Felt flowers for Shavuot 1

In honor of the giving of the Torah, G-d miraculously adorned Mt. Sinai, which was situated in middle of the Sinai Desert, with greenery and vegetation. For this reason, G-d had to tell Moses, "No one shall ascend with you, neither shall anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain, neither shall the sheep and the cattle graze facing that mountain" (Exodus 34:3).
After all, what would the ladies say if the Torah was given on a barren mountain, without blooming blossoms in the background...?
To commemorate this special miracle, we decorate our synagogues and homes with flowers and plants on the holiday of Shavuot.

Felt Flowers are Easy and Very Enjoyable to Make

Felt flowers are usually made by one of four basic techniques, some use a combination of them.The effect of creating a particular flower (rose, mums, peony, daisy, etc) is achieved by shaping or cutting the top of the felt petals in different ways.
Flat technique: This technique involves cutting felt flower shapes in several sizes and then stacking them in order largest on the bottom, smallest on the top. They are sewn or glued together usually through the center.
Types of Felt
What are the Different Types of Felt?
There are four basic types of felt for this type of project - wool, wool blend, acrylic and "eco" felt.
Wool felt is 100% wool. It's the most luxurious and rich to the touch and in appearance of the felts. It is possible to make your own wool felt material for these projects. You can upcycle wool garments or felt a knitted or crocheted piece.
Wool Blend Felt
Wool is also the most expensive felt to use, and an alternative is a wool blend. For these flower craft projects, we are talking about felt that is available in squares or by the yard. A wool blend is usually less expensive and still quite luxurious.
Acrylic and Eco Felt
What is Acrylic Felt and Eco-Felt? Acrylic and eco-felts are made from plastic. The difference between the two being that eco felt is made from recycled plastic (bottles, for example). As a felt material for flowers, though, they are less expensive
A Simlpe Way to Make Your Own Felt
This is a guide to an easy way of felting knitted, crocheted or upcycled wool garments. This type of felt will work for making flowers, although it is thicker than store-bought felt, but worth experimenting with. I always thought it could be a nice way to re-use favourite children`s sweaters or blankets (so hard to say goodbye to!).

Home decor for Shavuot

The Israelites found Mount Sinai blooming and lush with greenery and flowers. As a result, many people decorate their homes with garlands and baskets of flowers for Shavuot. Orany flower like kind of decoration. Try your hand at making some Shavuot decorations, as well.

COLORFULL WALL HANGER

 For this colorful wall hanger I used spring/summer colors combined them with a matching shade of natural coton thread to rimind the colors of the blossoming Sinay at home, on the walls, at the windows (keep in mind you can use them to decorate your Sukkah too).
It will look lovely hanging on a door, a wall or (the side of) a cupboard. The wall hanger is hand cut and embroidered on one side. Each of the circular ornaments consists of four layers of soft wool felt and is delicately decorated with several matching colors of embroidery thread . The wall hanger has 7 ornaments. The length of the thread is about 100cm . You can also make a garland or a wreath in these warm colors if you like. 

Books & Co.

Lag b'Omer, homemade simbolic crafts.

Lag B’Omer is a minor holiday that occurs on the 33rd day of the Omer, the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot. A break from the semi-mourning of the Omer, key aspects of Lag B’Omer include holding Jewish weddings (it’s the one day during the Omer when Jewish law permits them), lighting bonfires and getting haircuts.

Rabbi Akiva and the Bar Kochba Rebellion
The Talmudic explanation makes most sense when put into historical context. The outstanding sage Rabbi Akiva became an ardent supporter of Simeon bar Koseva, known as Bar Kochba, who in 132 C.E. led a ferocious but unsuccessful revolt against Roman rule in Judea. Akiva not only pinned his hopes on a political victory over Rome but believed Bar Kochba to be the long-awaited Messiah. Many of his students joined him in backing the revolt and were killed along with thousands of Judeans when it failed. The Talmudic rabbis, still suffering under Roman rule and cautious about referring openly to past rebellions, may have been hinting at those deaths when they spoke of a plague among Akiva’s students. Possibly, also, Lag B’Omer marked a respite from battle, or a momentary victory.
A completely different reason for the holiday concerns one of Rabbi Akiva’s few disciples who survived the Bar Kochba revolt, Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai. He is said to have died on Lag Ba’Omer.

Lag B’Omer Customs
Unrelated to Rabbi Simeon, the kabbalists also give a mystical interpretation to the Omer period as a time of spiritual cleansing and preparation for receiving the Torah on Shavuot. The days and weeks of counting, they say, represent various combinations of the sefirot, the divine emanations, whose contemplation ultimately leads to purity of mind and soul. The somberness of this period reflects the seriousness of its spiritual pursuits.
Finally, on yet another tack, some authorities attribute the joy of Lag Ba’Omer to the belief that the manna that fed the Israelites in the desert first appeared on the 18th of Iyar.
Though its origins are uncertain, Lag Ba’Omer has become a minor holiday. (For Jews, the holiday is the day after Lag B’Omer.) Schoolchildren picnic and play outdoors with bows and arrows,a possible reminder of the war battles of Akiva’s students , and in Israel plant trees. It is customary to light bonfires, to symbolize the light Simeon bar Yohai brought into the world. And every year numerous couples wed at this happy time.

From Jewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life and Culture (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).

Books and melodies

Pearl for Holidays - Independence Day - Lag B'omer and Shavuot 

Lag B'omer Dancing Song

Lag Ba'Omer

Lag B'omer Day

Felt Omer counter

According to the Torah, we are obligated to count the days from Passover to Shavuot. This period is known as the Counting of the Omer. An omer is a unit of measure. On the second day of Passover, in the days of the Temple, an omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering. This grain offering was referred to as the Omer. Every night, from the second night of Passover to the night before Shavuot, we recite a blessing and state the count of the omer in both weeks and days. 
So on the 23th day, you would say "Today is 23 days, which is two weeks and two days of the Omer.

Felt panel for Yom Haatzmaut

David Ben-Gurion, who was the first prime minister of Israel, publicly read the Declaration of Independence of Israel on May 14, 1948. According to the Jewish calendar, this was the fifth day of Iyar, the eighth month of the civil year, in the year 5708. The anniversary of this date on the Jewish calendar is known as Yom Ha'atzmaut and usually falls in April or May of the Gregorian Calendar. 

Handmade felt panel ,six pointed stars theme.

A felt panel tu use as decoration for your party table on Yom Haatzmaut, to hang on your wall close to your flag or just to add a touch of jewishness in your home.

HATIKVAH - the national anthem of Israel

Israel Flags to print

Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) marks the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. It is observed on or near the fifth of the Hebrew month of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar, which usually falls in April. It is preceded by Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day).
The festivities begin the evening before, when Israelis take to streets across the country to attend outdoor concerts, parties and barbecues, as well to watch fireworks displays. Friends and families gather together the next day, usually outside or at nature reserves, museums and other attractions, which remain open to the public free of charge. Also on Yom HaAtzmaut, teens compete in the country’s Torah championship, and the Israel Prize, the country’s highest honor, is awarded in a formal ceremony in Jerusalem to individuals who excel in their chosen field.
On the evening of the holiday, celebrants and officials gather at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. A ceremony with speeches and a parade of soldiers concludes with the lighting of twelve torches, representing the 12 Tribes of Israel.
To celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut:
Host a party or a special meal to celebrate the occasion. Find an Israeli recipe that appeals to you and give it a try!
Change your Facebook profile picture to that of the Israeli flag or wish Israel a happy birthday on social media to share your love of the Jewish homeland.
Do a Yom HaAtzmaut craft with your children, like creating easy  flags and pins, pretty kits  or celebratory cookies.
Consider how to make Israeli Independence Day a sacred day.

Download the mini flags

Ready to use online buying Israel gadgets
medium Israel flag
flags Tattoo 
Israel Flag note pad
Israel flag twins
Israel Flag Decal For Auto, Truck Or Boat

Chodesh Tov Iyar

Iyar is the second of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.  Iyar comes at the same time as the secular months April/May. 
The mazal (constellation) for Iyar is Taurus, shor (the ox). Iyar links together the months of Nisan and Sivan. Last month, Nisan, was the time when seeds were planted. In Iyar the ox ploughs the earth, nurturing the new seeds, helping them grow into the harvest of the coming month of Sivan.
Iyar also links the months of Nisan and Sivan through the counting of the Omer. As we count the Omer, we experience our own growth, and the growth of the Jewish people. In Nisan we become a nation, born out of the Exodus from Egypt. In Iyar the Jewish people enters adolescence as we struggle to become a mature nation ready to receive the Torah in Sivan. 
In the Torah, the month of Iyar is called "Ziv," meaning radiance.

Yom Hashoah 2017

Israel remembers the victims of the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah – a Memorial Day that falls on April 24 this year. All Israelis will once again stop in their tracks and remain silent for a minute to remember the ones they lost to human hatred and violence during World War II.

Yom haShoah in a drawing with a child eye

Yom HaShoah Siren 2017 
We rose from train tracks of destruction to train tracks forging our future.

Eliyahu's Cup for Passover

After the conclusion of the Seder’s Grace After Meals, there is a universally accepted custom to pour a cup of wine (the “Cup of Eliyahu”), open the front door of the home, and recite several verses wherein we beseech G‑d to pour His wrath upon our persecutors and oppressors.
According to tradition, at this moment our homes are graced by the presence of Eliyahu HaNavì (Elijah the prophet).

Eliyahu's Cup for Passover

DIY colorful string Eliyahu's Cup for Passover

Elijah’s cup is an important part of Passover Seder. Every year, Elijah the Prophet is invited to the Seder meal. A place is set at the table for Elijah, and we pour a cup of wine in his honor. 
We thought it would be nice to create a beautiful, crafty wine goblet for Elijah, a craft that children can participate in wrapping the colorful string. While little fingers help you can tell  the story of Eliyahu!
The supplies you will need are:
• natural jute or cotton string in several colors(choose the tones you like the most)
• a paint brush
• an inexpensive wine glass or goblet 
• white craft glue or Mod Podge.
• scissors
If you are not familiar with the custom of Eliyahu, the post above from Chabad.org will help to explain the tradition.
To learn more about the Jewish holiday of Passover, click here.

Glasses and goblets.

Ten Plagues Passover Centerpiece 2

G.d has promised Moshè that he would demonstrate his power to convince Pharaoh; but at the same time, he would be convincing the Hebrews to follow his path. First, G.d would "harden the heart" of the Pharaoh, making him adamantly against the Hebrews' leaving. Then he would produce a series of plagues whose escalating severity culminated with the death of every firstborn Egyptian male.

Ten Plagues Passover Centerpiece Kit
Ten Plagues in a jar

I want to show you quickly the Passover Centerpiece for your table. 
It will be a long night tonight and a most important part of tonight is to engage the children. That’s why we do all those different things during the Seder. The entire Seder is framed around this concept of engaging and answering to the children, so as to teach them the story of our nation’s Exodus from Egypt (and it’s significance in our lives today!).
In the spirit of engaging the children and getting them excited about the Seder, we created this fun Passover centerpiece kit. 
You can recreate the same thing on your table. We used whatever vases we had and filled them up with “plagues”.

The Plagues
Blood
Frogs
Lice
Flies
Pestilence
Boils
Hail
Locusts
Darkness
Death of the firstborn

We hunted our local stores and Amazon for supplies. But, really overall, your creativity in doing this isthe best part.
Farm animals
Wild animals
Insects
Frogs

Kids friendly Passover centerpiece kit

The Seder plate is the focal point of the proceedings on the first (two) night(s) of Passover. Whether it is an ornate silver dish or a humble napkin, it bears the ceremonial foods around which the Seder is based: matzah, the zeroa (shankbone), egg, bitter herbs, charoset paste and karpas vegetable.

Kids friendly Passover centerpiece kit

Wooden Seder Styled Plagues and Matzot Decorative Holder

Handmade wooden table with Seder cerimonial foods, decorative matzot jewish signs and the ten plagues.

Though many Passover hosts and hostesses feel enslaved by intense holiday preparations, here's how you can create a nice and kids friendly Passover centerpieces with ease.
When the Passover table is crammed with wine bottles, glasses, seder plates and boxes of matzo, finding the right centerpiece can be tricky.If you want to add flowers think about using topiaries because they provide height without obstructing the view, they do not die so you can start with white roses in the arrangement for the seders and switch to lemons or strawberries for the end of the holiday.
For large tables, scattering clusters of flowers in bud vases add color without the bulkiness (or expense!) of a formal arrangement.
Opt for vibrant colored tablecloths with patterned textures and choose simple flowers within variations of two colors that contrast with the tablecloth. As long as the flowers are in the color scheme, inexpensive ones will do the trick.

Look for some disposable plastic plates Passover Seder dishes, ideal for children for Passover if you're in a hurry and want to decor your table on a budget.






 

Pesach Lamb Needle Felting kit for beginner

The Shabbat which precedes Passover is called Shabbat haGadol, the Great Sabbath, for many and varied reasons, as we shall explain below.
There are also many special customs associated with this Shabbat. It was in Egypt that Israel celebrated the very first Shabbat Ha-Gadol on the tenth of Nissan, five days before their redemption. On that day, the Children of Israel were given their first commandment which applied only to that Shabbat, but not to future generations: On the tenth day of this month [Nissan]... each man should take a lamb for the household, a lamb for each home (Exodus 12:3).
This mitzvah of preparing a lamb for the Passover offering four days before it was to be brought, applied only to that first Passover in Egypt, and the Torah does not tell us that we must continue to do so before every future Passover. Nevertheless, the people continued to do this to make sure that their lambs had no blemishes which would preclude their being sacrificed.

Sheep Needle Felting Kit (Easy Beginner)

A simple do it yourself needle felt starter kit for anyone new to wool felting.

Craft your own fun and fuzzy sheep décor with this diy needle felting kit! No previous wool felting, sewing, knitting, or crocheting experience/skills are necessary to create this sweet little sheep, making this needle felt kit ideal for crafting beginners. This delightful diy craft kit allows you to make one cute ‘n’ curly white sheep. Your finished sheep will measure approximately 4×4 inches, depending on how firmly it is felted, and the project will take around three hours to complete if you are a felting newbie.
The wool for this adorable needle felted sheep is collected from specialty bred sheep raised on Alps farm.
All our needle felting kits are packaged in a  resealable plastic bags making them the perfect gift for any Passover crafter enthusiast! Why not create your own Jacob's flock of these endearing sheep to add a touch of country charm to your home?
The beginner sheep craft kit goes with  :
white wool
white curly wool
black wool for the mouth and eyes
two felting needles
felting cushion

Felting needles, beginner or expert.

Passover (Door with Blood ), Pesach ornament idea

All entryways were daubed with blood. The people of Israel were about to be birthed into a new people, a free people, no longer slaves of others. It would be a long infancy – once birth was assured.
Exodus tells of Blood on the doors
"They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. (...) It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Passover (Door with Blood ), Pesach ornament idea.

Handmade small wood door with felt blood on jambs.

Shabbat Hagadol
The Shabbat which precedes Passover is called Shabbat haGadol, the Great Sabbath, for many and varied reason
The Torah commanded them to take their lambs and tie them to the bedpost. When they did so, their Egyptian neighbors saw this and asked:
"What is the lamb for?"
The Children of Israel answered: "It is to be slaughtered as a Passover sacrifice as G‑d has commanded us."

If don't have time to search for a reclaimed piece of wood and work on it, look for unfinished pieces of wood doors . Then paint it and apply felt as blood.

Little Moshè Felting kit for beginner

When the Book of Exodus begins, the Jews were living in Egypt and after time Moshè came to life...
"Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman,  and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.  But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.  His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him."

Little Moshè Felting Kit (Easy Beginner)

A simple do it yourself needle felt starter kit for anyone new to wool felting. 

Craft your own fun and fuzzy lottleMoshè décor with this diy  felting kit! No previous wool felting, sewing, knitting, or crocheting experience/skills are necessary to create this sweet little Moshè, making this felt kit ideal for crafting beginners. This delightful diy craft kit allows you to make two different colour cute littlwe Moshè. 
The wool for this adorable felted Moshè is collected from specialty bred sheep raised on Alps farm.
All our  felting kits are packaged in a  resealable plastic bags making them the perfect gift for any Passover crafter enthusiast! Why not create your own many coloured Moshè  to add a touch of warm charm to your home?
The beginner Little Moshè craft kit goes with :

light blue/green wool felt
two felted wool ball curly wool
brow/beige wool felt for cradles
two  needles
sewing thread

You can buy felt pieces

3D Crossing the Sea Kit

The Crossing of the Red Sea (Hebrew: קריעת ים סוף Kriat Yam Suph) is part of the biblical narrative of the escape of the Israelites, led by Moshè, from the pursuing Egyptians in the Book of Exodus 13:17-14:29. 
Moshè held out his staff and the Red Sea was parted by G.d. The Israelites walked on the exposed ground and crossed the sea, followed by the Egyptian army. Moshè again moved his staff once the Israelites had crossed and the sea closed again, drowning the whole Egyptian army.

 3D Crossing the Red Sea in a frame Kit

3D representation of the parting of the Red Sea into a wood frame. Handmade.
All the kit comes inside a wood frame, Egypt picture, the sea walls, felt waves and laminated standing caracters.

Prince og Egypt (Dreamworks)

If you want to see all the movie, you can find it on dvd