There isn't much in our world that is sweeter than honey. Psalm 119:103 says "How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!" How true this is. There is nothing sweeter and more fulfilling than meditating on God's Word and Promises. In this season leading up to Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, its traditional to prepare for and celebrate the feast with eating honey dipped apples and well, everything dipped, drizzled and otherwise marinated in honey. What a perfect opportunity to bring this verse to life!
Recently, we heard a story of how in some Yeshivot (places of study of the Torah and more so other rabbinical writings) the students are welcomed to their first day of studies by writing the first verse of the Torah (Genesis 1:1) with a quill dipped in honey. Then they are told to lick their page thereby teaching the first lesson of their studies, that the Word of God is sweeter than honey to their mouth. We thought we could adapt that into our homeschool lessons, and so, for the first day of school, we set the kids up with a laminated copy of Psalm 119:103 and a good, classic country treat of a honey straw. The kids proceeded to try to complete their copy work (which I won't lie, was a lot more challenging and less glamorous than I anticipated), but with a great incentive of getting to lick the honey once done. Psalm 34:8 says "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!". God longs for us to experience him and His presence. To use our senses. To TASTE and SEE. One could add to TOUCH and HEAR and even SMELL. I do believe that this is a lesson our children will not quickly forget.
As to the execution of the lesson, I'm not sure the honey straws were ultimately the best writing utensil. They did cut down on unnecessary messes and spills, but the honey did not flow easily from the straw as I had planned. The children had to squeeze the straws which made the writing tedious and clunky. I ended up having the kids simply read the verse and smother the honeycomb image with honey. Next year I plan to try a thin craft stick or kabob skewer and have them dip into a small bowl of honey like a quill pen in a well of ink. Ultimately, it's about illustrating the principal of elevating God's word as our life and then sweetest most beneficial thing we can take hold of.
