Yerushalaim-The Center of the World

Goal: The Chanichim will understand what is Yom-Yerushalaim all about. What is so special in this city any way?

Instructions:

#  Merotz Shlichim- Divide the Chanichim into two groups and tell them to stand in two lines. Choose one Chanich to stand in the center and give him the big heart to put on his shirt and the little hearts to hold in his hands. The rest of the Chanichim will compete between the two groups which one will be the first to have all the kids ran to the center and come back.   You know this game, we just don’t know how to explain it… when the first runner is back the second one goes etc’. Every chanich that gets to the chanich standing up front takes one of the small hearts he’s holding.   

# Tell the Chanichim a story about a boy that couldn’t fall asleep at night because he heard a wired discussion going on between his body parts (if the Chanichim ask, you can say it’s a real story..) his hand said: “I’m the most important one in the body! Without me Yossi wouldn’t be able to write or to hold things”

And than he herd his eye saying: “No!! I’m the most important one without me Yossi wouldn’t be able to see anything”

from now on we’ll just write you the main ideas and you’ll make up from it a dramatic story.

The ear-Without me he can’t hear.

The lag- without me he can’t walk

The mouth- without me he can’t talk and eat.

ETC’

And than yossi said: ”you are all right but there are people in this world that live their life without a leg or an eye. It’s really hard but it happens, did you ever hear about a man that lives without his heart?”

The heart is the one that gives energy to all the other parts in the body to function, without the heart no part could survive.

# Explain the Chanichim that like in the story and in the game where the heart was the center and gave the other parts the ability to move and to live,-  the same with Yerushalaim and the world. Yerushalaim is the center of the world. She defuses to the rest of the world.

# Take out the three circles and tell one of the Chanichim to put it in order.

Now we can see how Yerushalaim effects the world. Yerushalaim is in the center it effects on the rest of Eretz-Yisrael and Eretz-Yisrael effects on the rest of the world.

#What is this thing that Yerushalaim defuses?

To answer this question we are going to play “auction”.  Give each Chanich 800 Shekels and tell them that they need to think before they are buying a place in Yerushalaim what is the most important to them. Start every sale from 200.

# As we can see (we hope so…) the biggest arguments were about places like the Kotel, the court, etc. What’s so special in Yerushalaim isn’t a store or a restaurant- it’s the places that show the special values and up lifting holiness that we can find in Jerusalem and that Jerusalem has to say to the world, and therefore everyone looks up to the city. – The spiritual life of connection with G-d, as opposed to the materialistic life.