Parshas Pekudei

Supplies

• Gold Cardstock
• Scissors
• Tape
• Ribbon
• 6 cardstock cards (3”x1.5”)
• Wooden Sticks
• Small Plastic Tray Covers
• Water
• Clear Nail Polish
• 7 colors of Nail Polish
• glue

Specialty Items Shopping List

Instructions

1. Cut the smaller cards each in half so you have 12 half cards in the shape of a rectangle.
2. Fill one of the plastic trays with water about ¾ of the way to the top and drop a few drops of clear nail polish inside, then, drop a few drops of one or two colors of colored nail polish inside as well.
3. Using one of the wooden sticks, twirl the different colors to make a design in the water with the nail polish
4. Take one of the cards and start on the side of the tray dipping it into and under the nail polish into the water, pulling it out directly under the nail polish so the card catches the design.
5. You can repeat this step until you like how the card looks, then set it on the side to set and dry out a bit
6. Repeat this step until all 12 cards are designed.
7. Once you’ve let the cards dry for a little while (they don’t have to be completely dry) stick then onto the gold paper in a 3 x 4 pattern.
8. Cut any excess paper around off.
9. Stick a piece of ribbon on each side of the back to fasten it into a necklace.
10. Let it completely dry and you’re finished!

Imagine…

There are all sorts of secret languages. For example, Morse code is a language using dots and dashes that translate into letters. Different militaries used to use this special language. This is just one example, but many other languages or codes use shapes, numbers, or other signs. Do you have a special code you made up with a friend or sibling? Many such codes may look silly or seem unclear, but if we had the correct tools we would be able to crack the codes and read the messages.

Delving Deeper

Aside from being one of the Kohen Gadol’s garments, the Choshen also served the purpose of helping the Yidden communicate with Hashem through a type of code. The Choshen was a piece of cloth woven of many beautiful colors and across the front, there were 12 different gems, corresponding to the 12 Shevatim. Each gem had the name of a Shevet inscribed on it. This wasn’t only for decoration, but when the Yidden were in doubt about something, Hashem would cause some of the letters on the gems of the Choshen to light up. The letters had to be rearranged for the message to become clear. It was like a code that the Kohen Gadol had to crack.

We can learn something very special from this. A stone can’t grow, think, or do much besides sit there, but it can sparkle and shine, and in the case of the Choshen, even become one of the ways Hashem communicated with the Yidden.

When we talk to Hashem, when we Daven, it is possible to feel that our words are dead or boring, like a motionless stone, but if we say them with excitement and life, then each Tefilla, and even each word of the Tefilla, becomes like a sparkling, shining gem.

One way to make our words and Tefillos shine extra is by understanding what we are saying. Knowing what a Tefilla means can help us connect with the Tefilla, which enables us to make the words shine and come alive more when we say them!

Point to Ponder

How are you similar to the stones of the Choshen?