Mrs.BiddleboxInHebrew,“Isadora,WhataDay”

One morning Isadora Biddlebox awakens to a gloomy day that begins when she gets up on the wrong side of the bed.  How do we respond to a bad day?  Isadora teaches us all an original lesson in coping with bad moods and annoyances.

Isadora has a special way of coping with a gray morning: She gets up and does something, she takes initiative!  She roars a roar and gets into a rhythm: She plucks, shakes, pushes, bakes and… eats everything (in a completely impolite manner).  She is totally focused on changing the situation to which she awoke that morning.  And in the end, she succeeds in changing her gloomy day into a sweet cake!

The story is rooted in the belief that each one of us has the innate ability for self-improvement and change.  The story line encourages parents and children to discuss how they can change their moods and even transform reality by playing an active role and taking initiative.  The parent suggestions are accompanied by the saying from the Book of Judges (Shoftim 14:14):  “Out of the strong came forth sweetness” (Me’az yatza matok), illustrating how one can turn a seemingly negative condition into something positive.

“Me’az yatza matok” (Out of the strong came forth sweetness”)

Special emphasis and significance is placed in Jewish tradition upon a person’s ability to make personal choices throughout life.  When Isadora awakens to a gray day, she chooses to change the circumstances of her day and transform it to something sweet.

“Me’az yatza matok” (Out of the strong came forth sweetness”) is an expression that describes the reversibility of difficult and irritating circumstances, and their transition into positive and strengthening ones.  This colorful expression was coined by the hero Samson (Book of Judges, 14:14) and through it, he hinted at having found a (sweet) honeycomb inside the corpse of a lion.  (In Hebrew one of the words for “strong” is “az”.  Together with the word “me”, as in “Me’az”, the two words create “from the strong” or “out of the strong”, indicating the lion.)

Like Isadora, each one of us has the ability to choose to change the way we look at reality, and often transform even the reality itself!

Age Group: KINDERGARTEN