Laura Copel is the Union for Reform Judaism's coordinator for engagement of families with young children. An avid musician, she teaches at three synagogues and volunteers in the t’filah band and with the sisterhood at Temple Israel of Northern Westchester in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., her home congregation. Laura grew up in the Boston area and resides north of Manhattan, where she and her husband raised three children.
At the end of the Passover story "The Greatest Escape", we left the Israelites celebrating their escape from slavery in Egypt. What happened next? Where did they go?
In this sneeze-filled episode, we find the magical Sparks Gabi and Rafi fighting off their own colds while they help the Plony family realize that Grandpa needs cheering up in the hospital. Gabi’s sniffles manage to misdirect her magic to hilarious effect. A rainstorm of chicken soup and a flock of quacking ducks eventually persuade the family to visit Grandpa.
Passover is one of the most popular Jewish holidays. One way we celebrate is by going to a very special dinner party called a Seder. We read a script from a book called a Haggadah which urges us to try foods we don’t usually eat, encourages us to ask questions, play with our food and even slouch in our chairs! Why? Why indeed!
A litle apple tree is jealous of the big tall oak, until one day it discovers something surprising. This Tu BiShvat story teaches that everyone has qualities that make them special in a unique way, and is a lesson about patience and the passing of time.
At a dreidel-making workshop, Jeremy’s friends think that he is molding a secret code on his clay dreidel. However, they soon find out that he is really making a special gift: a dreidel with Braille letters on it for his father, who is blind.