Goals: To teach about Rashi, his life, and commentary, as well as Rashi script

Game 3: Kuntrus/Find the Scroll

            Before Shabbat make a small scroll out of paper. This game plays like Hot and Cold. Send one chanich out of the room, and then together hide the scroll somewhere. The chanich comes back in and begins to look, and everyone else tells him Hot or Cold. As a variation you can choose a song for them to sing, and depending on how close he is, you can sing louder or quieter. (Perhaps this could be a good rehearsal of “Yad Achim”.)

Explanation: When Rashi studied in Yeshiva as a young man, Yeshivot were different from how they are today. Because the printing press had not yet been invented, books were very expensive. Therefore, every student would spend time at the beginning of the year copying the gemara that they would be learning in school that year into a notebook. As the year went on, students would take notes from their teachers, and younger students would copy the notes of the more senior ones. As years went by, large compilations of notes would accumulate. Rashi combined and edited his own notes, as well as parts of the compiled notes, to develop his commentary. He then spread this commentary to his students, who spread it to the rest of Europe. It is for this reason that he is known in the gemara as “Kuntrus,” meaning either notebook or scroll.

Game 4: Interpretation – ‘Hodgie Podgie’ Rashi Variation

            [This game might be a little difficult for younger kids to do, but it might be worthwhile to try it anyways.] Hodgie Podgie works as follows: Everyone sits in a circle. Pick one person to go first. You being clapping to make a rhythm, and chant “Hodgie, Podgie, Hodgie Podgie, 1,2,3, Hodgie Podgie, Hodgie Podgie, starts with me.” Then, along with the beat, you go around the circle, and each person must add one word to a sentence. Adding a period counts as a word. (For example: Once…I…Went…To…The …Store…period.)

Normally, when someone messes up by saying something incongruent, the game stops and that person is out. However, in this variation, instead of being out, that person must instead stand up and explain how their sentence was in fact logical.

Explanation: Many phrases and words in Tanach and Gemara are very complicated for us to understand. Rashi did his best to explain everything in clear, short explanations that help us understand when we’re learning. Use Torah as an example, because the kids have probably encountered Rashi in chumash. Ask them to tell you a midrash they’ve learnt in the past two weeks on either bereishit or noach. Odds are it comes straight from Rashi. (i.e. Og Melech HaBashan clinging onto the boat, what happened when people stopped speaking the same languages at Tower of Bavel, etc.)

Story: (The following is a brief description of the story. Use it as a starting point and embelish it to make it more descript and exciting. You could even act it out!)

            Once there was a man named Rav Yitzchak. He was a jewler. It happened that a diamond of fantastic value came into his possession. The a rich man from far away heard of this diamond and summoned R. Yitzchak to come before him with the diamond, so that he could purchase it to use in a church. Because of the purpose the gem would serve, R. Yitzchak refused to sell. Finally, the man hired a ship, enticed R. Yitzchak aboard and set sail. When they were away from land, R. Yitzchak realized what was happening. Therefore, he came up with a plan. He went over to one of the sailors and began describing the beautiful diamond. The sailor demanded to see it. R. Yitzchak, however, said it was too precious to take out. The sailor insisted, and R. Yitzcak finally brought out the jewel. However, as he was walking with it, he pretended to stumble and it flew from his hands into the sea. R. Yitzchak pretended to cry over his loss, and the rich man let him go without any consequences. A heavenly voice then decreed, “You, who sacrificed a brilliant diamond for the glory of god will be blessed with a son who will illuminate the eyes of the entire Jewish people.” Soon after, he had a son who grew up to be Rashi.

Extra-Credit:

            As part of our learning about Rishonim, I think there is a good chance that we can get chanichim involved outside of snif, If you’d like, hand out copies of the following page of Gemara, and tell the kids that whoever can identify the authors of each of the numbered areas on the page will get a prize. (we have Bnei Akiva keychains to give out.)

For your own information:

1. Mishna is the first major transcription of the oral law. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi compiled the Mishna around the year 200.

2. Gemara, a written record of analytical discussions of the Mishna, compiled by Rabina and Rav Ashi

3. Rashi         

4. Tosefot, literally meaning “additions” were written by French and German rabbis between 1100 and 1300.

5. Rabienu Chananel, a 16th century North African

6. Ein Mishpat/Ner Mitzva written by Rabbi Yehoshua Boaz, also known as the Shiltei Giborim, references us to Rambam’s decisions in Mishna Torah, and the Shulchan Aruch.

7. Milchamot Hashem written by the Ramban, 13th century Spanish Rabbi

8. Rabbeinu Nissim, (Ran) 14th century Spanish Rabbi

9. HaGaot HaBach, corrections of the texts by 17th century Polish scholar, Rabbi Yoel Sirkes

10. HaGaot HaGra, notes by 18th century Lithuanian scholar the Vilna Gaon, (Gaon Rabbi Eliezer)

11. R. Yitzchak al-Fasi (Rif), 11th century Spanish Rabbi

Suitable for Shabbat (requires preparation before Shabbat)