Adventures in Mama-Land

Somebody at the homeschool conference (maybe it was Rabbi Dr. Pinchas Hayman ? but I’d hate to misquote somebody) pointed out that learning Parsha with Onkelos ( Onkelos was a well-known convert most famous for his “Targum” or translation of the Torah into Aramaic) makes an excellent introduction to Aramaic, ideal for developing skills and vocabulary that can later be used in Mishna and Gemara (Talmud). To test this theory, I have created a 1-page supplement for my weekly Parsha Skills Worksheets , with the same verse broken down three ways:  in Hebrew, in Aramaic, and in English.  There’s also a little “vocabulary” bubble at the top-right corner, with a few new words introduced each week. I’ve done two of these so far, for this week and next:  Korach and Chukas.  Sneak previews:   These were a bit harder than my usual stuff because my knowledge of Aramaic is hovering right around zilch.  If you spot a mistake, please let me know gently.  :-) ...

This week’s 6 pages of worksheets focus on the following Hebrew / English words: פָּתַח - opened פֶּה - mouth בָּלַע - swallowed אָדָּם - man, person קרַֹח - Korach רְכוּשׁ - possession, stuff אֵת - [not in English!] אֲשֶּׁר - that,which Points of grammar include feminine prefixes / suffixes and the role of the preposition אֵת.  (In case you didn’t know, it “introduces a semantically definite direct object” – yeah, that didn’t help me, either.)  Here’s a sneak preview: As always, if you use these and they work, or don’t work, please let me know how I can make them even better!  Oh, and since I’m not a grammarian or anything close, please let me know if you spot any booboos.  Yes, it’s been known to happen, even to the best of us. To download these and hundreds of other Limudei Kodesh (Jewish) printables – including weekly parsha copywork and holiday resources, click here .  (search for “parsha skills”) For General Studies printables, including science, a...

בְּמִדְבַּר / Bamidbar / Numbers 16:1-18:32 Click for printable PDF version . Don’t forget to read my Parsha Poem and parsha overview , plus this cool sprouting branch craft project .  Plus… copywork and parsha activities – something for every week of the year! Art credit:  I am so excited to present actual original artwork, specially commissioned from a talented illustrator on fiverr … I can’t believe I have to pay for art when I live with several talented illustrators.  Nevertheless, I am thrilled with this image!!! פָּרָשָׁת קֹרַח for Parshas Korach בְּמִדְבַּר / Bamidbar / Numbers 16:1-18:32     [1] Korach was a wicked man to argue with Hashem, So it was his destiny that that was who’d condemn; He could run to the north and flee to the south, But he’d never escape the earth’s gaping __________! [2] We see that Moshe was most humble of men So when Korach challenged him, what happened then? Most of us would have just sneered at his thunder, But ...

We seem to be having an on-top-of-things week around here for a change.  (um, ignore the fact that the kids in the pictures below are wearing pj’s please…!) Since I have already read them the parsha overview and both kids did parsha copywork (yay!) about Aharon’s sprouting branch, we followed up with this super-easy craft project today.  In the parsha, the leaders of all the shevatim (tribes) bring a stick which is left in the Kodesh Hakodashim overnight.  All the staffs are unchanged except Aharon’s, which – in the morning – is sprouting buds, flowers and almonds.  And I thought, “we have all those things… even almonds!!!” So here they are:  sticks.  I wrote “Aharon” on one side of each kid’s stick in Hebrew and “Levi” on the other side.  I cut out leaves from a folded piece of green construction paper, and let the kids make tissue paper buds and flowers (buds = wadded up into a tight ball; flowers = loosely pinched at the base).  Finally, we...

This is perhaps the first in a series of simplified parsha copywork for even younger kids.  Here, the parent reads the passuk with the child, who copies three words from the parsha.  There’s also a quick, simple drawing/colouring parsha activity at the bottom of the page.  I have tried to provide transliterations of the words so it’s English-language friendly for parents who didn’t have the benefit of Hebrew day school or homeschool parsha copywork! There are four outlines provided for each word, but just ask the child to do as many or as few as you are both comfortable with.  (I usually ask for four because that’s GZ’s age, but in future, I may provide more outlines, because he sometimes likes to surprise me with extras!)  Use any medium you’re comfortable with as well.  Pipsqueaks (mini Crayola markers) are useful for writing in these outlines, but crayon is fine as well.  Pencil doesn’t work great because there’s not enough contrast, but that sai...

Bnei Yisrael have been complaining all the way through the Midbar! But now, a large group, led by one man, Korach, brought the ultimate complaint: they thought Moshe and Aharon shouldn’t be the leaders of bnei Yisrael. Moshe was angry, but decided to let Hashem choose the men’s punishment. He told them to bring ketores, spices burning in a pan for Hashem, the next day, and see what would happen. Well, they all brought burning ketores in the morning, and Hashem made a neis: a huge mouth opened up in the earth and swallowed up Korach, his followers, their families, houses, and all their stuff. This is very strange: Why did it swallow their possessions, their families and houses? Imagine you won a wonderful new bike in a raffle. You’d feel so proud! You’d ride around, showing it off, bragging, and forget that some kids don’t even have bicycles at all. You might even forget that you won it – you might start to think you’re extra-special and deserve it more than the other kids. We can ...

בְּמִדְבַּר / Bamidbar / Numbers 16:1-18:32: Read it ;  hear it ;  colour it . Printable PDF version here . No parsha narrative overview this week. Copywork and parsha activities available at this page – updated weekly. “Boy,” said Jimmy, to his friend Timmy, “This class is terribly slow – This history’s a complete mystery; I wish the teacher’d just GO!”   With what came next, Jimmy was perplexed, For the teacher departed right then – “You kids behave; I’ll be back in a wave, I just have to fetch a new pen.”   “Hey, what good fun,” called out everyone, “Who needs a teacher at all?” They sat acting nice per their teacher’s advice, Till one of them pulled out a ball.   “Hey,” cried Timmy, to his friend Jimmy, “Who says that that teacher’s the boss? “I’ll take the lead; give this class some speed, Now Jimmy, you stand across.”   So he threw the ball to Jim by the wall, But whizzing, it sailed clear past As with a crash the window did smash And ...