Parashat Vayigash

Parashat VaYigash 5763

Peula- Chevraya Alef

Goal: Being that Sunday is 10 Be’Tevet, we would like the chanichim to be confronted with the question: why is remembering important? 

Stage 1:

The chanichim all stand in a circle, and they start playing “I’m going to Israel and I’m bringing…”  (Each kid must recite the stuff that the kids before him said + add something of his own.) 

*If the kids are fidgety, you can have them do a movement along with what they say, and then they have to recite the things along with doing the various movements…

Stage 2:

Giant Mastermind game.

Included are brown paper bags with all the pieces needed (we hope) thanks to the alef madrichot.

 Divide the chanichim into 2 groups, and have one group play and the other score.  (Play 2 games so that both groups get a turn) 

* If there aren’t enough kids, the kids play, and the madrich scores. 

*Make sure all the kids know how to play.

*  BEFORE SHABBAT-MAKE SURE YOU KNOW HOW TO PLAY!

Stage 3:

Bring it all together.  Ask them what these games have to do with 10 Be’Tevet. 

Why is it important to remember things that happened 2000 years ago?  Why do we care? Why cant we just live in the present? 

If we don’t remember what happened in the past, we cant learn from our mistakes, and move on to the future.  Like the games we played.  If each person took only what they said to Israel, without the rest of the groups stuff, you’d get to Israel with nothing to wear/eat/etc.  If you hadn’t looked at your previous tries in the mastermind game, you would have never gotten to the correct answer.

Stage 4:

Sum it up with the short story about Napoleon: 

Napoleon and the Jews

About 200 years ago, on a nice summer evening, Napoleon, who showed great interest in the Jews and their religion, went for a stroll in the old city of Jerusalem.  As he neared the Jewish quarter, he was surprised.  No street lanterns had been lit, all the Jewish homes were dark and locked and not a soul was in sight. 

This made him very curious.  “Is there something wrong?” he thought, “Has there been an attack on the Jews that I didn’t know about?”

Napoleon kept walking till he saw a dim light coming from afar.  He advanced till he realized that the light was coming from what seemed to be a big and central building.

Napoleon opened the door…  and saw a shocking sight: All the Jews of the old city were gathered in this shul, sitting on the floor. A sorrowful tune coming from their lips to the light of a few dim candles. 

Napoleon called out to the Rabbi of the shul, and asked him to explain what was going on.

“A terrible bloody war” the rabbi answered, “between Italy and Israel in it’s last stages closed in on our holy monuments.  More than it being our security fort, it was our center of life, our spiritual center that kept us and strengthened us.  It was clear that if this monument should fall, the war would be lost for us.

On this day, the 9^th of Av, according to our calendar, the fort was captured and burnt.  That is why we are so sad and mournful today.”

Because Napoleon, the great French general, could not remember at that moment which battle the Rabbi was referring to, he asked “And when did this battle take place that you are so upset about?” 

“Sir”, the Jew answered, “2000 years ago”.

Napoleon, who was so moved by this, called out in a trembling voice:

“Has such a thing ever been heard?  A great grandfather gets hit, and his great grandsons weep?!

“A nation that can remember the pain of its destruction for 2000 years, and cry over it as if it had happened just yesterday, is an eternal nation.  And no one in the world could ever destroy it.”