LECH LECHA CHILDREN’S SEVICE MATERIAL WRITTEN BY MARK CREEGER

 God speaks to Avram, commanding him, “Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”

 Avram and his family are the first people to make , doing the Mitzvah of going to live in the land of

 God promises the to the Jewish people and that "all of the families of the world will be blessed" through the Jewish people.

 A famine forces Avram and the family to move to Egypt temporarily, where an incident with Pharoah results in Avram leaving Egypt with great wealth.

 In order to avoid arguments between their Shepherds, Avram suggests that he and Lot separate. Lot moves to the city of Sodom, where he falls captive when the mighty armies of Chedorlaomer and his three allies conquer the five cities of the Sodom Valley. Abram sets out with a small band to rescue his nephew, defeats the four kings, and is blessed by Malki-Zedek the king of Salem (Jerusalem), but refuses to accept any reward from the King of Sodom.

 G-d seals the Covenant Between the Parts with Avram, in which the exile and persecution (galut) of the people of Israel is foretold, and the Holy Land is bequeathed to them as their eternal heritage.

 Still childless ten years after their arrival in the Land, Sarai tells Avram to marry her maidservant Hagar. Hagar conceives, becomes insolent toward her mistress, and then flees when Sarai treats her harshly; an angel convinces her to return, and tells her that her son will father a populous nation. Ishmael is born in Abram’s eighty-sixth year.

 Thirteen years later, G-d changes Avram’s name to Avraham (“father of multitudes”), and Sarai’s to Sarah (“princess”), and promises that a son will be born to them; from this child, whom they should call Isaac (“will laugh”), will stem the great nation with which G-d will establish His special bond.

 Avraham is commanded to circumcise himself and his descendants as a “sign of the covenant between Me and you.” Avraham immediately complies, circumcising himself and all the males of his household.

LECH LECHA CHILDREN’S SEVICE MATERIAL WRITTEN BY MARK CREEGER

Events 1 - God speaks to Avram, commanding him, “Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.” There, God says that Avram will be made into a great nation. Avram and his wife, Sarai, accompanied by his nephew Lot, journey to the land of Canaan, where Avram continues to spread the message of the one God

Themes 1 - Moving Home - The people who stay with you - Special places and how we feel about them - Travelling into the unknown - Going on a Mission

Year Questions Activities groups

Toddlers What do we do The Moving Story when we move Tell a story about a group of people moving house, forgetting to bring things house? with or do before they left and having to go back and start again. Select a group of volunteers to act out the story as you are telling the story. You can provide props for them to actually carry across the room or to have to go back for.

1 -2 What do we do Game - When I moved home I took my teddy, my toothbrush..... when we move Going round the circle, each person states what they would take with when home? they move home and has to remember the items mentioned by the previous people in the circle. How do we feel Discussion - when we move How might it feel to only be able to take one thing with you? home? Who has moved home recently? How was it? What was fun? what was difficult? What did the other people seem to find enjoyable or difficult?

3 - 4 Why are some Drama places special or in small groups of 2 or 3, create TV adverts for visiting different places, important to us Assign different types places eg and other Actual holiday destinations like Theme parks and cities people? (eg Alton Towers, Disneyland Paris New York, Paris, Jerusalem) Places that will only be special to particular people (eg your grandparents house, the bottom of your garden) Discussion What makes places special in the same way to everyone? What makes places special to people in different ways?

5 - 6 Can we really Game - The One and Only leave a place If you moved house and you could only take one of everything, what would it and everything be? What if it was not a place but a year? about it behind one object, one photograph, one sound, us and start one memory / story of an event, one food again? Discussion - Jews have often had to move from place to place. How have they managed to continue their Judaism in the new place? What are the challenges to continuity?

12 - 18 What does it Discussion - Having Faith in the Future mean to start a Sometimes we just need to do the right thing at the right time. journey without Dedicating ourselves to concepts and causes can mean doing things differently knowing where LECH LECHA CHILDREN’S SEVICE MATERIAL WRITTEN BY MARK CREEGER it ends? to those around us and to the way we may have previously done them.

Avram's journey is physically to a new place, but also about not being afraid to do things where the choices are right, but the consequences for the future are not always clear. Avram's choices are also not just about himself. More and more they take into account the people around him.

LECH LECHA CHILDREN’S SEVICE MATERIAL WRITTEN BY MARK CREEGER

Events 2 "I will give this land to your offspring

Themes The nation of Israel in the land of Israel - Israel as the Jewish Homeland - Avram and Sarai, the first Olim, people to make Aliyah, people to choose to live in Israel.

Year Questions Activities groups

Toddlers What happens when Role Play of making Aliyah people arrive in Israel Choose some children to be the people making Aliyah. on Aliyah? They need to be given a bag each and UK passport (piee of paper with Union Jack on it) Other children will be the people at the airport meeting them, waving flags and saying "Welcome Home to Israel" officially giving them their new Israeli passport, (paper with a Magen David on it) teaching them their first Hebrew words. 1. Packing bags and leaving with UK passport 2.Arriving at the airport 3. Being given a new Israeli Passport 4. People waving Israeli flags, singing Heveynu Shalom Aleichem 5. Hebrew Lesson - teach them simple words written on a large poster or indivdual sheets. (eg Shalom - Hello and Goodbye, Delet - Door, Chalon - Window, Kiseh - Chair, Shulchan - Table)

1 -2 Why is the Magen Build ing the flag of Israel David the flag of Split the children into groups and give them an A4 white piece of Israel? paper and 10 strips of paper of equal length. The strips should be 15cm long, so that when the paper is orientated landscape, 2 will stretch across the top and 2 rows the bottom, leaving 6 to make up the Magen David.

1. ask the children to try and make as many different shapes they can make using all of the strips 2. on the page, get the children to put two strips next to each other, stretching across the page, above and below, leaving a small gap of with at the top and bottom. ask the children what this reminds them of? (hint 1 - which day of creation? - the second day with the water above and below) (hint 2 -something that men wear in Shul - stripes on the ) 3. get the children to make 2 triangles above and below each other, one with the long edge at the top of the space with the point facing down and the other with the long edge at the bottom with the point facing up.. Ask the children what this reminds them of? (hint - there is something from above pointing/looking down something from below pointing/looking up) This symbolises Hashem looking down on the Jewish People and the Jewish people looking up to Hashem. LECH LECHA CHILDREN’S SEVICE MATERIAL WRITTEN BY MARK CREEGER

4. Why is the flag called the Magen David? This was the symbol on King David's shield. King David's fight against Goliath and then leadership of the Jewish people in their own land, under their own rule, is a great symbol for the Jewish People living in the Land of Israel as the State of Israel.

3 - 4 How is living in Israel UK - Israel Mirror Game different to living in A. Real-Time mirror through leaders story-telling the UK? Split the children into two groups, one living in the UK the other living in Israel Tell a story about different parts of their day, week or year, which highlighting the differences including B. Mirror through childrens plays / sketches Split the children into groups to create a story of cousins in England and Israel emailing or Skyping each other on different days and times of year, to show the differences between living in England and Israel. (See starter list below and others that you and the children think of) 1. Learning in Hebrew rather than English in School 2. Sunday is a working and school day, but Friday might not be 3. What clothes they will be wearing according to the weather at different times of year 4. Jewish Festivals are national holidays which many people are taking part in (one way or another) and you see all around you 5. Depending on where you live, Shabbat is recognised (one way or another) by many people.

Discussion There are many similarities and differences between living in England and Israel. What is so special about doing the same things, in a similar or different way, but living in Israel?

5 - 6 What is so different Map Games about modern towns Get the children into small groups of 2 -4. and places where Each group receives an outline maps of Israel and 2 sets of cards. historical events Set 1 - Famous Towns (Jerusalem , Tel Aviv , Haifa, Be'er Sheva, historical in Israel Netanya etc) versus the UK? Set 2 - places where famous events took place, Avraham nearly sacrifices Yitschak, Esau sells Jacob his birth-right, the brothers sell Joseph, David fights Goliath, etc) (see map) Get the children to either place set 1 followed by set 2 or place set 1 and set 2 at the same time. Points or prizes could be given for most accurate

Discussion Living in the UK, we are also surrounded by modern towns with historical buildings and places where historical events happened. What is so special and different about modern towns and historical buildings and places where historical events happened .in Israel? LECH LECHA CHILDREN’S SEVICE MATERIAL WRITTEN BY MARK CREEGER

Events 3 "Through you, all of the families of the world will be blessed"

Themes Tikkun Olam - Fixing the World - Partners in Creation

Year Questions Activities groups

12 - 18 What is Tikkun Olam? The concept of Tikkun Olam, that we are in a partnership with Hashem to fix problems in the world for the benefit of everyone, Why are s many Nobel prize winners could be attributed directly to this line, in which Hashem tells Jewish? Avram that he will be a blessing for all of the families of the world.

How have Jews and Israel helped the The Jewish people have helped and continue to help the world in world? many different ways. 1. Nobel Prizes have been awarded to over 850 individuals, of How do they continue to help the whom at least 20% were Jews, although Jews comprise less than world? 0.2% of the world's population (or 1 in every 500 people). Overall, Jews have won a total of 41% of all the Nobel Prizes in economics, What is our mission in terms of 28% of medicine, 26% of Physics, 19% of Chemistry, 13% of Tikkun Olam, fixing the world? Literature and 9% of all peace awards. For a complete list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_Nobel_laureates Discussion Why do so many Jews win Nobel prizes? Find out what others think. See the resource document and perhaps vote on what everyone thinks the most powerful reason is. 2. Mark Twain and the secret of Jewish Immortality The famous American author Mark Twain wrote a now famous article in 1897, describing the way in which Jews have been around for longer than other ancient civilisations and have contributed so much to the world. This is was same year as the took place in Basle and the world first saw what became the flag of Israel. Get 2 - 3 people to read out the Msrk Twain quote, "if the statistics are right" describing the Discussion What do you think the secret is? How is that the Jewish people are still around? How is that the Jewish people are still doing things to help everyone else? 3. Israeli products, services, international aid and the boycott The recent boycotts of Israeli products has triggered an enormous number of lists online, which show how useful Israel and has been in so many different areas of technology, medicine and other essentials of modern life. These include, microchips, mobile phones, server software and many online products, medicines involved in various forms of Cancer, AIDS/HIV, Parkinsons etc. and international crisis and LECH LECHA CHILDREN’S SEVICE MATERIAL WRITTEN BY MARK CREEGER

disaster aid Haiti, , El Salvador, Mozambique.

Split up the resource document called "So you want to boycott Israel?" between a few people to read out samples of each group of items that organisations would have to stop using. Part One – Technology and Food Part Two – Staff Health. Part Three – Dealing with People.

Discussion How is it that so few people have had such an enormous impact on the world? what makes Jews different in this respect to any other group? 4. The famous historian Lucy Davidowicz suggested that during World War Two, the fact that Hitler was so obsessed with destroying the Jews was what saved the rest of the world from being beaten and being ruled by the Nazi government. If all of the time, resources, people and effort which Hitler put into trying to eradicate the Jews from Europe, had been put into the Eastern and Western fronts, the war might have had a very different outcome. This may be one of the reasons why the United Nations was so willing to vote so positively on the establishment of the State of Israel.

LECH LECHA CHILDREN’S SEVICE MATERIAL WRITTEN BY MARK CREEGER

Events 4 In order to avoid arguments between their Shephards,,Avram suggests that he and Lot separate. Lot moves to the city of Sodom, where he falls captive when the mighty armies of Chedorlaomer and his three allies conquer the five cities of the Sodom Valley. Abram sets out with a small band to rescue his nephew, defeats the four kings, and is blessed by Malki-Zedek the king of Salem (Jerusalem).

Themes Peace - Negotiation - Agreement - Choice - Co-existence - Duty - saving captives

Year Questions Activities groups

5 - 6 What do we do when "Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Bazeh" - Jewish people are in "All of Israel are responsible one for the other?" trouble or difficulty? Even though Avram had split with Lot, in order to avoid arguments What is "Kol Yisrael becoming worse, Avram still went to save Lot when he was Arevim Zeh Bazeh" - kidnapped. "All of Israel are responsible one for the News Reports other?" Split the group into 3 and give each group one of the three stories in the document "Summaries of Israeli Rescue of Jews around the world". The group could produce this as a news report with a news reader and reporters on site, interviewing different people involved.

Discussion How else does the Jewish community in Israel and other countries look after each other?

12 - 18 When do we live Throughout Lech Lecha, and the following sidrot, Avram shows us a peaceably? number of different strategies for living with others who may not When do we share all of our goals and life choices, or actively threaten us. compromise? When do we 1. Can you identify which events match which of the 4 strategies? negotiate? (see Sedra Summary at the beginning of this document) When do we fight? When do we live peaceably? When do we compromise? When do we negotiate? When do we fight?

2. What lessons are we learning from these events in our Jewish life inside and outside of Israel today?