Page 44 - Lessons and Activities on Prayer

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BLeSSing
Catechist background
ere is a very common form of Jewish prayer called berakhah (blessing). Berakhot (the plural of berakhah) are part of the Jewish synagogue ser- vices and part of their daily prayers. berakhot are easy to recognize as they begin with “barukh” (in hebrew, “blessed” or “praised”). e word “barukh” is an adjective that describes God as the source of all blessings.
ere are three types of berakhot: 1) a blessing prayer recited before enjoying a material pleasure such as eating, drinking, or wearing new clothes. is prayer recognizes that God is the creator of all things; we do not have dominion over things but rather we ask God to use the gifts given to us. 2) a blessing prayer before keeping a command- ment. ey say this prayer before washing their hands or lighting candles to begin the sabbath. is helps people be aware that God enables us to do everything we do. 3) a blessing prayer recited at special times and events, such as hearing good or bad news or seeing a beautiful sunset; this prayer reminds the person praying it that God is the ulti- mate source of all good and evil. what appears to be evil at times is actually a blessing.
BleSSing LeSSon PLan 1
Objectives
□ To be aware of the creation story as a blessing and learn about blessing prayers as one of the ve forms of prayer
□ To be aware that God’s life in us is a blessing
materials
□ The Blessing Seed, A Creation for the New Millennium by Caitlin Matthews (optional) or use the summary provided
□ Large piece of construction paper □ Tree of Life template (page 46)
□ Apple templates (page 47)
□ Craft sticks, petals, and flower pots
The Blessing Seed Summary
In the middle of Eden was the Tree of Life, and four paths branched out from it. ese paths were ways of exploring the world. e rst path was called the path of wonder: as the man and woman walked down this path they remembered that they were made from the earth as they heard the birds sing and saw the sun sparkle on the water. e gift of caring was born within them. e second path was called emptiness. On this path they remembered how after they ate the fruit of the Tree of Life, they felt di erent. e gift of learning was born from times when they felt sad, lonely, or frightened, and when they lost someone they loved. e third path was called the path of making. On this path, the man and woman remembered the song that was inside of them. is path is lled with times when they had good ideas, or made something beautiful. e fourth path was called coming home. On this path, the man and woman remembered that they were a part of everything. ey looked af- ter the earth, they spoke for those who had no voice, and they enjoyed and respected all of cre- ation. For the rest of their lives, the gifts of these four paths grew within them as they walked the earth and spread God’s blessings everywhere.
lesson
▪ Gather the children together.
▪ using the background information, introduce
the students to the three types of blessing. ▪ discuss di erent practices for each one. ▪ read the blessing story and discuss it
or use the blessing seed summary. ▪ Talk about the many blessings God gave
us when the world was created. ▪ Talk about the four paths, and have
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