creative jewish mom

Simple Count The Omer Watercolor Calendar

With Passover coming up in three weeks, and the wave of super hectic preparations quickly approaching, now is a great time to get the family busy with simple and great looking Count The Omer watercolor calenders! I am reposting this from many years ago, when I did it with my kids as an art activity, but this year it occurred to me to re-brand it as an Omer calender craft, because, it is actually quite perfect! Make 7 circles in a row, and then make 7 rows, and voila! When the omer arrives count by adding a sticker, drawing a doodle or writing the number of the day. You'll be so happy you thought to to do this a month ahead, believe me! And, if you use stickers I'm pretty sure kids can start counting on the calender even during Passover, yippee! Okay, lets do it!

Ah yes, and just by the way, this nesting doll Matroyshka is one of many sets that I own that were purchased in the Ukraine. Sigh.

Counting The Omer Art Journal

I am reposting this from last year, as truly now is a great time to start thinking about a counting the Omer Art Journal! Namely set yourself up ahead of time, so that once Passover is over, you can dive in, make up for the first week (I don't create art during the Passover holiday) and have a really meaningful counting the Omer period. I still have a few spreads to complete from the journal here, but really thinking about doing something small and manageable this year, like index card sized! Stay tuned for that, I do want to make the journal and prepare it, that is if I can find the time! And here is what I wrote last year:

Last year, during the week of Passover,when we do not do art, I had the idea of making an art journal for counting the omer. Once Passover ended I quickly prepared pages, 49 plus, one for each day of the Omer, and then began making art on each of the pages. This turned out to be too large a project for that time period, so this year I'm going to finish that journal, and hopefully start another, as I just can't resist! There is just something about counting the Omer with daily creating that is so perfect! So do give the idea of marrying an art practice with spirituality for this special time period leading up to Shavuos!

There are so many ways to make your own journal, though you could also opt to buy a sketchbook and commit to an entry for each of the remaining 41/42 days once Passover has ended. Simply splashing some color on watercolor paper sheets and making those into a journal is simple and wonderful, and you could make them tiny or large enough for collage or sketching. While adding a sticker to a piece of wall art to count the days is wonderful, and great for children, I think that those of use who love art should make an effort to harness the energy of this period to bring more art into the world, even if it is just for you!

So friends, lets do this! And for day to day updates of what I'll be up to, next week and until Shavuot, please follow me on instagram!

A Simple Counting The Omer Journal Page

Today is day 22 of the Omer, and I might be behind on this journal page! It is true, I embarked on a counting the omer art journal project last year, which is wonderful and so interesting, but sometimes you might just want a really really simple way to count the omer, even if you are doing something else more complicate to boot. Or not? A very simple painted pattern that you then fill in with numbers as the 49 days progress is a first for me, but I plan to do this every year, as it is just simple and gets the job done, in a creative way! And when you do it in your sketchbook, maybe you'll be inclined to fill up some of the other pages as well? I can't recommend a sketchbook practice enough, whether it be watercolor, collage, doodling, lettering, pick one, or all of them and do it, you'll thank me!

Schlissel Challah Rolls For The Shabbos After Passover!

To honor this special shabbat, namely the first one after Passover in which we traditionally prepare challah in our homes once again, this year I decided to try once again to make some small rolls shaped like keys, which we call schlissel challah. And yippee, at least one was photo perfect enough to share with you. This key shaped challah baking business is not simple as once the dough rises the forms can go in a million directions, and I'm only showing you this one, so don't expect perfection!

And after all, the whole tradition isn't really about the key, or a perfect key for that matter, but rather about the idea that when a Jewish woman makes challah, and makes the appropriate blessing over the dough before it is baked, she is bringing blessings into her home, which has the power to open all kinds of gates!

Do take a look at the traditional key shaped challahs that I have made in previous years to see how I shaped the dough, and then just do smaller versions of that! Wishing you a wonderful shabbos filled with blessings, whether there is a key or not. And if not, why not whip up some fun key napking rings?

DIY Key Napkin Ring Craft For The First Shabbat After Passover!

I am re=posting this craft from a time when my kids were much younger (7 years ago!) and I made an extra effort to make each special shabbat special. (Today I made each shabbat special with the specific traditional family foods they love) I was looking for my images of key shaped challah, and came across this, so I thought I'd dust it off. Enjoy!

To honor this special shabbat, namely the first one after Passover in which we traditionally prepare challah in our homes once again, I just came up with a quick little key napkin ring craft as I'll be making bagels instead the traditional key shaped challahs that I have made in previous years!

And after all, the whole tradition isn't really about the key, but rather about the idea that when a Jewish woman makes challah, and makes the appropriate blessing over the dough before it is baked, she is bringing blessings into her home, which has the power to open all kinds of gates!

Counting The Omer With Art

Last year, during the week of Passover,when we do not do art, I had the idea of making an art journal for counting the omer. Once Passover ended I quickly prepared pages, 49 plus, one for each day of the Omer, and then began making art on each of the pages. This turned out to be too large a project for that time period, so this year I'm going to finish that journal, and hopefully start another, as I just can't resist! There is just something about counting the Omer with daily creating that is so perfect! So do give the idea of marrying an art practice with spirituality for this special time period leading up to Shavuos!

There are so many ways to make your own journal, though you could also opt to buy a sketchbook and commit to an entry for each of the remaining 41/42 days once Passover has ended. Simply splashing some color on watercolor paper sheets and making those into a journal is simple and wonderful, and you could make them tiny or large enough for collage or sketching. While adding a sticker to a piece of wall art to count the days is wonderful, and great for children, I think that those of use who love art should make an effort to harness the energy of this period to bring more art into the world, even if it is just for you!

So friends, lets do this! And for day to day updates of what I'll be up to, next week and until Shavuot, please follow me on instagram!

An Art Journal For Sefirat HaOmer

We are now in the middle of the seven day Passover holiday, which also means we have started a period on the Jewish calendar called sefirat haomer, which means the counting of the omer. This is a 49 day period between the 2nd night of Pesach, and the holiday of Shavuot, when we receive the Torah. There are many deep aspects of the counting of the days during this period, but lets just say that it is a time for character refinement, and for those who wish to delve deeper it is a time to really learn about how the sefirot of kabbalah influence our everyday.

For those of us for whom creativity is an important part of life, what better time than to create an art journal for the counting of the omer? It could be a simple journal for writing and sketches or something more layered and artful. Or maybe it is something that can be used over the period of a few years to act as a daily journal? The only problem is that we really can not create anything during the holiday of Passover, so last year when this idea occurred to me, I was already a week behind before I even started the journal! This year I will finish the one I started last year and maybe start another to finish next year? Never mind the time limits, get those creative juices flowing and you will be more than ready to receive the Torah! Give it some thought, and whether you choose to start a daily sketching of journaling practice as soon as Passover ends, or create a homemade handstitched journal as I have the main thing is to just do it!

Counting The Omer: Today Is The First Day Of Forty-Nine!

Above: Antique Counting The Omer calendars made in the Netherlands in the 1800's for use in a Portugese Jewish synagogue, these are from a community in Suriname, and are now in Israel Museum, Jerusalem. The top row is the day, the middle row is the week, and the bottom row is the number of days that have elapsed in that week.

Here in Israel, as opposed to everywhere else in the world, today, Friday is not one of the Yom Tovim days of Passover, so I am able to spend a little time on my blog to compose this post about Counting the Omer. (And since the house is sparkling clean and I already did most of the cooking before Passover, I am free to relax, no crafting allowed but composing a post is fine, phew!) This year with everyone at home, and families having more "family time" than ever, counting the Omer can become a true family activity. And since counting the Omer is all about refining our character traits, before receiving the Torah in 49 days on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, I'd say this kind of work is particularly relevant now, right?

Kids in school generally make Omer counting calenders, and after Passover that is going to be the first craft I'm going to do, as it has been awhile since we've made one. The Omer is traditionally counted at night, and with a blessing, but if one misses even one day, one may not count with a blessing for the rest of the days. Those who pray in a synagogue are reminded by a calendar or board of some kind, (and by the rest of the group) like the antique ones above, but since we are all home now, it would be a great idea to have a calendar at home, now more than ever!

One of the other interesting things about the Omer is that it is a period in which we are all freely mentioning Kabbalah, as each day has a special meaning and a special aspect having to do with the sefirot of Kabbalah. I won't go into this, as there are many places on line where you can read about this in depth. But let me tell you, it is quite deep and interesting!