Matot-Masei

Effi Grass
by Ori Allon, illustrated by H
Hadar Chori-Fathi
Matot - Masei
G-d said, “When you divide up the Land
And give each tribe its share,
“Give the Levi’im special cities
So they can live and serve there.”
The Levi’im will live in those special towns
Spread throughout the Land
They’ll teach all Jews Torah with love
And to keep G-d’s command.
Another reason for these special cities
Is a place to which accidental killers flee
The victim’s family might want revenge
But there the killer is safe, you see.
For example, if someone climbs a ladder
And that ladder should break.
Then he falls and kills someone below
We treat it as a mistake.
Now the one who died had a family
And their pain they cannot mend.
They want to go after the killer.
They don’t care that he didn’t intend.
Yet this killer deserves to live
When all is said and done
What he did wasn’t done on purpose.
He accidentally killed someone.
Find the little picture in the big picture!
And so to the city of refuge
That murderer will go - and fast!
And once he arrives that family
Must leave him alone at last.
There the Lev’im will teach him
To be more careful, to improve his ways
And after the Kohen Gadol dies,
He’ll go home and live out his days.
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“Wow! So many sheep!” cried out Effi.
“That’s how it is in the Negev,” Effi’s father
smiled. “You can see whole flocks crossing the
road.”
“Look! There’s another flock on the other side!”
called Noa, Effi’s sister.
Their father stopped the car to let the flock
cross over. The shepherd waved to
say “thanks.”
“Where is he taking
them?” asked Effi.
“To a place where they
can get enough to eat,” their
mother answered.
“Don’t they have enough
where they live?” wondered
Noa.
“I guess not,” their father said. “The sheep have to
eat fresh, green grass every day, and when the grass
near their home is gone, they have to be taken further
away.”
“It must be hard to move the whole flock and to make
sure not one lamb gets lost,” said Noa. “And how do
you decide where to take them?”
“That reminds me of a story from the first parsha of
this week’s double portion, Matot,” their father said.
“Can we hear it?” Effi
asked.
“Sure,” their father
smiled. “Matot tells
about the tribes of
Reuven and Gad who
come to ask Moshe if
they could make their
home in a place with
lots of green grass.”
“And where was that
place?” asked Effi.
“Next to Eretz Yisrael there was a
by Ruthie Klein
“These six cities shall be a place of refuge for both converts and
residents among the Children of Israel, so that anyone who accidentally
kills a person shall be able to escape there.” (Numbers 35:15)
place which was perfect for them,” their father said.
“Moshe asked them to first help out all the other
tribes to go into the Land. Then they could live in the
green area that was good for them.”
Another sheep crossed the road, and Effi wondered,
“Maybe this sheep is the daughter of a daughter of a
daughter of a sheep from those tribes long ago?
The Children of Israel were commanded to prepare cities of refuge. A city of refuge is a place where people
who have killed someone by accident can escape to. Let’s build a city of refuge:
Cut out the city and the wall and gate along the thick, solid lines.
Within the city, cut out the houses, tree and bushes along the thick, solid lines. Be sure that the side with the
broken lines remain attached to the picture. Fold the houses, tree and bushes on the broken lines so that they stand
up.
Fold back the flaps of the wall on the left and right along the broken lines. Then fold back the bottom strip of the
wall with the broken lines to make a base. Then glue that bottom strip to the city at the straight unbroken lines.
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Good Luck!
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Midrash
“This is the law when a woman makes
a vow to G-d” (Bamidbar 30:4)
The Young Artist
Â"Ò˘˙ ÊÂÓ˙ ‰"Î
July 21, 2006
“Continuing south, the boundary shall run along the eastern shore
of the Kinneret Sea” (Numbers 34:11).
Chanah’s Prayer
Many years ago in Eretz Yisrael, before the first
Temple was built, the Mishkan, G-d’s Tabernacle,
stood at Shiloh, and whoever wished to bring an
offering would go there. The Kohen Gadol (High
Priest) in those days was Eli. One day, when Eli was
sitting at the entrance of the heichal, the sanctuary, he
saw a woman crying. She seemed to be mumbling to
herself, nonstop. Only her lips were moving, but her
voice could not be heard. In those days, people did
not yet pray quietly like we do today in the Shemoneh
Esreh, and Eli thought this strange woman had to be
drunk. “Get rid of your drunkenness,” he called, and
right away she opened her eyes, looked at Eli, and
said:
“My name is Chana and I haven’t drunk any wine.
I’m just telling G-d my troubles. I’ve been married
many years without children! I prayed to G-d to give
me children, and I even vowed that if G-d gave me
what I ask, I would dedicate my son to serving G-d.”
Eli listened to Chanah, smiled at her and said, “Go
in peace, and the G-d of Israel will give you what
you ask.” Chana went home, and G-d listened to her
prayer. Nine months later she gave birth to a sweet
little baby and she called him Shmuel. Chana didn’t
forget the vow she made in her prayer at Shiloh, and
when Shmuel was three years old, she brought him
to Eli and said, “Look Eli, I prayed for this child and
G-d answered my prayer. I have now come to fulfill
my vow. Starting today, my son Shmuel will grow up
with you here in the Tabernacle, and will serve G-d.”
Little Shmuel stayed in the Tabernacle with Eli the
Kohen Gadol and learned Torah and mitzvot from
him. His mother, Chana, made him a beautiful coat
and Shmuel always wore it. When Shmuel grew up,
he became a prophet, and he led the whole Jewish
People in serving G-d, but he always remembered his
mother and her prayer for him.
Find nine differences between the two (four for our younger readers) Illustrated by Ori Allon
The Foundation
for Jewish Renaissance
Early Childhood Version
Our parasha deals with the borders of the Land of Israel. Below is a drawing by the artist Nahum
Gutman: “Fish Jumping in the Kinneret”.
Shalom parents! Shalom kids!
PARASHAT
MatotMasei
This Shabbat
we finish the
fourth book of the
Torah, “Bamidbar”.
Israel’s forty-year
journey is almost
over. They are really close to Canaan,
which G-d promised our forefathers. Soon
they will enter the Land, live there, keep
all the mitzvot there, and build it up.
We can learn an important lesson
from this parasha: to know how to forgive
others. People sometimes do bad things
Look and learn:
without meaning to. They might knock
something over while running, break
something accidentally, or say insulting
things without realizing it. They might
do things that cause a disturbance, create
anger, disappointment, or other
harm, and might even lead to a
fight.
The Torah says, “Hold
it!” True, we say “Think
before you act.” Yet it is
important to remember
that sometimes people
Sometimes we do things and then regret them. For example, if a child draws a picture and
then doesn’t like it, he can draw another. Yet if he tears up the picture he didn’t like and throws
it away and later wants it back - it’s too late, right? The picture is gone.
But, children, what about words? For example, if a child promises me that tomorrow he’ll let
me play with his new toy, are his words like just drawing a new picture, that he can take them
back? Or is it like when he threw the picture away and wants it back,- that it’s too late? Suppose
I come to him tomorrow and say, “Please let me play with your toy now. You promised!” He
might answer, “You’re right, I promised, but that was yesterday, and today I don’t want to. After
all words aren’t actions that once done it’s too late” Is that all right? It was just words, and now I’m saying the opposite!”
What do you think, children? Can we go back on our promises since they’re only words?
The truth is, kids, it’s not so simple. G-d gave us a mouth to talk with so we would use it for good things. The words we speak are exactly
like actions. Once we say them they are real and, so, if we make a promise, we have to keep it.
We are the only creatures on earth who can speak, and that is because G-d made us like Him. When we talk we can make people happy, or
we can hurt them. In this week’s parasha, G-d commands us to be very careful about everything we say. If we promise to do something, we have
to make sure to do it. So, children,, always remember to keep your promises!
do bad things without having any bad
intentions. and the person is very sorry.
We have to forgive such a person. We
shouldn’t be angry at him, but should
accept his apology, because he too feels
bad when he sees us.
Your friend,
Rabbi Mordechai Elon
Dean of Mibereshit
Children, has it
every happened to
you that someone hurt
you without meaning
to? What happened?
How did you react?
Dedicated by the
Nahum Gutman: “Fish Jumping in the Kinneret”
JAKAMAR TRUST AND YAD MORDECHAI FOUNDATION
Let’s look at the drawing and pay attention to detail. At center is a large fish jumping out of the water. In the distance to the side are
people raising their hands in alarm. We see a half-circle in the shape of the fish, the people’s hand movements, and the lines of water and
sky. We see contrasts: One vs. many, large vs. small, things vs. people, quiet vs. noise. The picture’s mood is cheerful and colorful and it
tells a story.
CEO Mibereshit: Avi Wortzman
Educational Director: Avi Rath
Project Coordinator: Yaki Mendelsohn
Editorial Staff: Rabbi David Bateman
Translation: Raphael Blumberg
Graphic Designer: Rebecca Poch
What we can learn:
Mibereshit Head office Israel
+972-2-588-7890, [email protected]
Mibereshit South Africa
Rabbi Laurence Perez
Program Coordinators: Melissa Chipkin/ Wendy Kahn
011-440-9902, [email protected]
www.mibereshit.org
At last the Israelites came
To the end of their tour
Moshe wrote the tale
Their travels and history for sure.
On Pesach of the first year
They left from Egypt land
Without the miracles from G-d
They’d die in desert sand.
Soon they’d cross the river Enter into the Promised Land.
Even with the end so near
Peace and quiet weren’t at hand.
Only after conquering the Land
Destroying idols and masks
Dividing the land to tribes
They’d complete their tasks.
They traveled and camped
Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall
Adventures at every turn.
Until the last stop of all.
Nahum Gutman was also a writer, so his pictures tell stories, as well. He wrote children’s books like “The All Blue Donkey,” “Loben
Gulu, King of Zulu,” and more. Gutman’s drawings, in which something is always happening, are drawn in an entertaining, mischievous
style. So, the little fish looks big and the big people look small. Also, the innocent, friendly fish looks frightening for a moment, makes a
ruckus and frightens everyone standing on the beach. The surprises in the picture make people smile.
What we can do:
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Try to describe what happened before, and what will happen after the moment described in the picture.
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‫אנגלית‬
Torah stories from our Sages
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“Machla, Tirtza, Chogla, Milcah and No’ah , the daughters of Tzelofchad, married their cousins.” (Numbers 36:11)
Moshe wrote their travels
To Moabite Plains from the Red Sea
“Bamidbar” was over he knew.
What now will be?
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