All About Me- Neshama and My Name

Every Jewish child is born with a precious gift from Hashem- a Neshama.

What makes me a Jew?
I have a Neshama.

Straight from Hashem it came.

Every Jew has a Neshama from Hashem.
And that makes me and you the same. 

 

Neshama is a part of Hashem inside of us. When a child is born he gets a very special gift from his parents- his name. Boys get their Jewish names by their bris, when they are 8 days old. Girls get their names by a day the Torah is read- Monday, Thursday, Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh or Yom Tov. Our tradition is to name children in honor of family members or Torah heroes.

 

 

Here is one of the stories that was told in our class. Sometime ago, there was a young Jewish boy Michael who grew up to be a smart and strong man. He met a wonderful girl Shani.  They got married under the chuppah.

 

 

 

Every time Shani would light Shabbos candles, she would ask Hashem send her a baby. One day, Hashem answered her prayers and gave her not one but 2 babies girls. One girl, Michael and Shani named Rachelle. The other girl, they named in honor of one of our foremothers- Rebecca (Rivkah) who was Isaak's wife. Rivka was a kind woman. She looked after people and even took care of animals. She made sure they had what they needed and were comfortable. If a person needed a place to sleep she brought him to her father's house to rest. If they needed a drink for themselves or their animals she would bring them lots of water to drink.  When she was a little girl, it was hard for her family to make the right choices. Her dad and brother weren't kind people at all, but nevertheless, Rivka was always kind and never made anyone sad. Where did she learn to be kind if her family was quite mean? She knew in heart and mind what the right choices were and followed what she thought was correct. She was humbled and modest just like our friends Rebecca.

 

Friends loved to learn about their names. Please accept our great appreciation, dear Parents, for your prompt replies with pictures and stories. May your children succeed in honoring those who they are named after.

Friends talked about different things that make them the same and different. They discussed their age, gender, mitzvahs that they could do, their favorite food, toys and even their future occupations.

Some of our friends want to become parents- moms and dads, and even grandmas, some want to become Hatzalah workers, race car drivers, firemen and even Hashem:)

 Dear Parents, may we have only simchas from your children :)