This week we are talking about and looking at mezuzot (click here for more info about mezuzot). What is on the inside? What is on the outside? We looked at a variety of mezuzah cases, and your kiddos had a lot to say about them! Check it out.
First we talked about mezuzot in general. What are they, and what do we notice about the piece inside?
- It’s for the door.
- It’s a mezuzah!
- It has the Shema.
- It has Hebrew letters.
- It is made out of animal skin.
- It has fancy writing like in Torah.
- There are lines across it.
Then we looked at some specific mezuzah cases. Kiddos reflected on what they noticed, how they felt about these cases, and what they thought mattered to the people who made them.
- It makes me think of Israel.
It has a Shin.
It is made of glass.
It is medium fancy.
It is pretty.
- Everyone: “Ooooo!”
- Now that is the fancy one!
- It is surprising because you can’t see the actual hyde inside it.
- It is surprising because it has flowers on it.
- They’re beautiful.
- I would expect a mezuzah to be more simple.
- It has so many more details than the one before it.
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- It looks like a screwdriver with two ends.
- It looks like a part of a building with a spiraly platform
- It looks a little bit sharp.
We wrapped up by asking your kiddos why they thought there were so many different kind of mezuzot.
- Because there are so many designs you can make.
- Because everyone wants to be rare, and every one of these are different.
- There are a lot of Jewish humans.
- Because they don’t want them to be boring.
- Because everyone who makes mezuzot have their own personalities and are all unique.
In looking at all the different kinds of mezuzot, we celebrated the beauty and diversity of the Jewish community. Next week we will reflect on how we can use words of Torah whenever we speak!