You might be familiar with the book The Shabbat Box, by Lesley Simpson. It’s a sweet story about a little boy whose preschool teacher sends home a special shabbat box with a different student each Friday. On his week, he loses the box in the snow and decides to make his own hand-crafted version to replace the original (which is, of course, found by the teacher.)
My daughter’s kindergarten teacher was probably inspired by this book, and about halfway through the year adopted the same tradition. However, there are now only three weeks of school left, and I’m fairly certain that there are more than three children who haven’t taken home the shabbat box. So, I’ve been trying to prepare Ella for the possibility that she may not get a turn. (I guess there’s a life lesson in this, and I will bend over backwards to pretend it’s ok if she doesn’t get a shot at the box. But deep down? I’ll be pi**ed.)
In preparation for the no-box possibility, I brightly suggested that we make our own. Luckily, Ella bought into the idea 100%. (“Maybe I can have a playdate every Friday, and send it home with a different friend each week!”) She decorated a box last night, and tonight, we set up a small challah cover factory in the backyard.
I guess I can’t stay angry at a teacher who has inspired my daughter to love shabbat this much….