If your Christmas spirit lacks zest, add a dash of Judaism.
2. Learn to count to ten in Hebrew, thinking especially about the number one, ahat or ehad. Reflect on Jesus' words to Martha: "Only one thing is needed" (Luke 10:42).
5. Visit Bethlehem--online if not in person. Reflect on the Hebrew meaning of the town's name Beit Lechem (House of Bread because it is in a grain-growing area).
6. Visit Nazareth--online if not in person. Remember that Jesus was originally called a natzrati, which is still the Hebrew word today for a Christian. Practice saying, "Ani Natzrati"--"I'm a Christian." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazareth
7. Learn to gamble for chocolate coins using a dreidel. Learn why the letters gimmel, nun, heh, and shin are on the dreidel. (Gadol nes haiyah sham - "A great miracle occurred there.") http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Dreidel
8. Visit the Holocaust Museum nearest you. There are currently 41 in the US and more in 24 other countries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Holocaust_memorials_and_museums
9. Ask a Jewish friend to help you find someone who observes the Shabbat meal on Friday evening and would let you attend. Participate in lighting the candles and welcoming in the Shabbat (day of rest and remembering the presence of God).
10. Memorize Psalm 27:4 and listen to it sung in Hebrew: "One thing have I asked of YHWH, that will I seek after: that I may live in the house of YHWH all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of YHWH and to seek in God's temple." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PW_6-dSq6khttp://www.hebrewsongs.com/?song=achatshaalti http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Ketuvim/Psalms/Psalm_27/psalm_27.html
1. Listen to the prayer Jesus taught sung in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. It's on the CD Scriptures by Covita Moroney from Renewal Records, cut three. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/covita2/from/greatindiemusic
2. Learn to count to ten in Hebrew, thinking especially about the number one, ahat or ehad. Reflect on Jesus' words to Martha: "Only one thing is needed" (Luke 10:42).
3. Memorize the Shemah, the most important prayer in Judaism, which begins, Shemah Israel: YHWH ehad (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Listen to it sung on the album above, cut two.
4. Watch the sunrise looking east toward Jerusalem.
5. Visit Bethlehem--online if not in person. Reflect on the Hebrew meaning of the town's name Beit Lechem (House of Bread because it is in a grain-growing area).
6. Visit Nazareth--online if not in person. Remember that Jesus was originally called a natzrati, which is still the Hebrew word today for a Christian. Practice saying, "Ani Natzrati"--"I'm a Christian." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazareth
7. Learn to gamble for chocolate coins using a dreidel. Learn why the letters gimmel, nun, heh, and shin are on the dreidel. (Gadol nes haiyah sham - "A great miracle occurred there.") http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Dreidel
8. Visit the Holocaust Museum nearest you. There are currently 41 in the US and more in 24 other countries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Holocaust_memorials_and_museums
9. Ask a Jewish friend to help you find someone who observes the Shabbat meal on Friday evening and would let you attend. Participate in lighting the candles and welcoming in the Shabbat (day of rest and remembering the presence of God).
10. Memorize Psalm 27:4 and listen to it sung in Hebrew: "One thing have I asked of YHWH, that will I seek after: that I may live in the house of YHWH all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of YHWH and to seek in God's temple." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PW_6-dSq6khttp://www.hebrewsongs.com/?song=achatshaalti http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Ketuvim/Psalms/Psalm_27/psalm_27.html
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