A Hero Means To Just Be Yourself… - הגבורה האמיתית היא להיות עצמך...

Goal: That the Chanichim will understand the importance of preserving and standing for our ideals and uniqueness as individuals and a nation, and see the connection to the “Mityavnim” –the Jews that assimilated with the Greeks.

3 lines of different lengths (in any form)

Instructions: # Take one of the chanichim out of the room. Show the rest three lines in different sizes. Tell them that when you bring in the chanich and ask everyone to say in his tern which line is the shortest, they should say line number 3 is the shortest (wail the truth is that #1 is) we are hoping that when the chanich that was out will have to say – the last- which line is the shortest, he’ll say what everyone else said. # The mirror game: deviate the chanichim into pairs and place them in two roes facing each other. One roe does different moves and the other roe is the mirror and has to imitate their pairs. Ask the imitators how did they feel. How was it not to be able to do any move of your own? How does it feel to do only what others do? # Tell the following story: MAKE UP MORE DETAILS, AND USE YOUR GRAET ACTING ABILATIES. At first he thought it’s nothing. They’re just having a little fun. They would disappear for the whole night and come back with many stories. He thought it was wrong because it contradicted his beliefs and ideals. But let’s start from the beginning- He was invited to a party, he- that was considered the nerd of the class, was invited to the cool-guys party. At the beginning it was a regular party like he thought it will be but a little bit before the party was over few kids asked him to come with them. They asked him to take a dollar that’s was on the desk in the parents’ room just because they needed it for a bus ticket. He didn’t want them to think that he is a nerd so he agreed. On the second party it was more complicated. Everything was O.K. until one of the kids said that there no more drinks and someone has to go and bring some more. The same group of kids from the previous party said that they’ll do it and they invited him to come with them. He agreed. When they got to the shop they decided that each one of them would take one soda under his coat and leave the shop, he didn’t think it was the right thing to do, but what will he do? If he’ll protest they won’t let him be with them anymore, and he didn’t want to be left out again. So he did it. It wasn’t such a big deal - just one soda… As days went by, Joey (that’s his name…) became part of the gang. He would dress like them – with fancy expensive close and the same haircuts. He gave up some of his family events and his old close friends that were important for him. His new friends convinced him that in order to become an integral pert of the group, he must give up his old customs (homework, etc’.) And in some cases he disobeyed his parents. He would go for “missions” and come back just before he had to go to school, braking many rules that his parents and him set up. # Discussion: (options for questions. Ask what ever you want) Should he or shouldn’t he join them? Why? If you think he shouldn’t have – why isn’t it the best thing for him? Did he act according to his true self and nature? What did he give up when he joined? What did he gain? What would you have done? Etc’. #Just a few questions… You can give the kids for every right answer a little prize (it can be a candy, gum etc.) - How were the Jews that acted like Greeks called? /Mityavnim - Why were they called so? /because they acted like the “Yevanim”-Greeks. - What did the Greeks do to develop their body? / they established gyms and ”body shops” - How did the “Cheshmonaaim” treat the “Mityavnim”? /They didn’t have anything to do with them. - What was the risk in the group of the ”Mityavnim”? / That Am-Yisrael will be assimilated with the Greeks and Am-Yisrael wouldn’t exist any more. - Who won in the end?/ the “Cheshmonaim” - Why do you think they won? / Because they fought for a real cause they weren’t ashamed on who they are, didn’t try to hide or to be someone else. - Why do you think the “Mityavnim” acted like the Greeks? A little discussion: The “Mityavnim” were in a certain way like Joey; step by step they started to act like the Greeks until it was really hard to find the differences. We can say for sure that they were wrong, but us, nowadays, don’t we do sometimes the same mistake? # The Madrich’s conclusion- At the beginning of the Peula we all felt how it is to act differently than what we are, and how it is easy to act like every one else around us. Then we heard the story about Joey and compared it to the Yevanim. What about us? We have to try to be ourselves all the times- As privet people in our family, school Bnei-Akiva, and as a nation. Especially here among non-Jews we have to show everyone how proud we are in our beliefs, nation, and home land-Israel – all things that specify and distinguish us from others.