Gail-Friends: Childrens Blessing

Showing posts with label Childrens Blessing. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Thankful Thursday - Little Ones, Dogs & Rocks

I love being around children and am grateful for all the entertainment and JOY they provide. They are the best entertainment in the world and it's all FREE! Our grandson delights us every time we see him or talk to him on the phone. He's quite the jokester and loves to play tricks on us, like hiding. He's easy to find, though, because he can't stop laughing. When he comes over, it's Play Day with Jon-a-FUN!

We're still painting rocks for Brevard Rocks each week, and here he is with his latest creation:

I've been busy painting a family of lady bugs for the Golden Cottage back porch:

I love watching and listening to the children at our synagogue. Here they are under the tallit for the weekly children's blessing.

The little one in the pink shawl is hilarious. Each week, she comes in and shows me her outfit, parading and turning just like a model. Last week, we were getting ready to leave after the service and she said, "You can't go home, Miss Gail! Play the dreidel song." (It's her favorite.) She's pretty strong-minded for a three-year-old, but I'm sure you have to be with three older brothers!

Last week, we sang a song with a video called, "As the Deer Panteth For the Water", and one of the little boys said, "That deer better watch out for the alligators!" I said, "No, don't worry, honey, the deer is in Israel, not Florida." He said, "What's Florida?" He also let us know last week that he wanted to blow the shofar, which we do each week to start the service. Here he is, and if you've ever tried to blow a shofar, you will know this is amazing for a four-year-old.

Dogs are another source of great free entertainment. Ours is a dachshund/Jack Russel terrier mix which is quite a combination. Even though she's got little short legs, she can jump three feet off the ground. She bounces like Tigger! Here she is, ready for her bike ride, with her Minnie Pearl hat on. (Oh, yes, that's another gratitude -- I got a new three-wheel bike with a big seat and a big basket.)

Zoe is blind, but she can run like Rin Tin Tin, and her middle name is Go. She rides in our grandson's car seat when we take her for car rides.

Zoe is quite the actress. Lately, she has learned to moan and groan to tell you she wants something. She cracks me up with her drama because when we first rescued her, she didn't even bark for a couple of months. Years ago a friend told me dogs can talk and I thought that was so funny. Now I believe it whole-heartedly.

All of our tadpoles have gone to Golden Pond. One morning last week I was sitting on the porch and saw this:

One of the last two tadpoles had grown his front legs overnight and escaped through the hole in the top of the aquarium. They were both relocated to Golden Pond immediately. So, now they're all gone...and I'm grateful. One of them came on the porch for a visit the other day:

Jem was getting ready to feed the tadpoles, and this little guy was sitting on top of the food container staring at his long lost buddies in the aquarium. Jem took him outside to the potting table and snapped this photo. He (and all the others) are not frogs, but tree toads. I'm grateful they're all gone now because if one of them got on me, I'd have a hissy fit for sure. You can read more about the tadpoles HERE.

What are you grateful for this week, Gail-Friends?

Thankful Thursday is my day of the week to focus on and be thankful for all the good things in my life.

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I sometimes share my posts with these friends:

Spiritual Sundays Kathy’s Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life GRAND Social The Beauty in His Grip Link-Up

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Friendship Friday

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Wisdom Wednesdays - The Children's Blessing

Blessings are a very important part of Judaism. Each week during our Shabbat service, several blessings are spoken, and I'll share these over the coming weeks.

In the photo above, the children are receiving their blessing. This is one of my favorite parts of the service. The children stand under tallit, and the congregation raise their right hands to make the Hebrew letter "SHIN" and bless them. (Click on the link to see how to make the sign of the shin.)

For the boys:

(spoken in Hebrew) Ye'simcha Elohim ke-Ephraim ve hee-Menashe

(and then in English) May God make you as Ephraim and Menassah

For the girls:

(spoken in Hebrew)Ye'simech Elohim ke-Sarah, Rivka, Rachel ve-Leah.

(spoken in English) May G-d make you as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah

The blessing for the boys is based on this Scripture:

On that day Jacob blessed them, he said, "In time to come, the people of Israel will use you as a blessing. They will say, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe'." (Genesis 48:20)

Ephraim and Menashe were Jacob's grandsons, the two sons of Joseph. He blessed them even before he blessed his own sons. I read a commentary that said he did this because they didn't fight with each other like his sons. He was expressing a desire that they be role models for future generations because of their love for one another.

Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah are called "mothers of Israel" and are highly regarded in Judaism as role models because of their strong faith and honor of G-d during great difficulties. They endured marriage problems, infertility, difficult children, and problems with other women to name a few. But, these women put their G-d and families first, as should we.

These blessings can be done at home, during your personal Shabbat service with your family. I encourage you to place your hand on the heads of your children and bless them each week. Imagine how this will affect their future. I would have loved to have received a weekly blessing when I was growing up.

We also sing a special blessing song for the children. You can hear it HERE.

Next week, I will share the blessing for the wife. I love and treasure these words every time my husband speaks them over me.

Until then, Shalom

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I'm linking up today with:

Spiritual Sunday
The Gathering Spot Link-Up
GRAND Social
All Things Bright and Beautiful Link-Up

Modest Mom Monday Link-up

Meet-Up Monday

Growing Homemakers Link-Up

Titus 2 Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist
Share Your Stuff Tuesday

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Wordless Wednesdays

Winsome Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds

Whole Hearted Wednesday

Wake Up Wednesday

Jenny Marie's Wordless Wednesday
Favorite Things

Hearts for Home

Friendship Friday

Freedom Friday

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Wisdom Wednesday #15 - Blessing Our Children

Every Sabbath, Jewish children receive the blessing of their parents. It is traditional for the parents to place their hands on the child's head and say this prayer:

For sons: May G-d make you as Ephraim and Manasseh.

For daughters: May G-d make you as Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah, the four mothers of Israel.

During our Erev Shabbat service, the children stand under the tallit and we sing a song of blessing to them, followed by the blessings listed above. This is the song we sing (from Fiddler on the Roof)

Don't you love the words? Imagine growing up being blessed by your parents in this manner. My husband, Rabbi Jem, grew up in a Jewish home and was blessed by his parents each week. The prayers and the blessings he received have had a great impact on his life.

I love this part of the service because the children look so precious standing there as we bless them. We stretch out our hands to them and make the sign of the "shin" (a Hebrew letter). You can see the two littlest boys trying to make the sign, too. I'll explain more about this in next week's post.

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I'm sharing this post at:

Spiritual Sunday