בס״ד

Licensing Information:

Purchase of this lapbook permits you to print it for use within one family ONLY. Schools or co-ops, please contact me for group rates.

Hashem?

Jews have many names for God, including Adonoi, Eil, Elohim, and more (but not Jehovah or Yahweh). In my lapbooks and other resources, I generally use “Hashem,” which literally means “the name.” Substitute any term you are most familiar with.

How do I spell Rosh Chodesh?

I spell it like this: “Rosh Chodesh.” This is probably the most common spelling, but I’ve seen every possible variation (and don’t even get me started on “Chanukah”)! Face it: there are sounds in Hebrew that will never lend themselves elegantly to writing in English. Throughout my lapbooks and other printables, I try to use “sensible” spellings that are at least somewhat pronounceable, even at first glance, by non-Hebrew-speakers. I have also used Sefardic pronunciations (“Sukkot”) rather than the European Ashkenazic pronunciations (“Sukkos”). Both are valid, but I had to pick one for clarity and consistency. If your family uses another pronunciation, just explain these differences to your children – isn’t diversity amazing?!? 1. Months of the Year Mini-Matchbooks

This is the heart of the lapbook project, and these could take a little while. Set aside space inside the lapbook and do a few of these at a time – without overwhelming the child. Grab a Jewish calendar – a print calendar is much better than an online one, if you have one. Say the names of the months until they begin to sound familiar. Then, start matching up the special days and zodiac symbols. Many people, even people who were born Jewish, are surprised to learn that Judaism has a very similar list of star signs to that used in contemporary astrology. These are ancient – like the names of the “Jewish” months, which weren’t originally Jewish at all, they actually go all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia and Babylonia.

Online Hebrew Calendar – creates printable calendars as well: http://hebcal.com/

Hebrew date converter: http://www.kaluach.org/

Hebrew months “worksheet”: http://www.akhlah.com/aleph_bet/hebrew_worksheets/hebrew_months.php (click each month to see more information)

Background information on the Jewish calendar in general: http://www.torahtots.com/calendar/jewishcalendar.htm http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/55194/jewish/Introduction.htm

Online lesson on the Hebrew months: http://www.makorehebrew.com/lesson/plan/895/jewish_months

Jewish perspectives on Zodiac symbols and horoscopes: http://ohr.edu/2394 http://www.aish.com/tp/b/st/48929177.html http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/302738/jewish/The-Jewish-View-of-the-Zodiac.htm (audio class; more in-depth, no transcript)

Sam

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2. Jewish Months Puzzle Pocket

This project is very straightforward, but nevertheless a nice way to reinforce the correct order and names of the months. Practice pronouncing the names in Hebrew when the puzzle is put together!

3. What Month is it Now? - Wheel

Spin the wheel to point to the current Hebrew month. The previous two activities introduced the names of ALL the months – this one helps students see concretely which months come before and after. If it’s too similar to one of the two preceding components, or if you don’t want two “wheel-type” components in your lapbook (there’s an important one coming up for the phases of the moon in our lunar calendar!), then just skip this one. I like it, though – the more wheels, the merrier. This activity is also probably simpler for younger children than #4.

Again, this site can help you find the date quickly – you can even add it to your Google homepage: http://www.hebcal.com/

4. What Month is it Now? – Fold-out Mini-Book

This project is a little more involved than the previous one. It’s best accomplished by looking at an English calendar, to write the English dates, then a Hebrew calendar, focusing carefully on the Hebrew dates, so the student doesn’t get mixed up. Once all the dates are written into the mini-calendars, the student can take a big ol’ red marker and circle today’s date on BOTH calendars so he or she can see clearly where we are. This also reinforces the fact that it’s the same WEEKDAY on both calendars – just a different name and day of the month. 5. Seasons of Celebration Mini-Book

It’s silly to just learn the names of the months without knowing what season they belong to. This mini-book reinforces the concept that, just like on the Gregorian calendar, the Hebrew calendar has three months per season. It also helps students organize the festivals of the Jewish year by the season in which they occur. The “page” of fall holidays will be much more crowded than the summer one! The folding LOOKS very involved with this mini-book, but once you’ve done a couple, it gets very easy. Try following the directions on Page 3 with a blank sheet of paper first if you feel daunted. 6. My Hebrew Birthday

Where does your child (or where do your children) fit in on the Jewish calendar??? A Jewish birthday is a very special occasion, sometimes observed with special Tehillim (psalms) and personal reflection, as well as extra tzedakah (giving to charity). Remember, the Jewish day begins at sunset, so if you were born after sunset, your Hebrew birthday is actually the FOLLOWING date – that’s why most date conversion programs ask you what time of day you were born.

Enter the English date and time of your birth and generate a very special Hebrew birthday certificate! http://www.chabad.org/calendar/birthday_cdo/aid/6228/jewish/Jewish-Birthday.htm

Sam

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7. Phases of the Moon

We Jews are a little “loony” about the moon – and no wonder – its phases are so fascinating, and almost every holiday is accompanied by the bright light of a full moon, since most special days (Sukkot, Pesach and others) fall around the middle of the month. Chanukah, on the other hand, begins on the 25th of Kislev, and spans the darkest eight days of the darkest month of the year – no wonder we need the light of the menorah! There are many excellent secular sites that can fill you in on phases of the moon.

Have your child track the phases of the moon using the free “Moon Phase Booklet” at this page – be sure to write the Hebrew date as you record each new appearance of the moon! http://www.homeschoolshare.com/littlehouse.php

Here’s a fun project to introduce phases of the moon to kids who like cookies!!! http://analyzer.depaul.edu/paperplate/Oreo%20Moon%20Phases.htm

8. The Number of the Year

As I write this, it is the year 2012 on the Gregorian calendar and the year 5772 on the Hebrew calendar. But it is also the year 1390 on the Persian calendar and 1433 on the Islamic calendar – calendars sure are fascinating, and it’s always important to know what you’re counting FROM. In Jewish tradition, the current year represents the number of years either from the creation of the world or the creation of mankind. Yet it is worth noting that although this is a traditional numerical value derived from adding up lifespans and other Biblical chronologies, it by no means implies that a literal 5700-year-old earth is the only legitimate Jewish belief – in fact, there are a range of opinions in this as in every area. It’s also worth noting here that even when using Gregorian dates, most Jewish people prefer to use BCE and CE instead of BC and AD, because AD stands for “The Year of Our Lord,” and places every event in history on a purely Christian timeline.

Short but sweet - helpful calendar basics: http://www.jewfaq.org/calendar.htm

9. The Months in the Torah

Although the names of the months are Babylonian and they are NOT used in the Torah, we still know precisely when certain Biblical events took place. Instead of their names, the Torah refers to the months only by numbers – the first month, the seventh month, and so on. These four quotations, with optional copywork, will help children understand that – whatever we call them – the months are central to Jewish life, and always have been.

10. Welcoming a New Month 3-Flap Book

We love our months so much we welcome them all (well, all but one) not once but THREE times. First, the month is announced in synagogue with Birkat HaChodesh the Shabbat before it begins - a special day known in some circles as Shabbos Mevarchim. (unless the coming month is Tishrei, which starts with Rosh Hashanah, and is presumably too important to ever be forgotten and doesn’t need announcing!) Then, when it arrives, we celebrate Rosh Chodesh, a minor festival day (considered by some to be an extra-special day for girls and women), and then, once it’s here and the moon is visible at last, we go outside (weather permitting) for Kiddush Levanah, to actually see it and welcome it “in person” with a strange dance-like outdoor ritual.

Sam

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11. Is it a Leap Year?

Jewish leap years are just plain MORE FUN than secular ones! Why? Because – forget adding just a single day for February 29th… we get a whole other MONTH! In Hebrew, a leap year is known as a “shanah me’uberet,” which literally means a pregnant year, and I love the image of a year “carrying” a whole extra month. There’s an extra page here with a quiz on the halachic questions of when events like birthdays, Purim and yahrzeits (death memorial days) are observed should they take place in a leap year (or not). If you’re not interested in the technicalities, just leave out this page.

Background on the Jewish Leap Year: http://jewishmag.co.il/121mag/jewish_month/jewish_month.htm

Nitty-gritty, getting super-technical with the details of how the calendar is calculated (I don’t even understand this fully, but some people find our calendar fascinating!): http://stevemorse.org/jcal/rules.htm

12. Four New Years!

The mishnah records not one but four new years on the ancient Hebrew calendar! We only observe two of these today, Rosh Hashanah and Tu b’Shvat, the “New Years of the Trees” held in the winter. Although we CALL Rosh Hashanah the “Jewish New Year,” the Torah actually refers to it as the first day of the SEVENTH month. The actual new year begins at the beginning of the month of Nissan, and that’s the numbering system used in the Torah. Whenever I’ve used numbers for the months within this lapbook, they are always dated from the start of Nissan.

Mishnaic source of the “four new years”: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Mishnah/Seder_Moed/Tractate_Rosh_Hashanah/Chapter_1/1

More details about the observances of the four new years: http://judaism.about.com/od/jewishculture/a/Why-Are-There-Four-Jewish-New-Years.htm

13. Special Years in our Tradition

This was going to be called “Special Years in the Torah,” except one of these special years isn’t found in the Torah but in post-Biblical rabbinic sources (mid’rabannan). The first two are well-known: the shemittah (sabbatical) year, every seventh year, and the yovel (Jubilee) year, every fiftieth year. The third, the Birkat HaChamah year, occurs only once every 28 years in which the sun is considered, according to Jewish tradition, to return to the exact spot at which it was fixed in the heavens during the Creation of the world. Unlike with the other two types of years, this doesn’t happen at the start of the year, but rather, in very early spring. There is a special bracha (blessing) recited at dawn on the precise day this alignment is said to occur: the last time this happened was April 8, 2009, right before Pesach. Unlike the others, this is literally a once- or twice-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Maybe three times if you’re lucky!

Blessing of the Sun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkat_Hachama

Practicalities of the Shemittah Year: http://www.ou.org/news/article/shemittah_the_sabbatical_year/

Special Years and Periodic Events: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/820865/jewish/Special-Years.htm

14. Rosh Chodesh Long Ago

Long ago, in the times of the Bais HaMikdash (Temple), there weren’t handy Jewish calendars hanging on the wall to tell us when to start the new month. These days, our calendar is calculated ahead of time, and we know when all the new months and holidays will fall. In those days, there was a complicated process of witnessing the new moon, reporting the sighting to the Sanhedrin (tribunal of 70 judges) and then announcing the New Moon to all of Israel.

Useful background and historical information – how Rosh Chodesh was witnessed and announced: http://jhom.com/calendar/history.html

Sam

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15. One World, Many Calendars!

Of course, the Gregorian and Jewish calendars aren’t the only ones in existence. Many cultures still have their own calendars, including Muslim, Chinese, Persian and others, and it’s easy to find out today’s date on any of them, thanks to these online resources. If you or your child is fascinated by calendars, I’ve included an extra page that can be pasted inside the little booklet to include a couple of extra calendar dates. If not, just do one and move on. I’m all about options!

Find today’s date on several different calendars (scroll down to see the choices): http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/

More elaborate tool for converting between many different calendars: http://emr.cs.iit.edu/home/reingold/calendar-book/Calendrica.html

16. Special Dates

Last but not least, this is the child’s personal calendar – of significant Jewish and family dates. Look up a couple of dates of Jewish significance.

Find something significant that happened on TODAY’s date! http://thisdayinjewishhistory.blogspot.com/ (this site gives Gregorian dates, so you will have to convert the date to find out the actual Hebrew date)

Convert English (Gregorian) dates to Hebrew dates to record them on either side of this booklet: http://www.jewishgen.org/jos/josdates.htm

Why not generate a LIST of upcoming Hebrew birthdays or Yahrzeit (memorial) dates in your family? This site makes it easy! http://www.hebcal.com/yahrzeit/

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© 5772, Adventures in MamaLand http://ronypony.blogspot.com

About the RonyPony Baby:

My husband designed this image

for me when I thought I’d be

making and selling babycrafts.

But babies grow up and

homeschooling, it turns out, is

a lot more fun than diaper-

making. But I still liked the

logo. It’s based on a pastel-

coloured horse that used to spin

around in a vintage mobile I

bought before the RonyPony baby

was born. As of this writing,

the baby is 6 years old and

midway through Grade 1. Her

siblings are 17, 16 and 4.

Sam

ple

file

בס״ד בס״ד

Optional:

Matchbook covers (pages 1-2) may be printed on light cardstock.

Title rectangles (page 4) may be printed on coloured paper.

However, information page (page 3) should be printed on plain white paper! Instructions: 1. Cut out the matchbooks on this page and the next. Fold so that the name of the month appears on top and the little

bottom flap overhangs the top title flap slightly. 2. Cut out information squares on page 3 in two groups – cut out all the mazalot (zodiac symbols) squares together,

then all the information squares together. You should have 2 4x3 grids. Place the information squares on top of the “mazalot” squares and cut them out together to save time.

3. Keeping the cut-out squares together (ie Nissan information on top of the talay (lamb), Adar information on top of the dagim (fish), etc.), insert two squares into each matchbook. With matchbook open, staple as low as you can on the folded-over lower flap, making sure the matchbook plus two squares are held firmly together.

4. Repeat for the remaining 11 mini-matchbooks. As a guide to how the matchbooks should look, here’s a picture of a REAL matchbook. As you can see, the staple holds in the matches. Now imagine that instead of two rows of matches, there are two sheets of paper.

5. Close the matchbooks by inserting the top title flap. 6. If desired, cut out “months of the Jewish year” rectangles on Page 4. Paste these into lapbook first,

then paste matchbooks in order onto rectangles.

1. ִניָסן

Nissan

2. ִאָירIyar

3. ִסיָון

Sivan

4. ַתּמּוז

Tammuz

Sam

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