Sara's Chanukah School Trip

This week I headed out with Sara and her Gan for a chanukah tiyul to Bible lands museum. Sara and her Gan have been learning about the beit hamikdash and all the keilim (vessels) in the beit hamikdash. They have also been learning about the chanukah story of course, so her ganenet decided to go on a class trip to do some hands on beit hamikdash and chanukah learning. Here in Israel you can find a trip for every holiday and for other important subjects such as chumash, mishnah, gemarra etc. Actually, for chumash you just have to look out our window to derech avot and there is your trip. Here class trips aren't just for science, or geography but for our own personal history! Other class trips our kids have gone on include: kever rachel on rachel immeinu's yahrzeit, maayanot (springs) of gush etzion, and the caves of tekoa and Herodian.....no pioneer village yet.

We met at the museum and were introduced to our very sweet and dramatic guide ...Rivka. The kids were shown maps of where israel is and where the beit hamikdash was. We were taken to an open space and shown the model of the beit hamikdash. Rivka also spoke about kohen gadol and proceeded to dress up one little boy, actually Chagit Barnea's son (former Toronto shlichah at ulpana). The kids were then given special material which they decorated and put on. They were given crowns and a piece of paper. We then had to go through the museum and look for the keilim that were pictured on our piece of paper: the menorah, the shovel and oil container. We found all the vessels.....they were actual archeological finds. Then the kids were allowed to color in their papers and they were attached to their crowns. Following the whole expedition the kids sang a song and then were treated to a play in a little theatre starring our guide. It was fun and sweet. Sara totally enjoyed herself. At one point Chagit leaned over and asked if this was another one of those only in Israel moments. Of course it was, where else could you go to a museum and learn about the beit hamikdash and the story of chanukah.