During the summer of 2011, my friend and fellow synagogue member, Robin, and I were just two shul-going gals in desperate need of corralling upwards of 20-plus children, (aged 2 and up) inside our Temple’s small social hall to help ensure a peaceful davening experience in the sanctuary next door.
While
we’d no formal training, we’d unofficially and electively served as Shabbas Den Mothers during
the winter months and between us were busy raising six youngsters of our
own. However, when the warm season hits,
our membership doubles in size. The
added youth energy proved both welcome and disruptive at once.
Where
to begin? For starters, we turned to
Torah. Each
Parsha offers an easy-to-branch-off-of lesson plan for related activities and
discussions. We relied on such weekly teachings
for inspiration, content and themes.
Things
soared in to high gear upon our discovery of a no-fail, time-tested,
kid-approved, edible substance – Marshmallow Fluff.
Out
of respect for Halakha (Shabbat Laws),
we used this sticky white goop as the “glue” for edible Torah Scrolls, Noah’s
Arks, and every other eatable, Parsha-focused craft we could think up. We’d found our fun-factor! Our kids returned
each week eager for more Shabbos enlightenment and yes – a sugar high.
Thanks
to the support of our congregation and our own dedication, we’re about to launch
our fourth Summer Shabbos Youth Program this year. With two newly-hired Youth Leaders, Robin and
I have been freed up to enrich the agenda and supervise it from the
sidelines.
The
point of all this? We learned that it doesn’t take much to build community or
to invest in youth education. Just a bit
of elbow grease, commitment and a certain jarred product found on any
supermarket shelf.
Copyright 2014 by Erika Prafder.
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