To  demonstrate the historical meaning for zionism

Why Do We Need a Homeland?

            As we all know, having been involved in Bnei Akiva, there are many good reasons for believing in the State of Israel and for making Aliyah.  These games demonstrate one of the historical reasons for Zionism: the need for a homeland for the Jewish people.

Get Off My Land

Set up in your room (or hallway) chairs, or paper plates, or squares of cardboard, scattered randomly.  There should be enough for all but two of your chanichot/im to stand on.  One of these “landless” people is “it”.  The person who is “it” has to chase after the person who is not “it”, trying to touch them (like tag).  If the chanich/a who is not “it” gets caught, s/he becomes “it”.  The exciting part is, the “not-it” person can run up to any of the people standing on a piece of land, and yell “Get off my land”  That chanich/a needs to jump off of the land, and becomes the new “not-it”.

Suggestions:

-If your chanichim/ot will really get into the game (and hopefully they will),  chairs might not be the safest option, so try to prepare something beforehand that won’t blow away.

-Play with them!

-If one person is “it” for a long time, try having time limits where players automatically switch places.

-if your kids don’t necessarily all know each other’s names, they have to yell them, i.e. “Sarah, get off my land!”

-try to make sure that all the kids get to play in each round

-instead of yelling “Get off my land!”, make up a new phrase, like something from the Parsha, a joke that you have with your kids, etc

“Hot Spot” Tag

A variation of “Get off my land”, kind of.  It’s like regular tag, with one person “it”, but there is a hot spot, a home free.  Only one person can be on the hotspot at once, and you have to move when somebody tells you to.  If the “it” person catches you, you are frozen in place until another player frees you by touching you.

Explanation: Throughout Jewish History, we have been wandering around the world, kicked out of our homes and persecuted by the whims of other nations.  For many Zionists (especially secular Zionists), including Theodore Herzl, this was the major reason for wanting to establish a Jewish State.  That’s why, famously, Herzl believed that a Jewish State would be just as good in Uganda (of course, he didn’t think it would be as good – he only suggested it for a brief period as a safe haven).  For us, as Religious Zionists, there are many more reasons for wanting a State, especially in the Land of Israel, but we agree that having a home of our own is very important to protect our people.

            This is a very complex issue, especially considering recent events (i.e. Are the Jewish people really the safest in Israel?) so feel free to expand on it or skim over parts as suits your group.