Fall Fun… with a Jewish twist!
Each year, the Hagim, a.k.a. the Fall Holidays, take us by storm. For almost a month our lives become a whirlwind – preparing, praying, celebrating with family and friends, eating, building and shaking. All that in addition to beginning school and our “regular” lives. When the whirlwind subsides, and we are left to continue without such structured ritual, there are still plenty of opportunities to experience the fall in a fun and spiritually Jewish way. Here are some great field trips and experiences for young families:
- Go on a Fall leaf hunt. Take a trip through the neighborhood, or in a local forest preserve, to collect colorful fall leaves or other evidences of the changing season. As you examine your finds, notice the creative work and unique designs of God. Compare the leaves to something man-made, such as a roll of stamps or a box of stationery. Upon examination, the children will discover one of God’s secrets. When people make things with machines, they all come out the same. When God makes things in nature, no two are the same. Ask your children, “Why did God do that?” Get comfortable and let them answer. Later at home, you and your child can make a collage with the leaves and other finds, laminate it (you can do this at Kinko’s) and hang it in next year’s sukkah. You can also press some of the leaves under a heavy book, laminate those and hang them on a wall in your house as a reminder of God’s unique designs.
- Plan a trip to the zoo to connect to Parashat Noah. This year, Noah is read in synagogues all over the world on October 28th. Tell your children the story of Noah (try Noah’s Ark by Lucy Cousins [board book], Why Noah Chose the Dove by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier and Into The Ark by Hana Berman and Lonna Picker) and then head off to the zoo. Try to imagine all the animals you see getting along on an ark for so long, and what adventures they might have had together.
- Find coats for tzedakah. Go through the box of outer clothes from last winter. Take all the things that are too small or unlikely to be worn in the coming winter and bring them to a shelter or other organization which will distribute them to the homeless and needy. Don’t forget to go through the grown-up clothes too! Discuss with your children how important it is to do the mitzvah of malbish arumim – providing clothes for those who don’t have enough.
- Crack open a pomegranate. Pomegranates are one of the seven native species of Israel (in Hebrew, one pomegranate is a rimmon, plural rimmonim), and fortunately, you can usually find them in your local grocery store at this time of the year. Pick a nice big red one. Supposedly, pomegranates have 613 seeds - representing the number of mitzvot. (See if you can count the seeds and verify this fact.) Pomegranates are very good for you too – the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology found that pomegranate juice has antioxidant properties, and pomegranate seed oil can even help fight breast cancer! You can munch the seeds or just suck the juice and spit out the hard part of the seed, but be careful – pomegranate juice stains! Pomegranates grow on trees, so the blessing you say when you eat a pomegranate is Barukh Attah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam boray p'ree ha’eitz. Blessed are You our God, Ruler of the World, Who creates the fruit of the tree. Three other of the seven species of Israel grow at this time of the year: dates (tamar/tamarim), figs (t’anah/t’anot), and olives (zayit/zaytim). Gather all four together and have a Fall Israeli tasting party.
- Pick a great pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. Then open it up and dig out all the slimy insides. (A great sensory experience for young children!) Roast the seeds and use the pumpkin flesh to make a delicious soup for Shabbat. Since pumpkins grow from the ground, you can say this blessing when you eat the seeds and soup: Barukh Attah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam boray p'ree ha’adamah. Blessed are You our God, Ruler of the World, Who creates the fruit of the ground.
Here are two pumpkin recipes:
Jacob’s Creamy Pumpkin Soup
This is a dairy recipe. To make it parve, substitute parve margarine for the butter, and rice- or soy-milk for the milk.Ingredients
- 1 small baking pumpkin (approx. 1 lb.)
- 2 Tbs honey
- 2 small onions, minced
- 2 fresh rosemary leaves, minced
- 4 C milk
- salt, pepper and honey to taste
Directions
- Cut pumpkin in half. Remove seeds.
- Squeeze honey on pumpkin meat. Roast in preheated oven at 350º until tender (about 1 ½ hours). Cool and cut flesh from skin.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add minced onions. Cook over low heat until translucent.
- Add pumpkin and milk. Raise heat to medium until the soup lightly boils.
- Reduce heat to low and add rosemary. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Puree soup in a blender. Soup will be thick and rich.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Directions
- Wash seeds.
- Steam seeds for 30 minutes over boiling water in a covered pot.
- Dry on a paper towel.
- Spread on a baking sheet.
- Stir in enough vegetable oil to coat seeds. Salt.
- Bake at 300º for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.
Enjoy time with your family this fall, and remember to look for the Jewish opportunities embedded in just about everything you do!
Book Suggestions
- Ecology and the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature and the Sacred Meet, edited by Ellen Bernstein, Jewish Lights Publishing, 1998. Respected experts from all walks of Jewish life explore Judaism’s ecological message.
- The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons by Jill Hammer, Jewish Publication Society, 2006. Experience the connection between sacred story and nature’s rhythms, through readings designed for each and every day of the year.
Fun at the Zoo
From Into The Ark by Hana Berman and Lonna Picker, A Zoo Activity Book published by United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Commission on Jewish Education.
Jewish tradition can help us appreciate the animal world and its important role inour own lives and the lives of others. When the Book of Genesis uses the term nefesh haya (a living being), it refers to animals as well as humans. The similarity of expression tells us that animals have a worth near to that of people.
The Talmud tells us that “God has compassion on anyone who has compassion on his fellow creatures.”
In the Book of Proverbs, we read that “The righteous person is concerned for the life of his beast.”
In the Book of Exodus, we learn that both humans and animals are required to rest on Shabbat.
