Shavuot pyjama party launched to encourage night-time learning under lockdown

UJIA has launched its “Shavuot Pyjama Party” selection of learning materials in the run-up to the Jewish festival starting this week.

The name is a nod to both the de facto dress-code of the coronavirus lockdown as well as the Shavuot tradition of night-time learning, and the package of family-friendly educational activities can all be enjoyed from home.

With some reporting an increasing sense of “Zoom burnout” to describe the pressure of video-calls at fixed times, the UK-Israel charity said it had designed the activities as and when suits each family, giving much-needed flexibility.

“Our Great Pyjama Party marks a second phase in our lockdown educational experience, from the initial excitement and novelty of Zoom events in an attempt to replace the real thing, to something more compatible with our current daily realities,” said a spokesman.

“The materials allow families to learn new facts about Shavuot, explore the festival’s meaning to them and discover new and delicious festive foods from all around the Jewish world.”

Examples of activities include sending ‘Hamsa’ postcards to each other in keeping with the Libyan Jewish tradition of making Hamsa-shaped cakes on Shavuot.

There is also a series of short videos featuring Jews from a variety of different backgrounds explaining their Shavuot traditions and foods, along with recipes for their favourite Shavuot dishes.