Over the last several yetzirah sessions this year I’ve gotten to know the children well. I know some are quick to get their thoughts out onto paper, and I know some prefer a to make a draft sketch before their final production. And I know some live for the moment when they plunge their little hands into a bucket of paint and I know some would rather say “um excuse me, I need a brush”.
But this week, all of them got messy and creative! One Shorashim boy exclaimed “Oh no! Wait! Your going to get it all over your hands!” to the others. To which I responded that Here in yetzirah, you won’t get in trouble for being messy! In fact, I believe something my art teacher told me when I was younger ‘the bigger the mess, the better the art work’. (and it’s still okay if you prefer a brush or paint tool, too).
And that was all they needed to know! Plunge! Splash! Clapping! And giggling! Yetzirah was full of smiling and creative children.
The project was to paint נרות (neirot, candles) for Beyt Shorashim’s huge chanukiyah, but their new child-initiated assignment was to explore the colors, mix and discover as many new colors as possible, and experiment with stamp dreidels and wax candles onto the paper!
