The Missing Spice

Family Activities

• שְׁמִירָה
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• Each family has its own “special spice” that adds flavor and fragrance and distinguishes it from others. Following the story you are invited to discuss your family’s Shabbat with your children. You may prepare an “Our Family Shabbat” album of photographs and drawings, in which you note all the people and activities that make your Shabbat special.
• Look at the illustrations together with your child. Can you find the horse and the goat? You can ask your child: What are they doing on each page? The animals’ facial expressions give us a sense of what the might be thinking.  If the animals could talk, what do you think they would have to say about the “missing spice”?
• You can draw your child’s attention to the clothes and landscape depicted in the illustrations that are characteristic of the time of the Mishna in the Land of Israel. Ask your child to compare Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi’s clothing with that of Antoninus the Roman.  Using the story as inspiration, you and your child can dress up, set a festive table and act out the plot of the story.
• “Spice and Spirit”: You can mix together different spices for use at Havdalah or as potpourri to add a pleasant scent to your closets. Invite your child to select the spices (for example, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint…).  Carefully pour the spices into a small bag, tie the ends, decorate and take a whiff!
• Do you, like Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi, welcome company on Shabbat? Many children enjoy taking part in the preparations for hosting others in their home. Young children can participate by preparing a “Welcome!” sign to be posted on the door, helping set the table, assisting in the kitchen or decorating each guest’s setting at the table with a special piece of their artwork.
• Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi lived in the Galilee, in the area of Tzipori and Bet She’arim. You can learn more about these sites on the internet, show your child pictures of archaeological findings, and take a “virtual trip” to the nature reserves in these places. And if you’re lucky – you may even visit there as a family!