Next up, Yom Kippur

Keeping up with the chaggim as a preschool teacher has more than it's fair share of challenges and insights. Today we were back at school with only today, half a day tomorrow and two days next week to prepare for Yom Kippur. I think you would be surprised at all there is for the children to learn about this chag. I decided to start with the story of Yonah. I used the Artscroll children's version of the book of Yonah and read it loosely from the text. I adore reading to children and am particularly fond of voices and dramatizing the story. The children sat through the whole story which is no easy feat for active 3-5 year olds. They asked alot of great questions like, "Why was Yonah upset at Hashem for saving Nineveh?" Neat, huh?

I love this story because much like Yonah I do not get Hashem sometimes. Where is the justice, the vengeance? The people of Nineveh were bad people, really bad, they deserved their come uppance, didn't they? Even now there are bad, truly evil people inhabiting the planet and yet, they continue to breathe. I just don't understand, but I suppose like Yonah, how Hashem deals with them is really none of my business. Heck, I even happen to have a fig tree outside my home and I could sit there and pout about it, but my luck the worm would miss the tree and eat my lavender plants.

See the thing is, if that were the case we surely would not be reading this story at Yom Kippur because this story is not about paybacks or getting what we deserve. It is about teshuva and forgiveness. Tough ones aren't they. It is also about not being able to run away from G-d. Try as you might apparently there is just no getting away from the Creator. It is amazing story of Hope and of Divine Love.

After reading the story of Yonah, I reflected a bit. Although I do not plan on wearing sackcloth and ashes or sticking my dog in sackcloth and making him fast next Thursday, (all the people of Nineveh, young and old and all their livestock wore sackcloth and fasted) I will don white, fast and I will pray and I will mean what I say. I will try to do and try to be better and I will even try to forgive.

Forgiveness is never easy, forgiving others is difficult, (no matter how Big or small they are), but to be sure forgiving myself is by far the hardest.

Boy oh boy, am I glad I am not G-d.