creative jewish mom

Gates Of Jerusalem Collage Art

The "Three Weeks" on the Jewish calendar is always such a challenging time, as on the one hand it is a mourning period, which intensifies for the last 9 days, and on the other hand it is summer vacation! There is no listening to music or playing musical instruments, and joyful occasions that can be planned, like weddings are not permitted. This year we are in a serious time warp and difficult time in any case, so processing it all seems less difficult, but usually the idea of no swimming during the 9 days just when kids would be going to camp might be hard to process. That said, one can certainly do crafts for hours on end, and this gates of Jerusalem collage art project is a great one for the whole family. And shhhhh, it is actually a bit addictive so you may just have found something to keep everyone busy for hours on end, wouldn't that be amazing? And best of all, when you are finished you'll have some meaningful art to hang on the wall, and enjoy for years to come. And of course, you can take my idea and then do your own spin on this, which would be the most wonderful way to go about this project. So gets those creative gears turning, collect a bunch of paper scraps and little receipts and tickets and even gum wrappers, and go to town. And another shhhhh, this is actually really therapeutic as well, so try to encourage collaging plus deep conversation or soul searching of some kind, to make the end result even more special. Okay, lets make some gates of Jerusalem collage art!

Process Art Collage For The Three Weeks

Process art is all about the making of the art as either therapy or a way of loosening up, or both. The end result is not what counts, but rather the process. I do want to write about this a bit more, but my daughter is waiting for me to help her with her photography homework, so lets just say that this bits and pieces collage is a great project to do today, on the 17th of Tammuz, while you think abou the importance of the day, especially on a personal level. Do it with your kids and have a conversation, or do it with yourself (as I did) and use it an an opportunity to work through anything that has been bothering you, it works! And best of all, we will actually be using this collage for another project, so don't toss it, just stay tuned for an update early next week. While you are doing this collage you may want to keep Jerusalem, or the destruction of Jerusalem in mind. I had the gates of Jerusalem as well as the destruction in mind, together with some little things from my life currently. Ah yes, and no excuses friends, this uses all kinds of stuff you can dig out of your purse or pick up off the floor of your studio! Okay, lets make a collage!

Today Is The Tenth Of Tevet

Above: Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem circa 1900, roughly 2,000 years after the destruction of the First Temple!

Today is the Tenth of Tevet an important day on the Jewish calendar, and a minor fast day. The fast begins at dawn and concludes at nightfall and there are no other physical constraints beyond fasting, in contrast to the major fast of Tisha B'Av. Because it is a minor fast day, there are many exemptions from the fast, many women do not fast, and certainly those who are nursing or with young children are exempt. Whether or not one is fasting we certainly do keep in mind the importance of the day, which I why I generally try to remember this day, and all mourning days associated with the ultimate destruction of the Holy Temple on this blog.

What does this day commemorate exactly? How is it possible that we are still observing an occurrence related to an event that occurred 2,608 year ago? Keep on reading......

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!

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!

Today Is The Solemn Day Of The Tenth Of Tevet

The 10th of Tevet (this year, December 22, 2015) is observed as a day of fasting for many, mourning and repentance. Why you may ask? Well, a mere 2.000 years ago, on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tevet, in the year 425 BCE, the armies of the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. This was the beginning of the chain of events that culminated with the destruction of the First Holy Temple in Jerusalem (The Beit HaMikdash) and the subsequent exiles of the Jewish People from their land. As you may know, that exile scattered Jews around the world, where they both flourished and suffered greatly, but that is of course a whole megillah that I won't go into right now.

What is important right now is to focus on the specific energy of this day. The Jewish faith and all aspects of it, while rooted in the past are just as relevant to us today as they were thousands of years ago.....you just have to pull back the veils of the modern world and quiet all the noise that distracts us from our true inner core, to realize this and more importantly to embrace it.

Today is a day to think about what we as individuals can do for the world, how our speach and actions in our homes and in our workplaces and with everyone we meet have an influence, and how we must strive to be the very best versions of ourselves. In doing so we can each contribute goodness to the world, a world where goodness must prevail over evil. There is no time like the present to get to work, so I encourage each and every one of you to take baby steps, if necessary, but start doing good things and thinking good thoughts. That is the only answer. And today on the Tenth of Tevet is the perfect time for new beginnings.

 

 

Today Is The Tenth Of Tevet

Today is the Tenth of Tevet, a solemn and important day on the Jewish calender, as well as a fast day.

The kids only have a half day of school, and when my nine year old walked in the door he handed me this coloring page and said "do what you did last year and say I did it."  The kind of request that melts a crafty mom's heart, if you know what I mean? Now of course I knew exactly what he meant and just could not deny his sweet request, so here you have it, yet another Tenth of Tevet coloring page with a crocheted border! 

You can see last year's version (and some info about the day) using the very same coloring page here. And of course do keep this idea of crocheting around just about anything in mind, it can transform even the most simple page into a work of art!

Today Is The Tenth Of Tevet

Today is the Tenth of Tevet, an important day on the Jewish calendar. A day on which in 425 BC (2,436 years ago!) the walls of Jerusalem were surrounded by the army of Nebuchadnezzar. This was the first of a series of events that eventually led to the tragic destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem, so this day is considered a day of mourning and is for many a fast day. 

The interesting thing about events on the Jewish calendar is that we don't just commemorate history, we actually re-live it.....we believe that even today thousands of years later we can help rectify this tragedy by our actions. We as a People take collective responsibility for all that has occurred in the past, and rather than assuming an attitude of "let bygones be bygones" we roll up our sleeves and get to work. What kind of work you may ask? Well of course that is highly individual, but the main points are to be truly grateful for all that we have, to work towards bringing goodness into the world, to have compassion for others, and to believe that we each individually have the power and ability to make positive changes in ourselves and in the world around us. Wishing you a meaningful Tenth of Tevet!

(Oh and by the way, I had hoped to do a craft project with the boys, but since they ran out to play in the winter sunshine I crocheted around a page my six year old brought home from school instead. A fun idea to keep in mind if you ever need to dress up a little sign or notice or even some pieces of children's art, and if you don't crochet, well a blanket stitch with some thick yarn or ribbon would work too.)