Bible Belt Balabusta offers a delightful and creative way to teach about Havdalah.
"DIY chocolate Hebrew letters and a drop of honey = a sweet start.)
Back in the day, a child started cheder (religious school) with a taste of Torah: by licking an aleph-bet slate dribbled with honey. The Hebrew letters symbolized the whole Torah, and by further extension the mitzvah of Talmud Torah (all Jewish learning). Psalm 119:103 is the textual foundation for the licks: “How pleasing are Your words to my palate, sweeter than honey.”*
Since slates are obsolete, we could update the tradition by drooling honey onto Tablets and iPads, but chocolate is tastier.
At our shul, the kids in Kitah Aleph (first grade) have a Consecration ceremony to mark the formal beginning of Jewish education. They study a theme, put on a play, blurt their entire Hebrew names, then get blessed with their parents under a massive tallis on the bimah. The last couple of years, we’ve added a drop of honey to the tallis time: a drop of honey atop two chocolate letters—alef and tav—that represent the Torah. Fittingly, the school director drips the drop."
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