Shemot . Middah/ Jewish Value Activity Early Years & Foundation Stage 0 - 5 Moshe's mother has to hide Baby Moshe. She puts him in a warm and comfortable basket and hides him in the long grass on the river. Miriam, his sister, is kind to Baby Moshe and watches him all day to make sure he is safe. The princess hears baby Moshe crying. She is kind to him and takes him to the palace - Looking after siblings and other children Play 'Hide and Seek' or 'Hunt Baby Moshe' (as opposed to the thimble) hiding a doll or picture. The children would also be motivated to look for a gingerbread man or two, discreetly placed in position well beforehand. Rules of play have to be well thought out and explained. For example, if playing 'Hide and Seek' decide where children may or may not hide. Young children want desperately to be found so the game can't go on too long. In 'Hunt Baby Moshe' maybe only two people 'hunting' at one time would be sensible, so that others can say 'warm' or 'cold' and not be dashing about. Key Stage 1 5 - 8 Yaakov and his family live in Mitzrayim/Egypt but they keep their Jewish names. Moshe's parents are called Amram and Yocheved. His sister is called Miriam and his brother is called Aharon. All the time the Bnei Yisrael are in Egypt they keep their Jewish names. These Jewish names are used to this very day. The Hebrew word for name is 'shem' - the Parashah is called Shemot', names - We are proud of our Jewish names Activity One: 'The Interview' Ask the children what their Jewish names are. Can they explain why they were given that name, e.g. in memory of an ancestor. (N.B. Sefardi tradition is to name after living relatives, so sensitivity is needed. Activity Two: Prepare cards with the names of well-known Jewish personalities e.g. Avraham, David, Ruth, Joshua, Deborah. Ask them to select a card and talk about the person. Key Stage 2 8 - 11 When Moshe sees a Jew being beaten up by an Egyptian slavemaster he immediately goes to his rescue. He doesn't stand by and watch. When Moshe goes to Midian he sees shepherds bullying the daughters of Yitro. He immediately goes to protect them. He does not ignore the situation - Standing up against injustice See Bibliography - General Tell the story of the parashah from The Jewish Children's Bible - Exodus, pages 10 - 11. Divide the children into two groups for a drama activity. One group prepares to act out the biblical stories and one group prepares to act out a similar situation in modern times (e.g. in the playground).