Parshas Devarim

Supplies

4oz. Container with Cover

5 Bowls or Containers

Orange and Blue Dye

Small Cup or Funnel

Black Acrylic Marker With a Fine Tip

2 ½ Cups of Sand

Scissors

Disposable Gloves

Glue

The Printed Template

Specialty Item List

Instructions

1. Cut out the strip of camels from template. Place into cup and cut to size.
2. Using marker, trace the scene onto the outside of the container, let it dry.
3. Place 1 cup of sand into a bowl and color it orange using your dye, then devide the rest of the sand into 4 containers. Color 3 of them different shades of blue and one leave as is.
4. Use the orange sand and non-colored sand to create mountains in your container, following the curve of the camels in order to know where to put each mountain.
5. Layer the 3 different shades of blue in thin layers to create the sky.
6. Once the entire container is full, let it set for 5 minutes, then fill the top with a layer of glue. Close the cover very tightly.
7. With an acrylic marker draw people sitting on each of the camels.
8. Enjoy!

Imagine…

You are learning how to swim. It feels scary because you don’t know how to keep yourself afloat in the water. The first time in the water might feel nerve-wracking and a little panicky. But once the teacher begins to teach you a few skills, you are able to slowly relax, becoming more comfortable in the water. At long last, after many months of trying, failing, then trying again, you finish the lessons and you’re nearly an expert swimmer. Now, not only do you know how to swim, you are confident enough to help teach a friend! Looking back at all the challenges, you realize that in order to learn this new skill you had to overcome all these difficulties to reach the end goal.

Delving Deeper

At the end of their journey through the desert, the Jewish people were tired and weakened by their many struggles.  It was hard to face the future with a smile. So Moshe began to recount all of their travels, with the idea of showing them that from the very beginning, Hashem put each challenge in place with the purpose of preparing and readying them to finally reach the Land of Israel. Once they saw how all the journeys and hardships only brought them closer to Eretz Yisrael, they were able to appreciate the difficulties that they had experienced.

We can learn from this that even though we can’t take away the pain of hard experiences, we can choose to look at them as part of a bigger plan, a higher goal. Hashem gives us challenges to help us reach the best version of ourselves.

Point to Ponder

Think of a challenging time in your life. What was something you gained from that difficult time that helped you later on?