October 29
Two Hours of Judaic Studies
Today we examined the reasons behind the location of modern day Israel. How did the Zionists know exactly where to place the borders and what should be included in a new modern nation? We turned to the Books of the Torah to find answers. We discussed the books of the Torah–can you and your child name them?--and their divisions into chapter and verse. Review with your child what the notation Genesis 15:18–21 means. If you want to explore more of the references to Israel that we found review these passages:
Genesis 21: 25-32 (Beersheba)
Genesis 26: 23-25 (Beersheba)
Exodus 23:31 (Borders–Red Sea to Med Sea–Desert to Great River)
Numbers 34:1–15
We then began work on a large wall map of Israel that we will continue to use throughout our study. We had team “create the outline of the map”, team “create the sand for the desert, and team “create the bodies of water”. Ask your child about how they served. We then all worked together to add the sand to the map to create the Negev and the water to represent the seas, Lake Kinneret, and Jordan River. Discuss with your child the fact that 60% of Israel is made up of desert. In future lessons we’ll discuss how Israelis are able to make things grow and flourish in the dry desert conditions. Be sure your calendars are marked for Sunday, November 12–that’s our Dalet Family Education Day and we’d love to see everyone here.
