Beshalach, so many miracles to celebrate!

Again, we did numerous parasha projects. I recommend replicating some more than others. I'll start with the craft and move to the food.

The sea splits and the Jewish people walk through on dry land! What could be more exciting?!? I have acted this out in many ways, with many groups, like this  or this or this.  Usually I think 'go big or go home' but this time, I decided to go small. 

I found these cute templates at artistshelpingchildren.org to make everyone involved in the story. 

The girls got to work coloring and cutting. 

 And assembling

We mixed flour, water, and blue food coloring, and loaded them into a large ziplock bag.

Then they out on a show. Cohava filmed and did two takes. Which do you prefer?

On Monday we had a huge snowstorm! It was very exciting for everyone. 

"You know the maan [manna] was like snow," Cohava remarked.
"How so?"
"Well, it was white and fell from the ground and was edible," she reasoned.
We decided to take snow and add the flavors of maan,

31The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, [it was] white, and it tasted like a wafer with honey.

לאוַיִּקְרְאוּ בֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת שְׁמוֹ מָן וְהוּא כְּזֶרַע גַּד לָבָן וְטַעְמוֹ כְּצַפִּיחִת בִּדְבָשׁ:

 Snow

 And honey

 and waffles

Met with mixed reviews

Before Cohava recommended snow maan, it was my plan to make Rice Krispy treats. The cereal looks remotely like coriander seeds.

Cohava excitedly started cooking.

But someone knocked the cereal box on the floor. I felt this was delightfully authentic to the collecting from the ground and recommended they do it.

I was only joking!

 Thankfully, we had another box, albeit patriotic, of cereal.

  

At school I made 'maan' cookies. The lesson was meant to be, "Wow manna was such a miracle from Hashem!" "Wait all food is a great miracle from Hashem!" Not sure how well they got it. But they ALL remembered that 1) we made maan cookies last year 2) I accidentally put in a tablespoon of salt, instead of a teaspoon. The moral for me is that experiential learning (especially edible) really sticks with a person!

Beshalach- Split over it!

Parashat Beshalach is another action packed Torah portion. Last year we lived it up, acting out the story of the crossing of Yam Suf and tried foods which may have tastes like maan.


This year we discussed the the sea in more depth (pun intended).

After learning the parasha, we read Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim. This is a lovely retelling of the midrash which recounts Nachshon ben Aminadav's faith and action of stepping into the water, when everyone else stood still. This tale adds its own idea, that Nachshon is aqua-phobic and overcomes his fears to do the right thing and be a great leader. Obviously this led to a lovely discussion. [I love the vast number of Jewish children's books available in America. It is high on my list of 'things I love about being back in the US'.]

Then the girls tried to see how water could be split.

Cohava attempted taping the water with a log, hoping for miraculous intervention. 
Needless to say, it didn't work. Gabi suggested if they got lots of sticks, maybe they could split the water in two. I thought it was a good plan, Cohava was skeptical, and Ruti was eager to assist in getting more logs.


Cohava was quite please with herself when the mission failed.

I was relieved that none of them thought that stepping into the water would make it split in two. 




After being used as prop and chew toy for a few weeks, the Pharoh toy was really dirty. When I bought him, the intent was Pesach, so he really needed a good clean before I put him in storage. And that is when I realized: drowning in the Yam Suf is just like going in the washing machine! 


Thank you, Judy, for letting us watch Pharoh spin around in your front loader.
The girls were captivated by his water plight, without it being too morbid.





As for manna, tomorrow, if I wake up early enough, I plan to make cinnamon buns and leave them on the floor (on a plate, in the kitchen) for the girls to find. Cinnamon buns taste like "cake fried in honey", right? 

In the world of food, someone once told me about a family which makes a special pasta dish for parashat beshalach. It required the wheel shapes pastas (for the chariot wheels) and bits of hot dog, but I can't remember anything else about it. I don't plan on making it, but does anyone have suggestions for special food for this parasha?

Shabbat Shalom!