PARSHAT HAAZINU

ISRAEL DIORAMA

We are finally in our new home! And, more important, our "stuff" has arrived. And, along with our stuff came the hundreds of BOXES that it was packed in. Andy and I worked like maniacs to unpack everything with the goal of just getting everything OUT of the boxes.





In the midst of all of this, I still wanted to produce a parsha project - both for the girls and for Challah Crumbs. I knew that I wanted to focus on Moshe looking into the land of Israel but I was not sure how I wanted to depict this scene. It was Andy's idea - maybe inspired by the boxes around us - to make a diorama. I wasn't sure what a diorama was (or how to spell it) but I quickly found out that it is basically making any kind of scene using a box. Since I had plenty of those around (but not much else except some scrapbook paper), I got to work.

This is what I came up with...



I added a figure of Moshe looking into the land. The girls had fun folding Moses up and down, alternating between saying "Moses is dead" and "Moses is alive" -



The girls each made dioramas of their own but I let them do whatever they wanted which meant they made...princess castles. Oh well.

PARSHAT NETZAVIM-VAYELECH

TORAH SCROLLS

PARSHAT KI TETZEI

EDIBLE BIRDS NEST

This is our second week of trying to do Parsha Projects under less than ideal circumstances. First of all, it is crazy hot!!! More importantly, we are still unsettled, living out of suitcases, in someone else's space. But, this parsha presented a no-brainer in terms of subject matter. I knew that I wanted to do something with the beautiful mitzvah of "shiluah haken" or sending away the mother bird. I started google-imaging "birds nest craft" and came across the idea of an edible birds nest. There were a number of different versions. I knew the girls would love the kind that seemed to be a popular Easter treat - a bird nest cookie made with Chow Mein noodles. But, alas, no Chow Mein noodles easily accessible in Israel, at least not in the Gush. So, I had to come up with an alternative. I bought a bag of pretzel sticks but I was worried that they would be too thick. Then, in the cereal aisle, I saw bran cereal sticks - they were perfect!

We melted peanut butter and chocolate chips together and mixed in the bran sticks. Then, we just made balls, made an indentation with our fingers in the middle, and stuck them in the freezer to firm up.

At the supermarket, I pondered what to use for the eggs. Most recipes called for white jelly beans. Those were not easy to find around here. But, Israel had lots of alternatives in the candy section - I bought white mentos, tic tacs, and kliks - so we had lots of different tastes, sizes, and shapes of eggs!