Kids

Vayislach

Yaakov is on his way back to his father’s home when he is told big brother Esav is on his way with no less than 400 gentleman. Yaakov sets the standard for what to do in times of distress from other nations: Gifts, (on this occasion, sending sets of animals), Prayer and Preparation for War. He divides the family in different groups and prays to Hashem to save him from his brother Esav. Anyway, Esav arrives and gives his brother a hug and kiss! Some say that it was just a temporary moment of mercy. Esav suggests that they travel together. Yaakov politely says, “No” and they part ways. Yaakov arrives back in the Holy land, Dinah ventures out and is taken by Shechem; her brothers Shimon and Levi are furious and dealt a harsh blow to the entire town. Rivka dies in the week’s Sidra, as does her nurse, Deborah. The sidra ends with listing the vast family of Esav and all its branch heads. This is done in brief, to show that the main focus is of course Yaakov, whose lifestory continues to be related next week onwards! Y J E W K L L C R E Z U

M C Q L R V W U W G S C B E R W T D O J X Y H X

L I H C C S L E G N A B

I N N C Q R E I D O K L R L I Y E Z A R H B K H

B D I N A H R C W X R O

M J K G E M S J H O S B

X N F S T F I G R E H B

U R H K Y S Y N Q X L D Q W M P O H X R R F Q B X O P M E O Q P M U P D

ANGELS • BINYAMIN • DINAH • GIFTS • RACHEL • SHECHEM • WRESTLE • YISRAEL

Tangram Challenge!

Using all the shapes on the left can you make the chicken shape on the right?

Why is she always smiling? Hadassa thought, spotting Yehudis sitting happily in the corner of the classroom. I just don’t understand how she can be happy all the time!

Hadassa felt grumpy. It wasn’t like Yehudis had the best clothes, hair or house. Why was Yehudis so happy? Why couldn’t she be like Yehudis?

Miss Klein entered the classroom.

“Sit down everyone please, today we will be learning about gratitude.”

Gratitude? Hadassa was perplexed. What was there to be grateful about? It was raining outside, she had loads of homework to complete and her friend’s party that Sunday had been cancelled. What was she meant to be grateful about?

“Specifically, I want to talk about the connection between being grateful and jealousy. I want you all to think of a time when you’ve felt jealous of someone else and write it down in your books.”

Hadassa remembered the last time she was in shul on Shabbos. Chavi was wearing this gorgeous pale peach dress with delicate silk ruffles. As Chavi swished past looking elegant and regal, Hadassa had felt a pang of envy inside her. She had wanted to be Chavi at that moment.

Hadassa wrote down what had happened and how she had felt.

“Now”, Miss Klein continued, “I’d like you to really imagine what it would be like to be this other person. Not just in that moment, but if you were them every single day.”

Hadassa thought hard about Chavi. True, Chavi had looked amazing in her new dress, but how often did Chavi get new dresses? Not as often as Hadassa herself got. Why she had even received a new one for Succos and Chavi hadn’t. It was also Chavi whose party had been cancelled last Sunday. Poor Chavi, Hadassa thought. Imagine not being able to have your own planned birthday party. Baruch Hashem no-one in my house tested positive for Covid and I managed to have all my friends over on my birthday.

Miss Klein moved around the room, looking at each person’s workbook. When she got to the front, she called out “Hadassa, could you stand up and tell us if you think you can see a connection between jealousy and being grateful?”

Hadassa was a bit nervous, but she stood up.

“When you are jealous of someone, you just take that one little bit of their life you see that you want. You don’t realise this person has a whole life, full of ups and downs the same as you. When you really think about it, you start to realise that you have things in your life that others don’t have that you can be grateful for.”

“Exactly. Well done, Hadassa,” continued Miss Klein. “When a person feels they are lacking, does it make them jealous of others or can they focus instead on being grateful for what Hashem has given them. Hashem gives each person exactly what they need in life to fulfill their potential, so there is no need to be jealous of anyone else. We should try to be like Yaakov in this week’s sedra who says ‘לכ יל שי’ - ‘I have everything’, because if we really think about it, we do!”

Hadassa thought about Yehudis. She thought she understood now why Yehudis was so happy all the time. It wasn’t nice dresses, a big house or car that made you happy. It was the fact that she was grateful for everything she had been given in her life.

Hadassa smiled to herself, she had wanted to be happy like Yehudis and now she knew how!

I have everything