Anafim never ceases to surprise me!
This Sunday, in an effort to re-frame our exploration of שמיטה (Sh’mitah) to be more community focused–rather than an individual experience of rest–I gave each 3rd and 4th grader a large piece of paper, one marker, and 20 minutes to design their ideal town or village.
Where would people live?
Where would they get food?
Would they work? Would there be money?
What would your town have in it?
And what fascinating towns did they produce!
One 4th grader imagined an urban commune–everyone lived in rooms in an apartment building in the center of a large field, which they all shared. They each worked the land, but all the money they made is shared communally, and they all ate in a communal restaurant.
Others had more private property, but everyone had public space for playing. They imagined towns where everyone had enough to eat, everyone had a home, and everyone had a job.
Knowing what we know about שמיטה (Sh’mitah) being about rest and sharing what grows from the land, this coming week we’ll see if, maybe, שמיטה (Sh’mitah) can help us to build a world closer to the ones we imagined.
