In Parshat Balak, we meet the second (and final) talking animal in the Torah (the first being the snake in Eden). The Moabite prophet Balaam is sent to curse the Israelites and his donkey sees an angel in their path. When the donkey stops, Balaam strikes him. God opens the mouth of the donkey and he complains to Balaam about his maltreatment. Finally, Balaam’s eyes are opened to see the angel.
Kids love talking animals. And, kids love puppets. So, the perfect craft for this week’s parsha is a fun donkey puppet!
Materials:
Paper lunch bag
Brown felt, foam, or construction paper
Brown yarn
Large googly eyes
Instructions:
1. Cut out ears, face, arms, tail, and nostrils out of brown felt.
2. Glue shapes onto paper bag.
3. Glue on googly eyes.
4. Cut pieces of yarn and glue them onto head and tail.
5. Stick your hand in the bag and make your donkey talk!
This craft can be found on ChallahCrumbs.com, a wonderful resources for Jewish projects and crafts. The craft is by Emily Shapiro Katz, an experienced and creative community Jewish educator. She lives in Beer Sheva in Kehilat Beerot and works for Go South with Nefesh B'Nefesh. Go Emily blogs about her Parsha Projects at parshaprojects.blogspot.com/.