Introduction
This book (a pamphlet, really) is based in large part on visits I've made to my daughters' elementary school to talk about Jewish holidays. The school district is suburban and each daughter is frequently the only Jew in her classroom.
My childhood was similar. My brother and I were the only Jews in our elementary school. I remember how my mother came to class to talk about Hanukkah or my father invited local church Sunday schools to see our sukkah.
The fact that I visit the schools each year is not merely an expression of my Jewish beliefs. It shows that I absorbed a simple lesson from my parents. If you want your child to be proud that he or she is Jewish, and to value Jewish traditions, you must value those traditions yourself and be wiling to display that kind of pride in front of your child's teachers and peers.
For Fathers (and Mothers)
Fathers, you too can go into the classroom. It does not take much time or preparation, yet it is particularly meaningful. If I can do it, you can too. This book is not structured like an activity for a women's (or men's) club, but for individual parents of any gender. Fathers and mothers can take turns teaching about the holidays.
This book contains directions for almost everything. If it seems too simplistic and repetitious, that's so I can remember what I have to do each year.
If there are several Jewish children in a classroom, the several families can share the burden with each family responsible for a different holiday. If the other families are not as comfortable (or knowledgeable) talking about their Jewishness, lend them this book. (Or give them a photocopy.)
On how I "teach."
This book consists of a series of "scripts" that form the basis of my classroom talks. You can memorize them, embellish them or rewrite them in your own words. I use a "script" as a helper, to remind me of what I have to say and how I want to say it. And to practice saying it concisely in the allotted time.
I've spoken only in classroom settings of 18 to 30 kids and usually for only 10 to 20 minutes. I've gone in every year, and the talks are short, simple and repetitious. But the kids seem to enjoy them, and, after several years, some of the kids remember holiday words like "menorah" and basic concepts like who the bad guys were (at Hanukkah and Passover) -- and why. The teachers usually admit that they've learned something too.
My "teaching" philosophy is not just to be short and simple, but to present each holiday as an interactive and sensory experience. Kids are not just told holiday stories, but asked questions along the way. Holiday sights, sounds, smells and tastes are offered to them. Most of all, my visits are intended to be "fun." (Although I don't always succeed.) And to show that Jewish religious and cultural practices, although different than most Americans', are rich an meaningful.
On expressing Jewish pride.
With bagels about to join pizza as an "American" dish, and "chutzpah" already in the vernacular, expressing Jewish pride is easier today -- here in America. Here, diversity and ethnic cultural traditons are valued in many schools and communities, and given at least lip service in others. Parents are encouraged to particpate in their child's education. Ethnic cleansing is not generally in vogue in these United States of America.
Yet although the schools and society may be more open than in the past, it is also more difficult for many Jewish parents to come in and talk. Few have time to prepare elaborate 'show and tell" demonstrations, and many have only moderate knowledge of Jewish traditions.
"How can I give my kids at taste of Hanukkah if I can't cook latkes?" you ask. Some parents of Jewish children were never raised to be Jewish cooks. (I certainly wasn't.) With conversions and intermarraiges, some parents of Jewish children were not even raised to be Jews.
Well...This book will not teach you to cook like your children's great grandmother form the old country. But it will show you how to prepare a taste of Jewish traditions for the classroom using the equivalent of a can-opener and microwave.
On the order of teaching holidays.
The community in which I live, like most of America, is predominantly Christian. For my daughters' kindergarten class, I spoke about only Hanukkah and Passover, those holidays of which the Christian community is most likely to be aware. Each year, I have repeated or embellished the talk from the previous year, but added one more holiday, so that by the end of 5th grade, many of the major festivals, holy days and celebrations will be covered. (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Succoth, Simhat Torah, Hanukkah, Purim, Passover and Shavuot.)
In my daughters' school system, elementary school stops at 5th grade. (Sixth grade is taught in a middle school or junior high setting.) So I will not be going to their classes in 6th grade. If your school district (like the one I grew up in) teaches 6th grade in the elementary schools, feel free to either repeat the 5th grade talks, embellish them, or add an additional holiday of your own choosing. (A good choice might be Tu B'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees, because of frequent grade school discussions about ecology and protecting the environment.)
I present the holidays as cultural festivals rather than religious dogma. The aim is not conversion or disputation, but rather to encourage acceptance of diversity, both by students and teachers alike.
As I've said, in a given year, few, if any, of my daughters' classmates have been Jewish. One teacher in this suburban school believed that my daughter was the first Jew she taught in 20 years of teaching. But this seems unlikely. If there were Jewish children in her class, the children and their parents simply never spoke up -- what a shame.
On scheduling presentations.
Show respect for your child's teachers. They must fit your talks between the many regularly planned activities.
Timing guidelines
a) Kindergarteners and First Graders will listen attentively for 5 or 10 minutes. If the last part of the talk involves eating food, the talk can be a little longer.
b) Second Graders and Third Graders can listen attentively for 15 or 20 minutes.
c) Older kids can listen for somewhat longer periods but teachers can not usually spare more than 25 or 30 minutes.
d) A Purim spiel ("talk") takes about 35 to 40 minutes -- and the kids may be too wound up afterwards for anything but lunch or recess.
On kid's answers and answering kids questions.
My teaching style asks the children questions, so that they can become part of the story. Sometimes they give the wrong answer, or an answer that you might think is unrelated to the question. Remember, they're only young kids. Be kind. Be courteous. Help them out, ask someone else, or give the answer yourself, and move on. (You can say things like, "That's not quite right but an interesting thought," before giving the answer.)
The same applies to children's questions. I let them ask questions, answer as best I can, and admit if I do not know the answer. You can always say, "I don't know, but I'll find out the answer for the next time someone asks me that question." Don't make up stuff.
If a child has a mistaken notion about Judaism or a Jewish holiday ("I was told that..."), it is important to correct them in an honest straightforward manner -- even if the correction is simply, "No, that is not correct." Remember that you and your child may be another child's only contact with Judaism.
The most common confusions are with Hanukkah and Passover.
Many young children have not yet learned that Hanukkah is not a Jewish Christmas. Even though both holidays occur about the same time of year and both have gift giving, those customs are all the holidays have in common. Christmas celebrates Jesus' birth and Hanukkah celebrates events (miraculously winning a war and restoring temple worship) that occurred almost two hundred years before Jesus was born.
The relationship of Passover and Easter is more complicated. Easter commemorates Jesus' death and crucifixion, whereas Passover celebrates events (the exodus from Egypt) that occurred 1000 years earlier. However, according to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem during Passover, several days after Jesus had come there to celebrate Passover. Jesus' Last Supper was apparently a Passover seder, providing links between Passover ceremonies for wine and matzo with the Christian Eucharist.
Because of these links, many Christian churches hold some sort of model seder to help teach their parishioners about Easter and the Last Supper.
Also because of these links, Easter and
Passover will tend to come about the same time of year. But they
will not come at exactly the same time because of different
underlying calendar methodologies (including the requirement that
Easter occur on a Sunday as well as solar versus lunar calendar
considerations).
On Jewish diversity.
This booklet stresses holiday customs and traditions, rather than Jewish law. In this sense the viewpoint of this booklet is not fundamentalist. But many of the precepts which a Jewish fundamentalist recognizes as Jewish law, other Jews will recognize (if not practice) as part of Jewish heritage and tradition.
Remember, when you talk to the kids, you represent all Jews. You may be the only Jew who has talked to them about Jewish topics. Sharing common holiday traditions with your children's non-Jewish classmates and relating our traditions to theirs, not only nurtures Jewish pride in the hearts of your children, but also plants seeds of tolerance in the hearts of their classmates.... So don't disparage Jewish customs that you don't personally observe. Focus on traditions most Jews share, and mention differences in passing.
My presentations incorporate many Jewish symbols. I start with some of the more familiar, such as menorahs, dreidels and matzo. As the kids get older, I add some of the less familiar, such as shofars, succahs, souvganot, hamantashen and graggers. There is even a place for lulav and etrog if you wish. Torah scrolls are introduced in conjunction with Simchat Torah in fifth grade.
Because the presentations are centered on holiday traditions, various important Jewish symbols are not covered, including the star of David, skullcaps, prayer shawls and mezuzah. You may add these if you wish, just don't overload the kids with too many concepts at once -- particularly customs or traditions not followed by all Jews.
Should you wear a kippah (skullcap) when you talk to the kids? I generally do not, I know of others who do. You may if you wish. If you do so, you should explain about them (remembering that not all Jews wear skullcaps, even in synagogue). A short presentation on skullcaps (yarmulkas) and prayer shawls (tallit) is included in the Appendix. You may wish to mention these as part of the Simchat Torah discussion of synagogue ritual.
A final comment.
The book is short -- but so are my visits and talks. In fact, this introduction is the longest part of the book. My visits are tailored to short attention spans -- the kids', the teachers' and my own.
I applaud those with the time, talent and energy to do more, but this book is dedicated to those harried parents (and teachers) who wish to do something meaningful and doctrinally correct within the severe time constraints of today's frantic pace.
Information has been gleaned from sources as diverse as the Encyclopedia Britannica, teachings of my own Hebrew school teachers, the World Book Encyclopedia, Chabad Lubavitch pamphlets and The Jewish Catalogue (sadly, I fear, out of print). I hope I have presented the information in an informative and entertaining manner. All errors are of course my own.
Copyright (c) 1997, 2001, Benjamin Slotznick