairy foods, such as blintzes or cheesecake, to celebrate Shavuot. In Sammy Spider's First Shavuot, preschoolers learn along with Sammy about following steps in recipes. Here's a recipe for blintzes using ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen! Mrs. Shapiro's Blintz Recipe Adapted from Sammy Spider's First Shavuot
Pancakes 1 cup flour 2 eggs 1 1/2 cup milk 2 tsp neutral flavored oil such as canola
Mix flour, eggs, and milk together. Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. When heated, drop spoonful of batter and tilt the pan to coat. When lightly browned, flip over to cook briefly. Remove from pan and stack pancakes between paper towels.
Filling 1lb small curd cottage cheese, drained 1 egg 1/4 cup sugar
Mix filling ingredients. Place a spoonful in the center of each blintz. Tuck in sides and roll. Place blintzes in buttered baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for 30 mins.
To follow up with a previous post, Rabbi Josh Sherwin sent us photos of his seders in Afghanistan. Twenty-five soldiers, Marines, and sailors participated in the first seder, and twelve participated in his second seder at a different base. Thank you, Rabbi Sherwin, for sharing the photos with us!
Rabbi Sherwin writes, "Kar-Ben Haggadot helped to greatly enhance our experience and celebration, providing us with many good English readings, songs, and transliterations to make our Seder meaningful."
Kar-Ben authors visits schools and book fairs across the country. Students get the opportunity to meet the author and ask them about their books and writing careers. Authors meet their audience and are able to add value to the students' experience of reading their books. It's a rewarding experience for all!
Here's a clip of a school visit by Stacia Deutsch, author of Hot Pursuit. If you're interested in having Stacia or any Kar-Ben author visit your school or book fair, email publicity@karben.com for more information.
Today's guest blog post is very special. It's from Rabbi Josh Sherwin, who is a chaplain in the Navy. He asked Kar-Ben to donate Haggadahs for him to take to Afghanistan. Of course, we were happy to oblige! (It's like a modern-day Private Joel and the Sewell Mountain Seder!) Thanks, Rabbi Sherwin!
I am currently stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and am one of only 8 Rabbis serving on active duty with the Navy. In case you did not know, Navy chaplains serve not only the Navy, but also the Coast Guard and the Marine Corps, so of the 8 of us, I believe 4 are with the Navy, 1 with the Coast Guard, and I am one of 3 serving with the Marine Corps. Being that there are only 3 of us with the Marines, I am assigned to the Second Marine Division, but doing double duty as the Rabbi in charge of the Jewish Chapel at the base. I recently received word that I am being sent to Afghanistan this Passover in support of our deployed Marines in Sailors. While I do not know exactly how many Jews we have currently in Afghanistan, I have been told that I can expect as many as 50 to attend the Seder we will be holding there, and we will have approximately 75 attendees at the Seder taking place at Camp Lejeune. Kar-Ben's assistance will be a great asset to us in ensuring that these men and women get the Seder experience that they deserve.
As you know, I grew up in a Rabbinical family, (my grandfather is Rabbi Kassel Abelson, Rabbi Emeritus of Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis) but when I decided to follow in the family footsteps I was not sure that I wanted to become a pulpit Rabbi. As I was preparing to enter Rabbinical School at Jewish Theological Seminary, I heard a Rabbi serving as a Navy Chaplain give a Scholar in Residence weekend, and the thing he had to say really intrigued me. I spent two years participating in the Chaplain Candidate Program, a program that allows seminary students to accept a commission as an officer in the military and to intern with Chaplains serving on active duty. I graduated from JTS last May, and entered the Navy in the fall.
I am very thankful for Kar-Ben's support, and I look forward to sending you pictures of our service men and women using your Haggadot.
B'Shalom, Josh Sherwin
Check out our follow-up post to see photos of the troops at their seder!
Today's guest post is from Lesley Simpson, author ofThe Shabbat BoxandThe Purim Surprise. Her stories have delighted readers in Jewish homes and classrooms. Lesley was kind enough to sit down with us and share how The Shabbat Box came to be such a classic and loveable story. Thanks, Lesley!
Where did you get the idea to write The Shabbat Box? When my son was in kindergarten, one Friday he brought home a shoebox covered in blue velvet. The box had the word Shabbat in Hebrew letters. Inside the box there was a kiddush cup, some candles, homemade challah rolls from the teacher, and a little book where parents shared their stories about how their kids had used the Shabbat box. I had never seen a Shabbat box before. And I remember being amazed that this box, wrapped in a plastic bag to protect the elegant velvet during the winter snow, was still in one piece, and that the contents were intact. I was amazed because in this particular class there was a rotation system set up, and each kid got a turn to take the box home Friday and return it Monday. I remember lifting the lid. Kiddush cup? Check. Little candlesticks? Check. Shabbat Candles? Check. It seemed like a miracle, especially for five year olds who might be considered particularly skilled when it comes to losing snow pants, mittens and lunchboxes. I think they were, in their own way, each honored to have a turn, and they treated the box with respect. It was seeing this box that inspired me to write the story. What happened after the book was published? When you write a book it sometimes takes on a life of its own. You don’t know how people are going to react to the story, what kind of impact it might make, and what kind of independent life it will have without you. With this book, I was tickled when I learned that the book had inspired kids to make their own Shabbat boxes.
Recently, writer Amy Meltzer told a story on her blog (Homeshuling) that was like the story in my book, only it was REAL LIFE. She was concerned her daughter Ella, then five, might not get a turn to take home the Shabbat box from her classroom and that they might need to take matters into their own hands and make one. On the blog you can see a picture of Ella with her gorgeous challah cover. I was not kidding when I said I wanted one!
You will see at the back of the book there are ideas of how to make your own Shabbat box and what you can use to put inside. So you know those shoeboxes you toss into the recycling? Hold onto them. Ribbons from gift-wrap? Buttons that have fallen off coats and dresses? Pop them in the shoebox. Clothing that’s torn, stained, or too small? Save this material—everyone has stuff around their house and you can use anything from old mop strings to a broken hair ribbon or seashells for decoration.
Create a new use for an old thing. (This is something I love to do—finding a new use for an old thing. For example, I am now saving my old sweaty stinky running shoes to plant flowers in them this spring. They will be transformed with flowers spilling out where feet used to be!) It is also something that is a fundamental Jewish value—not to waste.
When I had a book launch for The Shabbat Box we created a series of art stations where kids could paint challah covers, make a spice pouch of besamim, and staple wallpaper samples and fabric to shoeboxes. The range of design was staggering to see, with boxes decorated with everything from sparkly beads, old buttons, ribbons, glitter, fake flowers, stickers, fabric scraps, felt pieces —you name it. You can collect beautiful junk, share your junk with a friend, and make some boxes on a rainy day. Walk around your house and ask people you live with to give you stuff that is broken or torn. Learn to look at it not , for example, as a ripped washcloth, or broken necklace, or uncooked macaroni, but as raw material you can transform.
What do you do when you visit schools or synagogues? If I am reading The Shabbat Box, I have designed a hands-on art program that will enrich the reading experience. I bring my own box to show the students. I actually have two boxes: one my son made when he was about five, and another one we made during my book launch. The variety shows the kids the possibilities in terms of designing their own creations. I like the idea of making something that is functional, not a cut and paste picture that’s destined for the blue box . You can make something you can use, week after week, whether it’s the challah cover or the candlesticks.
During one of the Jewish Book Fairs in Toronto, the staff created a program where kids could make a placemat and then laminate it. This craft was a great fit because everyone knows someone will manage to spill the grape juice Friday night (or something else) and with lamination, you just wipe clean and bring it out again. In my box, I have some plastic Kiddush cups decorated with beads, a fabric pouch of besamim filled with cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon (it smells so aromatic it’s addictive), as well as a hand painted challah cover on white canvas. And my confession? Sometimes my box includes candy (as long as I don’t eat it first!)
How can schools get in touch with you? I am delighted to do readings. Contact me at lesley@lesleysimpson.ca. Label your e-mail "Reading Request for The Shabbat Box."
First Lady Michelle Obama recently made an announcement about a new campaign we can all get excited about. It's called Let's Move, and it's based on four principles: encouraging children and families to make healthier food choices, improving the quality of foods in our schools, make healthier, more affordable food available to across the nation, and educate children about the importance of physical activity.
Adults can learn a thing or two from this program as well! For me, the easiest way to eat healthier was to shop at local farmers markets during the summer and fall. I can get affordable, fresh, locally-grown produce. I'm inspired to cook new dishes and look forward to the return of my favorite fruits and vegetables that are in abundance at various times of the season.
A simple way to get kids excited about new foods is to invite them into the kitchen to cook with you! Little hands can help out with basic tasks like as kneading your challah dough for Shabbat, mixing the charoset at Passover, or picking out apples to serve at Rosh Hashanah. Kids learn how to make traditional foods and even the pickiest kids will be curious to try new dishes if they see how they're made.
That takes care of the food portion of Let's Move. The physical activity part isn't so easy!
Alef-Bet Yoga for Kidscombines yoga poses with the letters of the Hebrew Alef-Bet. Kids use their imaginations and their bodies to form Hebrew letters. Alef-Bet yoga can be done indoors as well as outdoors and it doesn't require more than a book and some floor space.
Sometimes, all it takes is some music to get you moving! Rabbi Joe Black's book Boker Tov!includes a CD with his catchy tune about waking up and getting ready for the day. Perfect for slow movers, sleepyheads, and grownups on the days when coffee isn't enough.
Does your class or family practice Alef-Bet yoga? Do you have any ideas of how to integrate Let's Move into your Jewish home or classroom? Send us your photos and we'll post them on our blog and Facebook page!
Author and klezmer musician 
