21 September 2015

Jonah and the fish figures.

In less than 24 hours from this evening, we will stand before Hashem in judgment. This is a time of waiting and awe. 
On Yom Kippur, more than any other day, we must think about how we can do better with people, and learning how to be a kind, generous person. Caring about others starts in the home. While we strive to become better people and pray for blessing we remember that the most important thing is taking our families with us. 
G’mar Chatima Tova!

Jonah and the fish figures for  Board Bible Stories-precut

it becomes as you prefer, even laminated on a rubber board...


Jonah is the central character in the Book of Jonah. Commanded by G.d to go to the city of Nineveh to prophesy against it "for their great wickedness is come up before me," Jonah instead seeks to flee from "the presence of the Lord" by going to Jaffa, identified as Joppa or Joppe, and sailing to Tarshish, which, geographically, is in the opposite direction. A huge storm arises and the sailors, realizing that it is no ordinary storm, cast lots and discover that Jonah is to blame. Jonah admits this and states that if he is thrown overboard, the storm will cease. The sailors try to dump as much cargo as possible before giving up, but feel forced to throw him overboard, at which point the sea calms. The sailors then offer sacrifices to G.d. Jonah is miraculously saved by being swallowed by a large whale-like fish in whose belly he spends three days and three nights. While in the great fish, Jonah prays to G.d in his affliction and commits to thanksgiving and to paying what he has vowed. G.d commands the fish to spew Jonah out.


G.d again commands Jonah to visit Nineveh and prophesy to its inhabitants. This time he goes and enters the city, crying, "In forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown." After Jonah has walked across Nineveh, the people of Nineveh begin to believe his word and proclaim a fast. The king of Nineveh puts on sackcloth and sits in ashes, making a proclamation which decrees fasting, sackcloth, prayer, and repentance. G.d sees their repentant hearts and spares the city at that time. The entire city is humbled and broken with the people (and even the animals) in sackcloth and ashes. Even the king comes off his throne to repent.
Displeased by this, Jonah refers to his earlier flight to Tarshish while asserting that, since G.d is merciful, it was inevitable that God would turn from the threatened calamities. He then leaves the city and makes himself a shelter, waiting to see whether or not the city will be destroyed. Go. causes a plant (in Hebrew a Kikayon) to grow over Jonah's shelter to give him some shade from the sun. Later, G.d causes a worm to bite the plant's root and it withers. Jonah, now being exposed to the full force of the sun, becomes faint and desires that G.d take him out of the world.
And G.d said to Jonah: "Art thou greatly angry for the Kikayon?" And he said: "I am greatly angry, even unto death."
And the Lord said: "Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow, which came up in a night, and perished in a night;
and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?"

Book of Jonah 4, 9-11
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah)

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