Strength

Got a little bit of extra time? ChallahCrumbs is taking your family to Sunday school. This week we’re talking about strength. With Chanukah beginning this week, we are taking a look at the holiday that celebrates the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks.

Learn

Set up a mini-study session with our three sources and the guided questions.

When can someone be called a mighty person? When that someone seizes the hand of an individual who is about to fall into a pit or when that someone sees another who has already fallen into a pit and lifts that person out. (Midrash Tehillim 52:6)

What do you imagine when you think of the word “strong”?

When is someone called “mighty” according to this source? Do you agree with this?

Name three “strong” people that you know.

Who is strong? Someone who conquers his or her inclination.(Pirkei Avot 4:1)

How is this type of strong different?

Do you agree that this is also a type of strength?

Who can retell the things that befell us/ Who can count them?/ In every age, a hero or sage/ Came to our aid.

Chorus: Hark!/     In days of yore in Israel’s ancient land/     Brave Maccabees led the faithful band/     But now all Israel must as one arise/     Redeem itself through deed and sacrifice.(Famous Folk Song)

Hanukah celebrates the victory of the Macabees over the Greek during the Second Temple Period. Can you name another Jewish Hero or Sage that helped save the Jews?

Did you notice that the song said “hero or sage”? Who is a hero? Who is a sage?

 Discuss.

What does strength look like to you? There are all sorts of different types of strength. You can be physically strong and you can be being strong on the inside. Can you think of examples of both types of strength from your life or from stories? How do you think both types of strength connects to the story of Chanukah?

Create.

Make a Menorah!

There are so many ways to make a menorah. Here is one idea that uses baby food jars and tea lights.

Materials:

9 small baby food jars, washed thoroughly with the labels fully removed.
Jewel stickers
Sequins
Flat-sided plastic jewels
Q-tips
Tea lights

Directions:

Use the craft glue and glitter, plastic jewels and sequins to decorate the baby food jars. You can use the Q-tips to spread the glue.

Line up the jars horizontally and fill them with a tea light for each night of Chanukah.

Rivky Schramm Krestt has taught in Hebrew Schools, Community Schools, and Day Schools. She loves finding a way to take the words of a text and make them tangible, relatable, and relevant. She is the Chair of Judaics at the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School and lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with her husband and three children.