We Had A Great Day Together

2nd Year B’nai Mitzvah: Jewish Views on Friendship

Can you tell me a story of when a friend lifted you up or when you lifted up a friend?
What are the different kind of friends you have in your life?

Figuring out if we enjoy being the center of attention through a interactive game.
Completing a introvert or extrovert quiz.
Discussing ways to prepare before being the center of attention for our Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

Discussing being treated differently because of who you are, with an experiential scenario based on what color clothes we are wearing.
Seeing examples of Nazi propaganda and exploring what “propaganda” means and how Hitler used anti-Semitic propaganda to make the Jews into scapegoats.
Doing an activity to distinguish fake news stories from real news stories, to see how easy it can be to believe false news
Seeing pictures of life in the Warsaw Ghetto and doing an activity to help understand what it was like to live there.

Analyzing pictures of Jews living in 1800s Eastern Europe and imagining what their daily lives were like.
Watching a scene from Fiddler on the Roof to learn about life in the shtetls (small Jewish towns in Eastern Europe) and to see how Jews were persecuted during that time.
Representing one of the photos we saw through another kind of art – either poetry, storytelling, or drawing.

Discussing how showing gratitude is a mitzvah, different ways in which we can show it, and how it makes us feel when others show it to us.
Watching a video on the “Gratitude Experiment,” and putting it into practice by making a list of the things we are most thankful for in our lives.
Creating gratitude cards to show how thankful we are for people in our lives.

Discussing what we love about our favorite books, and comparing that to people’s love for the Torah.
Re-enacting the story of Abraham and Sarah, who were the first Jewish people.
Making 3D versions of Abraham, Sarah, and their tent.

Identifying where Israel is on the map and discussing that while we may be far away, there are many things that we have in common with our Israeli friends.
Dancing to Israeli folk music and learning how dancing connects the entire Jewish community.
Playing an Israeli Food game to become familiar with common Israeli foods, and discussing how food can bring us together.

Reading The Hungry Little Caterpillar, to practice counting in Hebrew and reinforcing it with songs.
Singing a “Five Green Speckled Frogs” and playing Shimon says using our Hebrew numbers.
Doing a Hebrew number scavenger hunt.