PNP+-+Shabbat+Prep+Summary

=Prep and Practice - Shabbat= Go To: Kavana Main Page

Vital Stats
Date: Sunday, October 28, 2007 Location: [|Montlake Community Center], [|Seattle, WA] Attendance: approx 60 participants (about 17 families)

Summary
When developing the Prep and Practice program, one of the things that occurred to us is that holiday programs often forget to include the holiday that happens most often: Shabbat! And, the premise of our program is that it's a good thing for families to celebrate holidays together, so what is the best holiday for families to celebrate together: Shabbat!

We made some modifications to this PnP event based on feedback from the previous (High Holiday Plus) event. First, we moved away from a carnival-like atmosphere where kids could go to any booth, to a structured rotation where groups were rotated through each station. And, second, we divided the kids into age appropriate groups: 0-3, 3-5, 6+. Here is the e-mail to our community that advertised the program, and the take home packet from the program:

Our program consisted of four stations based on the following key points:
 * The holiday of Shabbat, and the rituals and laws related to it, exist for the purpose of experiencing rest and rejuvenation on a weekly basis as G-d did upon the creation of the world. By experiencing rest as G-d did, we become closer to G-d.
 * The purpose of our program is to help families develop rituals for celebrating the holiday of Shabbat in a way that is meaning and relevant to them.
 * Station Themes


 * Shabbat is about connecting to G-d through rest and rejuvenation.
 * Rituals are things we do to help us feel and experience the spirit of Shabbat; they also connect the Jewish people through their universality.
 * Laws are rules that act as guardrails to ensure that we observe the holiday.

= = =Chug: Rest – Developing Restful Rituals=

Key Points

 * If you do something restful and rejuvenating on Shabbat then you're doing something Jewish.
 * What are you going to do that is restful and rejuvenating on Shabbat?

Activity

 * Sitting in circle, read a story about rest
 * Kids and parents draw a picture of what rest means to them.
 * Re-circle and share drawings
 * Drawings saved to create banner for Saturday Family Shabbat

=Chug: Ritual – Lighting the Shabbat Candles=

Key Points

 * If you have a ritual that helps you rest and rejuvenate on Shabbat, then you're doing something Jewish.
 * What ritual are you going to create to help you rest and rejuvenate on Shabbat?

Activity

 * Discuss why light is important on Shabbat
 * Share rabbinic views on light
 * Discuss why we have two candles
 * Discuss why we "gather in the light"
 * Practice the prayers over the candles while pretending to light them
 * Make candles – two options: dipping and beeswax

=Chug: Laws – Separating Shabbat from Other Days=

Key Points

 * If you have a rule that creates time and space for rest and rejuvenation on Shabbat that you don't have on another day of the week, then you're doing something Jewish.
 * What rule are you going to create or follow to create the time and space for rest and rejuvenation on Shabbat?

Activities

 * Play a game of tag
 * Come together and discuss how tag can get "old" and create new rules for tag
 * Play game with new rules
 * Come together again and discuss how the new rules made the game more special, just like having special rules on Shabbat
 * Talk briefly about the rules the rabbis put into place for Shabbat
 * Have families discuss rules they want to put into place to make their Shabbat different/special