Chag Purim Sameach!

When the month of Adar enters, our joy increases!

-Teachings of the Ancestors

Purim is just a few days away! Purim is a very exciting holiday and always a family favorite because of the costumes, carnivals, spiels and hamentaschen. I look forward to seeing all of the creative costumes on Sunday!

The URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) website has tons of great Purim resources to bring the celebration home. Check it out here - http://www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/purim. Through the many heroes and heroines of the story, we learn to stand up for ourselves, our people and our beliefs. At Temple Isaiah, there are many ways to celebrate Purim from the Purimspiel on Saturday night to the Purim carnival and kids' purimspiel on Sunday morning.

In our celebrations and revelery, it is also important to think of the less fortunate and perform acts of social justice on this holiday. We are commanded not only to eat, drink, and be merry, but also to give matanot l’evyonim (gifts to the poor) and tzedakah (literally “justice,” but understood as “charity”). You can learn about other methods to add some justice to this holiday here.

See you Sunday in your Purim best!

L'Shalom,

Julie and Bridget

No Lashon Hara!

Kulanu held a wonderful event on Saturday and I enjoyed seeing so many of the Yad b’Yad families bowling together. Everyone seemed to be having a great time!

Our lesson this week was about Lashon Hara (Do not gossip). We shared two activities
with the class that focused on the power of speech by using positive words, separating kind from
unkind words and sharing kind thoughts about each other using positive words. We discussed the
power our words have (both good and bad) on others and how we feel when other people choose
positive and/or negative words about us. We also played the telephone game to show how our
words can change over time. We discussed how we often lose the meaning of words when we whisper to one another, which is often how gossip and negative thoughts are spread.

We shared a story that tells of the far-reach of our words and why we must be careful with what we say and who we share our thoughts with. In the book, the Rabbi explains that spreading gossip by telling or re-telling something about a person cannot be undone just as it is impossible to gather up the many feathers scattered by a torn feather pillow.

The children shared their thoughts about the lesson in circle time. If you’d like to continuethe learning at home here are some questions to consider as a family from the URJ (Union of Reform Judaism www.urj.org):

Questions and Ideas for Parents:
1. Can you think of an instance in which you spoke ill of someone and later wished that you hadn't said anything?
2. Have you ever spoken of someone in a way that positively affected his or her life, his or her reputation?
3. What do you think you would say to your child if he or she were "gossiping" about a friend or classmate?

Questions for Children:
1. Have you ever told a lie about someone? Do you know why you told that lie?
2. How does it make you feel when you tell someone that you like something they did?
3. Do you have rules in your classroom or your home for how to talk about people or to people?

We look forward to seeing you this week for another family session! It's hard to believe we're almost 2/3 through the year!

Until next time,
Bridget and Julie