Aim

To know how Jewish families prepare for Shabbat

Lesson

Begin by revising what was taught in the previous lesson about God's day of rest.

Inform the children that Jews love God so much that they want to copy Him. Every seventh day is a day of rest for them. This special day of rest is called Shabbat.

Shabbat begins on Friday evening and continues until Saturday evening. During that time, many Jewish families do no work whatsoever. So, on Friday afternoon, a lot of preparations are done.

Use text, images or video to inform children about Friday afternoon preparations for Shabbat.

Activity

Following discussion, groups of children could:

• write about how they prepare to go on holiday / spend a night away from home / come to school in the morning
• list all the preparations which a Jewish family need to make on Friday afternoon
• mime preparing to do something; write a letter, eat a bowl of cereal, play a sport
• write about what they do on Friday afternoons
• interview a Jewish visitor about preparing for Shabbat
• write about how they would prepare for a royal visit to their school
• create a picture of the Shabbat as a queen