SUGGESTIONS FOR FAMILY CELEBRATION:


Most congregations provide children with flags on Simchat Torah. It is always most fun, however, to bring homemade flags. The safest flag begins with a large square of paper. Cut a strip about three inches wide up one side, stopping the cut about 2/3 from the top of the paper. Roll the strip to form the flag “stick”, and tape it together so it doesn’t unroll. Decorate the “flag” area with Jewish and Torah symbols, or make a personalized flag representing your family. Other flagpole materials are wooden dowels and paper towel rolls. The flag may be attached with glue, tape, staples or hot glue, depending on the material of the flag – construction paper, fabric or felt.
Think about the many decoration materials that would enhance the beauty of the flag, as well as the children’s engagement in its construction: tempera or fabric paints, crayons, markers, sequins, beads, stickers and stencils. You may want to help younger children create a model Torah from empty paper towel rolls with a long roll of paper attached to each. Illustrate the flag with Torah scenes and quotations. Visit a synagogue to learn about the many Torah “dressings.” Create a cover for your model Torah, as well as the other decorations you noticed. Dramatize some of your favorite Torah stories… the creation of the world, Adam and Eve with the snake and the apple; Noah’s ark, Joseph’s coat of many colors, the crossing of the Red Sea, Moses climbing Mt. Sinai, etc. Visit a bookstore with a good Judaic section as a family. Browse through both the adult and children’s sections. Acquire a good translation of the Torah, or otherwise add to your collection of Jewish texts. Learn (or relearn) Hebrew; it’s the language of our Book and our people.