creative jewish mom

Jewish Stained Glass Windows Celebrate Triumph Over Tragedy

These beautiful and very modern stained glass windows are located in the Podil Synagogue in Kiev, Ukraine. They are colorful and graphic and I do wish I could get a breakdown of all the elements and their meaning, as there was certaily a great deal of thought and effort put into their design. One of the overwhelming feelings I get from looking at this set of stained glass windows, located in the lobby of the Synagogue, is the idea of triumph over tragedy, which is certainly a very fitting concept now that we are in the period on the Jewish calender called "the three weeks" leading up to the very sad day of Tisha B'Av.

If you are every in Kiev, this synagogue is certainly a place to visit as it is beautifully restored, built in 1895. Until then, the images of this set of stained glass could certainly be used as inspiration for tissue paper works of art, or even collages or drawings celebrating the Jewish people and rememembering Jerusalem.

Paint The Kotel In Rainbow Colors For The 17th Of Tammuz !

I have pulled this post from the archives, as it is truly a perfect one.

Today is the 17th of Tammuz, a solemn fast day on the Jewish calender which marks the beginning of a three week period of mourning for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, (The Holy Temple/King Soloman's Temple.) So with the boys home from school early, and my daughter just starting her summer vacation, there is no time like the present to try and get back into our crafting groove which I have missed greatly! So today I pulled out the watercolors, and grabbed a white corrugated cardboard box, and we all spent some time painting the stones of the kotel, and I just love the results!

Yes, my boys smirked when I told them to use bright and beautiful colors for the stones that they know as beige, but I explained to them that we were painting the stories that the stones had surely witnessed, and all the beautiful prayers whispered in front of these stones every day by countless individuals from both near and far.

Rebuilding The Beit HaMikdash Recycling Craft For Kids

I have pulled this post from the archives, as it is one of my favorites for The Three Weeks.

Today is the 17th of Tammuz, a solemn fast day on the Jewish calender, and certainly a perfect time to work on my "Rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash" recycling craft with kids of all ages! Of course one could certainly use this idea to also learn about the Kotel (The Wailing Wall) which stands today and was one of the outer walls of the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash.

Starting today, we enter a period of mourning for the next three weeks— mourning for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that was taken from us in 70 CE, (namely 1,943 years ago!) on the 9th of Av, the day which marks the end of this three week period of mourning. Of course our mourning has many facets, one of which is thinking about how each one of us can do his part to rebuild the temple.

DIY Striped Candles Are The Perfect Summer Craft!

Remember making candles at summer camp? I sure do, especially the ones we made at the beach in milk cartons! Candle making can be on the messy side, but is a perfect craft to do especially when you have a few hours on a lazy summer afternoon, and a bunch of kids (or kids at heart) in need of some creative fun! The candles you see here were actually made by some of my students in a candle making workshop for which I was the substitute teacher. Unfortunately I did not have the time to take photos of all the projects as my students stayed for two hours rather than one, and then needed to hurry off to their bus, so be it! Now I'm hoping to find some time to make some striped candles myself. I'm thinking that a remake of my remember Jerusalem sand jars would be perfect with striped candles, just in time for the Three Weeks.

Ah yes, and best of all, making candles has never been simpler, so lets get started!

Remembering Jerusalem Doodle Craft For The Three Weeks

We are now at the beginning of the mourning period on the Jewish calendar known as "The Three Weeks" and of course since many are on summer vacation, doing some crafting that is relevant to the time period is a must! it is true, there are all kinds of laws whose observance helps us not to forget, but the greatest reminder is to quite simply to get busy thinking about Jerusalem, and I'm here to help you with that! There is something about doodling that is just perfect for summer, and anyone can do it, so I thought that coming up with doodle patterns that depict Jerusalem would be perfect right about now. I've chosen to use Jerusalem domed houses and buildings, cypress trees and the stones of the Kotel as my doodling elements, though I'm sure you can some up with some more. So doodle a bunch of pages, and then color them, and/or set them aside to use for crafting. What crafting you may ask? Stay tuned for that one my dear readers!

Remembering Jerusalem: Crafts For The Three Weeks

The period of mourning for Jerusalem that is referred to as "The Three Weeks" on the Jewish calendar is coming next week, so lets add some meaning to this important time with some creative crafts! For those of us who live in Israel, and for whom the idea of Jerusalem is real, the crafts are a great reminder that while it is summer vacation (my boys are actually still in school until the end of this three week period) and a time to unwind from the pressures of the school year, we mustn't forget that it still a time for reflection. For those living outside of Israel, I'd say filling the house with crafts for the three weeks is crucial to stress its importance.......so let's get crafting. Below you'll find more than enough links to keep you busy for at least three weeks!

Baby Food Jar Votive Craft For The Three Weeks

We love having guests with sweet babies, and are more than happy when there are baby food jars to craft with!  Even before the guests left I found the small jars that I had put aside from their last visit, and together with some new tall ones, a craft idea was born: baby food jar votives with scenes of Jerusalem. This is our first craft this year with this topic, and the timing is perfect, as we can enjoy these jars for the next three weeks, and when the lights are turned down on the evening of T'Isha B'Av they will be lovely and a good reminder of what the holiday is all about!

Decoupage is a perfect craft for all ages, and results that are both abstract as well as pictorial look great together. So gather some jars, any size of course, and some simple supplies, and make a bunch of votives to use indoors and out!

Jerusalem And The Kotel Collage Craft For The Month Of Tammuz

It is officially now summer vacation for all of my girl students at Crafting A Future, but I will be continuing our weekly crafting sessions until the end of July, as our endeavors wouldn't be complete without some crafting to honor the fast on the 17th of Tammuz as well as the important holiday on Tisha B'Av!

With my 1st and 2nd grade girls, last week we made collages of the Kotel (the Western Wall) which they've all seen photos of, but some of them have not yet had the chance to visit this holy spot as it is not always such a simple trip with little children from our home here in Northern Israel, especially since most of my students come from families that do not have cars.

This week we used the kotel collages as a part of a larger collage representing the city of Jerusalem. My sweet students had so many questions "Morah (teacher) what color are the rooves in Jerusalem?"
"Morah, are there curtains in the windows?"

I tried to explain to the students that in the old city of Jerusalem, the houses are literally one on top of the other, but as this was a difficult idea to grasp (even though we also live in a similar scenario in a historic old city with houses built on hills, just like in Jerusalem) and the girls ended up depicting Jerusalem as a somewhat more modern suburban city with little houses lined up, sweet!

Next week we will be decorationg some little paper mache silhouettes of girls to add to these collages, stay tuned!

Recyled Cosmetic Box Craft For Kids With A Message (For Tammuz Too!)

This simple idea for upcycling small medicine and cosmetic boxes was brought about on account of my neighbor the principal who needed some ideas for using some donated "craft" supplies!

This idea, which is for using cosmetic boxes or even food boxes, with windows is all about rebuilding the world with love! (And for the month of Tammuz, about rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash!) Certainly in keeping with all the heart related crafts we're seeing everywhere right now, though a bit more targeted towards thinking about how we and our children can do acts of kindness to make the world a better place.

As a group activity, one could use the windows to write these acts of kindness, or kids can draw a portrait of themselves with a sentence about what small acts they will do to rebuild — their school, their neighborhood, their city, or even the world.

Oh, and of course, one turns the box inside out and draws what looks like stone walls or any kind of surface one would use to re-build. Then of course, you make a structure of some kind with the boxes, either free-standing, or attached to a wall, and it will be meaningful as well as artful!

Let me know how you use this idea!

 

Cut Paper Collage For Tisha B'Av

Tonight is the solemn Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av, (which commemorates the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem) and as with all holidays we try to get in the mood, whether it be joyful or the extreme opposite in this case, by doing a little crafting. Yesterday I had four boys hanging around and decided to engage them with a little cut paper collage, with the theme being the wall of the Kotel, the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The green plants represent the bushes that grow from between the cracks high up on the wall.

I just love the results and the simplicity of cut paper, always one of my favorites regardless of the topic.

So get out the colored paper, some scissors and glue, and get to work. 

I just realized that this craft has much more meaning that I originally realized - it's really all about rebuilding the Holy Temple stone by stone. And how can each and every one of us do this? By doing acts of kindness for others every single day, and by working at being considerate and caring, and thankful for all the good in our lives. Let's get started, shall we?

For those of you honoring the holiday, may you have a meaningful fast and may we all merit to see the reconstruction of the Beit Hamikdash again soon, speedily in our days.