I saw a posting where this little boy is coming home from his first day at vacation bible school. He has his back pack and a big smile. Yes, it warms my heart to see such. I was reminded of the summer I went to Vacation Bible School so many years ago. I can't remember the exact year, I would guess 1963 or so. I attended with my older sister. That memory is just the tiniest glance into the past for me, I remember so little of it. I know it was in the parish hall at St. Lukes Episcopal church. This was the same place that we held Jesus's birthday party every year. We had cake and ice cream and Santa would arrive with presents for all. But at vacation bible school, we made yamakas. And that is about all I recall.
I wonder why that should be a fixture in my mind? I can recall those yamakas came in kit form. There were brightly colored panels of a leather like material, pre cut into triangle shapes with holes along the edges. All we had to do was " sew " those pieces together. So we all laced those hats together and wore them for a short time. I can only assume we were learning about Jesus and how he was Jewish. I still find myself smiling at that memory. A single moment in time really, it didn't last long. As with all children I quickly moved on to whatever was next. I have no further memory of what happened to that yamaka or anything else we may have done in that school. A singular moment in time yet a lasting memory.
Now I knew we had Jewish people living in town. They owned a clothing store and 5&10 cent store. They didn't wear those yamakas though. I remember asking why that was and someone told me they didn't want people to know they were Jewish. I didn't give it much thought then, just accepted that as the answer. I didn't understand why if they didn't want anyone to know, why they had their own church, but called it a Synagogue? They didn't go to church on Sunday either, they went on Friday night, after work. Even as a ten year old I thought it was pretty obvious. I also remember thinking, if Jesus was a Jew and we worship Jesus, why aren't we Jewish? Then someone told me that the Jews killed Jesus! It was their fault and that's why we didn't go to their church. Seemed reasonable enough. I wasn't mad at them though, after all, that was a long time ago.
I think seeing that posting about vacation bible school was a reminder. There is very little new in the world. I see the signs for VBS all the time and immediately know what that acronym means. That wasn't so back in the sixties though, things were spelled out back then. It was made perfectly clear what we were talking about. Today we use acronyms continuously and expect people to know them! I admit I'm not always up to speed on that and get confused every now and again. I think acronyms are a bit presumptuous. It's almost a challenge. Are you smart enough to know what I'm saying? Or is it that I don't want you to know something? Are acronyms just a disguise? Are acronyms Jews without a yamaka? LOL, acronym for laughing out load.
Now this post is just me wandering down a lane. It isn't supposed to have any great meaning, no moral to the story. It is nothing more than some thoughts that were stirred by a facebook posting. I do find it comforting that children still go to Vacation Bible school, that the tradition continues. Maybe they are making yamakas, I don't know.
I wonder why that should be a fixture in my mind? I can recall those yamakas came in kit form. There were brightly colored panels of a leather like material, pre cut into triangle shapes with holes along the edges. All we had to do was " sew " those pieces together. So we all laced those hats together and wore them for a short time. I can only assume we were learning about Jesus and how he was Jewish. I still find myself smiling at that memory. A single moment in time really, it didn't last long. As with all children I quickly moved on to whatever was next. I have no further memory of what happened to that yamaka or anything else we may have done in that school. A singular moment in time yet a lasting memory.
Now I knew we had Jewish people living in town. They owned a clothing store and 5&10 cent store. They didn't wear those yamakas though. I remember asking why that was and someone told me they didn't want people to know they were Jewish. I didn't give it much thought then, just accepted that as the answer. I didn't understand why if they didn't want anyone to know, why they had their own church, but called it a Synagogue? They didn't go to church on Sunday either, they went on Friday night, after work. Even as a ten year old I thought it was pretty obvious. I also remember thinking, if Jesus was a Jew and we worship Jesus, why aren't we Jewish? Then someone told me that the Jews killed Jesus! It was their fault and that's why we didn't go to their church. Seemed reasonable enough. I wasn't mad at them though, after all, that was a long time ago.
I think seeing that posting about vacation bible school was a reminder. There is very little new in the world. I see the signs for VBS all the time and immediately know what that acronym means. That wasn't so back in the sixties though, things were spelled out back then. It was made perfectly clear what we were talking about. Today we use acronyms continuously and expect people to know them! I admit I'm not always up to speed on that and get confused every now and again. I think acronyms are a bit presumptuous. It's almost a challenge. Are you smart enough to know what I'm saying? Or is it that I don't want you to know something? Are acronyms just a disguise? Are acronyms Jews without a yamaka? LOL, acronym for laughing out load.
Now this post is just me wandering down a lane. It isn't supposed to have any great meaning, no moral to the story. It is nothing more than some thoughts that were stirred by a facebook posting. I do find it comforting that children still go to Vacation Bible school, that the tradition continues. Maybe they are making yamakas, I don't know.
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