1.The chanichim will understand that the Judaism believes in doing mitzvot beyond just theoretical ideas.

2.The chanichim will understand that mitzvot illustrate ideals and values that we believe in.

Things to prepare:

1.”הלכות השקמת הבוקר” – שולחן ערוך  (source #1)

2 .body language picture. (Source #2)

“To do or not to do?”

Goal:

1.The chanichim will understand that the Judaism believes in doing mitzvot beyond just theoretical ideas.

2.The chanichim will understand that mitzvot illustrate ideals and values that we believe in.

Steps:

1. Skit – what do you do when you wake up?

2. Discussion

3. What’s happening inside?

4. How can we show it outside?

Things to prepare:

1.”הלכות השקמת הבוקר” – שולחן ערוך  (source #1)

2 .body language picture. (Source #2)

1.Skit – what do you do when you wake up in the morning?          

Ask a chanicha to act out what she does every morning when she wakes up. Give the same chanicha, or choose a different one, the list of “הלכות השקמת הבוקר” from "קיצור שולחן ערוך" and let her act what we should really do. Let the chanichim guess what the different actions she is doing are.

2.discussion:

Ask the chanichim:

• Who do you identify with more – the first skit or the second one?

• Why do we need to do all the details in the halacha? (Especially in the morning when we are tired and in a rush?)

3. What’s happening inside?

Show the chanichim this picture and try to understand the different people.

• Are all the three participating in the conversation? (No, the middle one is talking and the other two are not interested)

• What is the relationship between the three? (The right one and the left one are trying to show the middle one that he’s not welcome)

• How do you know? These people never spoke to us or told us that they think about each other? But by the way they are standing and their body language we can learn a lot.

Right man - hands in the pocket, hand behind the neck – as his neck hurts him and he is busy with that, looking to the ground, legs on over the other – protects himself 

Left man – hands in the back, closed hand, looks to the ground.

Middle man – his left hand finger is pointing up to the right man- ridicule, holds his coat -arrogance

·        How many times did you meet a friend and asked them: What happened? Is everything OK? – When we know something happened by our friend’s expression?

Our body expresses our inside world – our feelings and beliefs.

4. How can we show it outside?

Another way to express our feelings besides body language is to do real action – for example: give a gift to show someone that you love them.

* Would we be able to give up on the present from our friends and have them just tell us that they love us instead?

Part of the reason we are doing mitzvot is to make our ideals an every day lifestyle. Our bodies and actions are necessary to express our beliefs so that others can see our beliefs and we will feel the torah is not only an idea that doesn’t have anything to do with us but actually a real way of living.

A religion that is a part of our everyday life has a lot more influence on us and on our environment.

Sources:

Source #1