Melabev Book Launch and milestone activities
The title probably should be something like "Taking advantage of Melabev's book launch to talk about Bar and Bat Mitzvah activities." To give a brief overview- Melabev is a community center(s) for people with dementia. They have programs for early stage dementia patients to both have ongoing mental stimulation and provide respite for their families. ...
A Few Ideas for Bat Mitzvah Projects or Activities
Making Bat Mitzvah's (and Bar Mitzvahs) meaningful and fun is often a topic of discussion between parents and children. There are many different things that can be done (and throughout our blog we have many different ideas like this discussion regarding what you do at a Bat Mitzvah. Here are a few ideas for Bat Mitzvah projects or activities. We would ...
Nylon Flower arrangements for Bat Mitzvah
If you are looking for a project for a Bat Mitzvah around Shavuot, you could try floral arrangements with old nylons. Nylons can be dyed using store bought dye or food coloring and vinegar. There are a variety of examples on the web for inspiration and tutorials, or you can get a copy of The Art of Handmade Flowers. For online tutorials and examples ...
For celebrations around Pesach- Create a Haggadah
One idea for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah who is celebrating around the time of Passover, is to learn about the Haggadah, create your own commentary and illustrations and create a Haggadah. I was recently reminiscing about a bat mitzvah i attended many years ago, that took place before the holiday of Passover. The Bat Mitzvah girl had researched Haggadot fr ...
Mishloach Manot containers
Adar means Purim and Purim means megilla, seuda, and mishloach manot. Mishloach Manot, of course, require containers to hold them in and that's what this post is about. Mishloach Manot containers. The hand made sort of course. The Container Expert Martha Stewart is queen of hand made containers. A few possible containers include Candy Cones a ...
Parshat Bo, first borns and the zodiac
This weeks parsha is one of the places where the concept of sanctifying the first born comes up. Many years ago I was excited to have an opportunity to go to my first Pidyon Haben (although ironically I ended up being able to attend three over a period of about three months.) Because I was studying Jewish art, I knew that the platter the baby is placed ...
Tu Bshvat Flower ideas
Tu Bshvat flowers Tu B'shvat is really about figuring out a date for terumot and maasrot. That is tithing- old fruits versus new fruits, which year they are from so the fruit can go to the correct recipients. In the Bnei Akiva bencher, we actually do include the blessing recited when taking terumot and maasrot. But I didn't really want to do a post abo ...
Some more fun things for Hanukkah
Here are a few more fun things for Hanukkah/Chanukkah: The first two are in Hebrew but have a lot of pictures so for readers who don't read Hebrew, you can get the gist of the project anyway. How to for a fondant dreidel necklace My thanks to Tal Tsafrir from Taltalim for allowing me to include a link and use an image of the project. Hanukkah gel ...
Tashkent Menorah
In honor of Chanukkah, I am posting a photo of a menorah. The menorah is a very popular motif in Jewish art "then and now." However, the menorah represents the menorah used in the Beit Hamikdash or Temple rather than the Hanukkah lamp used during Hanukkah. Note the difference in the number of lights (seven versus nine.) There are lots and lots of articl ...