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This week’s Parsha, Parshat Chukat, includes a very enigmatic episode:

And G-d sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the nation, and many perished of the people of Israel. And the people came to Moshe, and they said, “we have sinned, because we spoke against G-d and against you; pray to G-d that He take away from us the snakes.” And Moshe prayed on behalf of the nation. And G-d said to Moshe, “make for yourself a snake and put it on a pole, and it will be that anyone bitten will see it, and live.” And Moshe made a copper snake (nachash nechoshet), and set it on a high pole, and it was that if a snake bit a man, and he stared at the copper snake, that he lived.  Numbers 21:6-9After discussing this story, it is fun to make the poisonous snakes and/or the copper snake.

Materials needed:

Paper plate (or construction or cardstock paper)
Paint or markers
Scissors
Googly Eyes
Red felt

 

Instructions:

1)   Paint the plate either green or copper. Let it dry.

2)   Cut out the spiral from the outside-in.

3)   Glue on googly eyes and red tongue.

4)   Add other decorations and designs, using markers or cut-outs.

5)   Make a hole at the top and put a string to hang your snake/s.

Emily Shapiro Katz has been a community Jewish educator for over ten years in Jerusalem, Atlanta, and San Francisco. She lives in Beer Sheva with her husband, Andy, and their four children. Her contributions to this website reflect her interest in teaching Tanach, doing craft projects, and entertaining her kids. Emily blogs about her Parsha Projects at http://parshaprojects.blogspot.com/