Welcome to Spark, the Tribe Parasha activity sheet that will help you bring Judaism to life in a varied and exciting way. I’d like these activities to enthuse the children and show them how the Torah given almost 3500 years ago is still as relevant and as exciting in our lives today. Thank you for offering to run a Children’s Service, for all the hard work you put into it and for making a real difference to so many young people. The US is very proud of the numerous Children’s Services that are run every week across the UK and this would not happen without you. Spark gives you an overview of the weekly Parasha, songs, an activity, discussion questions or D’var Torah linked to the Parasha or important event that week. Every Children’s Service will be different, in terms of how many participants there are, their age range, its length and the varying abilities of the children. Please read through the document and find the activities that will best suit the needs of your group. It is advisable to read it before Shabbat in case there is some preparation that may be needed in advance. I am sure the children at your shul will benefit from Spark. Please be in touch if you have any queries, feedback or if we can be of any help. Thank you again for the work you do in enabling so many young Jews to access their heritage and traditions in such an exciting way. All it takes is a small spark of interest, to ignite a flame of passion for Judaism. With kindest regards, Rabbi Nicky (Goldmeier) Spark Editor and Education Consultant Bo – ‘The Parasha in a Nutshell’: This week’s Parasha (Weekly Torah Portion) is ‘Bo’ which literally means ‘come’ but is translated in the context of the verse, ‘Go to Pharaoh’ and at the very start of the Parasha (Weekly Torah Portion) the Torah tells us that God said to Moshe (Moses), ‘Go to Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants…’. As Moshe (Moses) stood in front of Pharaoh he warned him that a plague of locusts would destroy Egypt’s crops. The next day, Moshe (Moses) extended his rod and a plague of locusts swarmed over Egypt. Pharaoh admitted his error and begged Moshe (Moses) and Aharon (Aaron) for the plague to stop. Moshe (Moses) then brought the plague of darkness over Egypt, for 6 days. Pharaoh could not cope with the chaos the darkness created and he told the Israelites that they could leave, but not take their sheep and cattle with them. God informed Moshe (Moses) that the redemption was near and on the 10th of the month of Nissan, each household was to set aside a lamb as a Korban Pesach (a Paschal offering), which was to be eaten on the evening of 14th Nissan. The Paschal lamb was to be consumed in haste and the participants were to be prepared to start a journey. In the future, the night of the 14th Nissan would be observed as Pesach, a permanent reminder of the deliverance from Egypt. At midnight exactly, God killed every Egyptian firstborn, both man and animal. Pharaoh told the Israelites to leave his land in haste. The dough which they had prepared did not have a chance to rise. The Parasha (Weekly Torah Portion) concludes with God commanding the Israelites to redeem their firstborn male children in all future generations and to wear Tefillin as a reminder of their salvation from the Egyptian slavery. Parasha Overview – In a Little More Detail After Moshe (Moses) warned Pharaoh that on the following day a plague of locusts would destroy Egypt’s crops, Pharaoh’s servants urged him to let the Israelite men leave Egypt. However, Moshe (Moses) and Aharon (Aaron) insisted that the women, children and flocks of the Israelites also be allowed to leave. As a result of this request, they were driven from Pharaoh’s palace. The next day, Moshe (Moses) extended his rod and an east wind carried a huge swarm of locusts into Egypt, which completely destroyed all the vegetation. Once witnessing this utter devastation, Pharaoh admitted his error and asked Moshe (Moses) and Aharon (Aaron) to pray for the removal of this plague. But once the plague was gone, Pharaoh resorted to his stubborn ways. Moshe then brought the next plague of darkness on the Egyptians and this plague lasted for 6 days. The Torah tells us that for the first 3 days of this plague, the Egyptians were unable to ‘rise from his place’. The plague of darkness was so nightmarish, that Pharaoh told Moshe (Moses) that every single person amongst the Israelites could leave Egypt, but only the Sheep and cattle should be left behind, as surety that the Israelites would return. Of course, Moshe (Moses) rejected this ‘offer’ from Pharaoh and at that point, Moshe (Moses) was told to never appear again in the royal palace. So, Moshe (Moses) replied that there would be one last devastating plague; one that would cost all firstborn Egyptians their lives! God informed Moshe (Moses) that the redemption was near and that from this point in time, the Jewish year would begin with Nissan, the month of the exodus from Egypt. On the 10th day of the month of Nissan each head of household was to set aside an unblemished male lamb to be kept until the evening of the 14th day, when it was to be eaten as a Korban (Offering). This was known as the Paschal Lamb. The Israelites were commanded to put some of the blood on the doorpost and lintel of the door to the house, as a sign that the inhabitants were Israelites. That night, the meat of the sacrifice was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Any of the lamb leftover was to be burnt. That night would be the one when God would smite all the Egyptian firstborn but would spare all those houses sprinkled with the lamb’s blood on the door. In the future, this festival would be observed as Pesach (Passover), a permanent reminder of the delivery from Egypt. Only unleavened bread was to be eaten for 7 days during the festival of Pesach (Passover) and the Paschal lamb was to be offered once the Israelites had settled in the land of Canaan. The terrible 10th plague was then brought upon the Egyptian firstborn and Pharaoh asked the Israelites to leave. The Israelites left with such haste that there was no time for their dough to rise. (As a result, Jewish people have eaten Matzah on Pesach – Passover ever since the exodus from Egypt). There were 600,000 men who began the journey out of Egypt, as well as their wives and their children. They also carried a large supply of gold and silver, which the Egyptians had given them. The Jewish people were commanded to bring a Paschal lamb every year on the 14th Nissan. At the end of the Parasha (Weekly Torah Portion) the Jewish people are commanded to redeem their firstborn male child in all future generations and to wear Tefillin, ‘…for a sign on your hand and for a memorial between your eyes’, to remind them that they had been freed from the tyranny of the Egyptian slavery. Children’s Service: Tot’s – Year 3 In this week’s Parasha, the Israelites leave Egypt with haste. They didn’t even have time to bake their bread properly and therefore left Egypt with Matzah-type bread. ‘When I left Egypt, I took’ Memory Game Tell the children that they should imagine they were living at the time of the exodus from Egypt. They are so excited to be leaving, but they have to leave very, very quickly, so they must try and remember as many things to take with them as possible. The children should be sitting in a circle. Start by saying, ‘when I left Egypt, I took my favourite toy’. Then, as you go around the circle, the children must try to remember what has been said by the children before them and then say their own new item that they are taking with them on the journey out of Egypt. So, ‘when I left Egypt, I took my favourite toy and a pencil case’. Then the next child says, ‘when I left Egypt, I took my favourite toy, a pencil case and a fan for keeping cool’. And so on… Story Time This story teaches the children about trust between friends. In this week’s Parasha (Weekly Torah Portion) the Israelites had to have such a strong trust in God, that by following all His instructions, they would be saved from Pharaoh and taken out of Egypt. Mr Penguin, Mrs Deer and Mr Fox were great friends. One day, Mr Penguin and Mrs Deer found a load of fruit and decided to keep it a secret. As they were walking, they met Mr Fox, who seeing them so happy, asked them why. They told him they couldn't say, because it was a secret, but Mr Fox asked them to trust him, so they told him about the fruit they had just found. When they arrived at the village, Mr Fox forgot about his promise, and told everyone about the fruit. When Mr Penguin and Mrs Deer returned to the place where they had found the fruit, the animals of the village had already been there and eaten it all! They were so upset! That same day, Mr Penguin and Mrs Deer found another place full of food and the same thing happened again with Mr Fox.