Jonah And The Whale Tzedakah Box

A children's tzedakah box is an appropriate gift for a birth, birthday, or bar and bat mitzvah. Tzedakah is the hebrew word for the acts that we call "charity" in English. However, the word is derived from the Hebrew root Tzadei-Dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. Giving tzedakah is an obligation in Judaism and a commandment that should be taught to our children.

The story of Jonah on the front of this tzedakah box centers on a conflict between Jonah and God. Jonah flees to Joppa and boards a ship bound for Tarshish. God calls up a great storm at sea and the ships crew casts Jonah overboard in an attempt to appease God. A great sea creature (the Bible says it is a fish but retellings for children conventionally assume it to be a whale) sent by God, swallows Jonah. For three days and three nights Jonah languishes inside the fish's belly. He says a prayer in which he repents for his disobedience and calls upon God for mercy. God speaks to the fis