Chanukkah Youth Activities

Transcription

1 Chanukkah Youth Activities By: Josh Botwinick Find the Oil Jug (Ages 2-12) Props: -Oil jug or gelt Discussion: After the Chanukah story, the Maccabees wanted to relight the Menorah. But there was one problem: they had no oil. The Greeks had come in and destroyed every single pitcher of oil. So what did the Macabees do? They looked anyway, they didn't give up! And you know what? They did ended up finding a jug of oil! Activity: Hide something in the room, preferably either an oil jug or chanuka gelt. Have the kids pretend they are Maccabees, and not to give up the search however long it takes. Dreidel Contest (Ages 6-12) Props: -Dreidels Activity: Have a dreidel-spinning contest. After gaining entry by answering a question about Chanuka, every kid gets a chance to spin their dreidel in a series of rounds. Whoever's lasts the longest, second to longest and third of the round gets a certain number of points. Round can include specifications such as upside down, lefty, dropping it from high up, two at a time, using your palms instead of fingers, etc. Of course, be sure to discuss the story behind playing dreidel. Channukah Bingo (Ages 6-12) Props: - Bingo Sheets (see below) - Candy corn as pieces (they look like flames!) Activity: Play Bingo! Channukah Scavenger Hunt (Ages 6-12) Props: - Scavenger hunt clues (see below) - Pictures of oil jugs to put with each clue (see below)

2 Activity: Play the scavenger hunt! Make sure you set it up right. 1) Channukah comes in the middle of winter When its windy, snowy, and cold. We put on our coats and keep come to shul anyway Because we re brave, courageous, and bold. 2) The menorah was shiny and made of gold If you looked closely you could see your reflection There s a big mirror somewhere in the shul If you know where, head in that direction 3) A Jewish star, two stripes of blue Eretz Yisrael s beautiful flag. Israel is the homeland for every single Jew When you fly there you might get jet -lag 4) Oh no, I forgot my Kippa! What will I wear when I go inside? No worries, the shul has extra kippot Pick one and wear it with pride! 5) Someone needs to keep the shul clean Fixing things and helping with the utmost care For the next clue go to the custodians office And say thank you if anyone s in there! 6) The Greeks tried to stop us from learning Hebrew But we kept on learning so we wouldn t forget To teach little kids we have a blue rug With the letters of the alef bet

3 7) Do you have any clothes to donate to the poor? If you do bring them in, and leave them by the door. We ve collected some already, but we can always use more. Jews are always doing chessed, that s what we re here for! 8) Almost every shul today Has a chanukia on display You may have seen it while you pray. If you know where it is, lead the way. 9) The greeks told the Jews, that they couldn t learn Torah They couldn t keep Shabbos, or dance to the hora Go to a place, where you can find a Torah scroll Give it a kiss and say a quick prayer, whether you re young or you re old 10) The Jews learned Torah anyway, secretly in caves And when the greeks came to search, Hashem made sure they were saved Oh no the greeks are coming! Don t let them see we re learning! We must hide all of the books, and all the pages we ve been turning Spin a dreidel by the library, but when you spin please be patient Everyone must spin a gimmel, not just a nun hey or shin. 11) The greeks have ruined our holy temple, but that s ok now they re gone. We ll need to put the temple back in order before we can bring another korban Go find an altar that we can use, it s only a staircase away When you walk up the stairs to retrieve it, do it in a ceremonious way. 12) The kohen gadol wore special clothing, to show he s a holy man We can t serve in the temple without him, but if we find him we can.

4 He wore special white and gold clothing, and made sure that peace was also in store Go to the coatroom to find the cohen gadol, and pick up all the hangars that are on the floor 13) In the temple they used to sing songs with instruments and professional choirs They were meant to bring happiness and cheer, to uplift and to inspire We don t use instruments on Shabbos, so you can t play along But go to the front doors and sing a welcoming song 14) Before we can dedicate the temple there s one more thing you need to find That s a jug of pure olive oil of a very special kind For this you don t get any clues just that it s somewhere inside When you find it you ve won the game. Hold it up and cheer in pride! Maccabia! (Ages 6-14) Activity: Maccabia is like a mini color war. Have a javelin-throwing contest, a push-up contest, a cookiefrom-the-forehead-to-the-mouth contest, and other important contests that prove that we re strong and brave enough to fight the Greeks. (See below: name that Greek letter, pin the candle on the menorah, spin the dreidel in the bull's eye.) Mi Yimalel (Ages 6-12) Activity: Sing Mi Yimalel in rounds. Split into two groups, and while one groups gets to "otan mi yimneh" the other groups start with "MI yimalel." (TAN and MI are said at the same time. Similarly, for the high part BA and SHMA are said at the same time, as well as EL and MI for starting again). It's catchy and fun if everyone does it right. Even if not, it's fun to try.

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6 α β γ Δ ε ζ η θ Name that Greek Letter! ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ τ υ φ χ Ψ Ω

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