Chag Purim Sameach! Happy Purim! We are traveling through the book of Shemot which is the second book of the 5 books of Moshe. This week, we read Ki Tisa which means (“when you elevate”) G-D's people in Iran have certainly been elevated this week. Yahoo! In this week’s Parsha, we learn one of the most important lessons in the Torah. What we find is especially important in today’s Messianic community, made up of both Jews and non-Jews. This lesson is that, to Ad-nai, every person has exactly the same value or worth. No matter how rich or how poor, how strong or weak, large or small, Jewish or non-Jewish. To Ad-nai, each person has equal value. In Exodus 30:11, we read: 15 The rich are not to give more and the poor are not to give less than the half shekel, when they present the offering of Adonai to make atonement for your souls. If you notice, the amount is half a shekel per soul. The reason this is half a shekel and not a whole shekel is to remind us that no matter who we are or what we become, we will always be only half what we should be or could be without Ad-nai in our hearts. In our activity this week we learn how we can connect with others, if you have ever wanted practical practice in elevating and encouraging others, this activity's for you. As always, ask for permission to download and print the lesson and activity for the week and learn about the way we should walk to accept the blessings of G-D into our lives. (links are below attached to the cartoons of children.)