I
May the New Year bring to all
our friends and family health, joy,
prosperity and everything good in life.
Spirituality
Kids And The Web
Web sites make preparing
for the High Holidays fun.
Rhoda and Marvin Perlin
and Family
Mark Mietkiewicz
Special to the Jewish News
R
1
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!
Tammy and Aaron Betel
Steven & Melanie Betal
Nikki & Michelle Budaj
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!
B18
September 25 • 2008
osh Hashanah is almost here
— a time for solemn intro-
spection. But that doesn't
mean you and your family can't have
some fun while getting ready for the
holiday. Plenty of Web sites teach
about the holiday through games,
puzzles and activities, so parents
can enjoy them with their children
between now and Yom Kippur.
•Virtual Jerusalem combines a very
good introduction to the holiday with
games and more. There are holiday-
related short stories and plans for cre-
ating a calendar, a mitzvah chart and a
Jerusalem Tzedakah Box.
The site has a page that tries to
demystify the holiday and encour-
ages kids to talk to God. To get things
going, it includes comments from chil-
dren ages 4 to 6. Here's one from Sam,
age 6: "Dear God, Instead of making
people die and having to make new
ones, why don't you just hang on to
the people you've already got here?"
[tinyurl.com/virtkids]
• The learn@JTS Kids' Corner
emphasizes activities that parents can
share with their children. We are told
that we eat symbolic foods on Rosh
Hashanah to portend a good year: We
eat a fish head for a year in which we
will be at the head and not at the tail.
Then the Web site challenges families
to adopt some brand new food tradi-
tions. How about eating squash so that
"bad luck may be squashed?" [tinyurl.
com/jtskids]
•With the holiday almost here, it's
time to dust off the machzor and pre-
pare for the services. Uncle Eli's Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur Prayer
Book is a delightful online variation
geared to kids. Both serious and silly,
these poems get across often-difficult
concepts like forgiveness and repen-
tance. [tinyurl.com/elirepents]
• SocialAction.com points out that
because Rosh Hashanah is the world's
birthday, it is appropriate to do some-
thing good for the world. Start by hav-
ing your family finish these phrases:
"We thank You for the beauty of the
world that we see in ..." and "Help us to
make our dreams a reality by helping
us to ..." [tinyurl.com/4qb2d]
•We may no longer spend weeks
huddled over a table preparing New
Year's greeting cards. But you and your
kids can still send out special holiday
wishes and thanks to the Internet, you
have plenty of time.
There are many sites that let you 4 ,4
compose and personalize online card%
like Chabad.org .
• For other crafts, take look at the
ideas at Aish Hatorah where you can
find instructions to make your own
Tzedakah Box and Honey Dish. [aish.
com/hhFamily/hhArts]
• If you asked children to draw pic-
tures that symbolize Rosh Hashanah,
what do you think they would include?
That was the challenge posed to
children in countries that receive
assistance by the Joint Distribution
Committee. You can see how young
people from India to Siberia to Gamla,
Israel drew on their experiences to
wish the world a Shana Tova. [tinyurl.
com/roshworld]
• The Aish HaTorah site has some
really challenging puzzles and mazes.
And after you read through the holi-
day articles at the site, you'll be ready
for the quiz. [tinyurl.com/aishrosh]
Here's a sample question:
What are the names of the sounds
the shofar makes?
A.Tekia, Truah, Shevarim.
B.Tefilah, Torah, Sefarim.
C.Tequilla, Brew-a, Collada.
• Kids who like to color shouldn't
miss the Torah Tots site. They can
print out and then decorate holiday
symbols such as the shofar and tash-
lich. There's also an on-line jigsaw
puzzle in which you slide the little
squares around until you make a
picture showing apples and honey.
[tinyurl.com/totsrosh]
When you've done that, try the
Replace the "Pickle" quiz. Can you
make sense of this example? "We blow
the 'PICKLE' after davening during the
month of 'CUCUMBER'. The shofar
reminds us to do RELISH." (Answers:
shofar; Elul; teshuvah)
Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based
Internet producer who writes, lectures and
teaches about the Jewish Internet. He can
be reached at highway@rogers.com .