As our children in Tikvah Learning explore the lives of Jewish children who immigrated to America during the "Great Migration" period of the early 20th century, they are encountering some new vocabulary and concepts. This week, while comparing the biblical story of the Israelites in Egypt with the stories of Jews in Eastern Europe, we discovered that "oppression" is a new word for some of the children.
Do not wrong a stranger, and do not oppress them, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt. How would you explain this fundamental Jewish value to a child (or to anyone)? What illustrations or examples might you choose to make the concept real to them?
Two million Jews came to America during that brief period of the Great Migration; and although the most well-known scenario is the Ellis Island/Lower East Side/sweat shop/poverty scenario, there were many others! Check out, for example, this fascinating article in the Forward about an early Jewish farming community... in Utah!
Do not wrong a stranger, and do not oppress them, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt. How would you explain this fundamental Jewish value to a child (or to anyone)? What illustrations or examples might you choose to make the concept real to them?
Two million Jews came to America during that brief period of the Great Migration; and although the most well-known scenario is the Ellis Island/Lower East Side/sweat shop/poverty scenario, there were many others! Check out, for example, this fascinating article in the Forward about an early Jewish farming community... in Utah!