Miami Creativity: A New Game to Learn About Israel
Posted on 08/22/2025 @ 06:00 AM
This week we shine the CAJE Summer Spotlight on local Early Childhood Educator Romina Naparstek, co-creator of Matzati a fun and enriching game that brings Israel to life for people of all ages from preschoolers to adults.
Romina is an example of the innovation coming from our Jewish Early Childhood community, she is among the caring, talented, mission-driven people who are constantly seeking to improve themselves and the world.
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R. Efrat Zarren-Zohar (CAJE-Miami): What we're discussing today is something that Romina Naparstek, the Early Childhood Director of the Michael-Ann Russell JCC, has invented.
It’s a game called Matzati, which means “I found it” in Hebrew.
Romina, tell us the story about how this Matzati game was born, and what inspired its name.
Romina Naparstek: So Matzati is like “Spot It!,” a well-known card game for kids. It's a fast-paced card game where you have 55 cards with 57 items, and no matter what 2 cards you get, there's always a matching symbol.
There are plenty of different versions, and I always try to carry one of them in my purse to keep my kids engaged at restaurants or doctor's offices.
One day, I was at the doctor's office with my daughter, and we were playing Princess Spot It, and I realized that after 2 hours of playing, I had almost learned every single princess's name and little object that was in the game.
That’s when I thought ‘what a waste of an opportunity -- imagine if we could create something related to Judaism.’
I went online and saw there's a version for a Jewish Spot It! But then I saw there was nothing about Israel.
And you know, Israel, we keep talking about how we can connect early childhood to Israel and how to make it meaningful.
Denise Arenovich (L) & Romina Naparstek (R), co-creators of Matzati.
That's when I started conversations with my partner, Denise Arenovich. We came up with a list of 57 items, and there was some back and forth between us, but our main objective was that we wanted to showcase Israel.
We knew we needed to include people, places, food, and everyday little things that children would see if they were in Israel.
We even have the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock, because we also wanted to showcase the diversity that is in Israel.
R. Efrat Zarren-Zohar (CAJE-Miami): Beautiful! You've been in the field of Jewish early childhood education for over 25 years. Tell us a little bit about that, and how it shaped the game.
Romina Naparstek: I started 25 years ago, being a teacher in a Montessori school, and you know, I think it was a coincidence that I started working in a Temple, and it connected me more to Judaism and living a Jewish life.
It's all about the community. Early childhood is where we start creating the relationship with Judaism and children start making meaning of their experiences.
When we were thinking of the game, we realized that play is the language of childhood, meaning play is how children learn, how children explore the world, how they process big ideas.
We knew that when we bring Israel into that space, it would need to be a hands-on experience. So the game was in some way a no-brainer.
I have seen teachers playing it in classrooms when they needed to use up time between one transition and another, and it brings Hebrew into the classroom.
Usually, Israel comes into our schools when there's a holiday or event connected to Israel, and I want Israel to live in the classroom all year round.
Maybe a child realizes that their mother makes Shakshuka on Sunday. Okay, there's a Shakshuka symbol in the game, and they then know it comes from Israel. We wanted to help families make these connections.
The idea is that as they find the object, not only do they say Matzati, but they also say, Oh, that's David Ben Gurion, or the Kotel, or the Dead Sea or a Bedouin tent.
And on the website connected with the game, every icon has a story, and there's information about them that a parent or an educator can read.
We not only envisioned the game for early childhood. The idea is that the game can be used in youth groups, religious schools, and even college Hillels too.
This is something that youth groups and young adults can enjoy. It's not only for early childhood - I think it's a game that is fun for everybody.
R. Efrat Zarren-Zohar (CAJE-Miami): You co-created this Matzati game with your friend and educator, Denise. Tell us a little bit about her. And what was it like developing the game together.
Romina Naparstek: Denise comes with a rich passion and love for Judaism and Israel. She was raised at the J, and in a very Jewish household, and she works at the MARJCC also.
She's a graphic designer, with a very nice eye in terms of aesthetics. I approached her and asked her to do this together. We shared the goal, so it was a partnership made in heaven, as the saying goes.
R. Efrat Zarren-Zohar (CAJE-Miami): And how have you seen children engage in the game so far? What kind of moments surprised you, or were there any reactions that stood out?
Romina Naparstek: Well, I have seen children playing in the classroom. I've seen it with my own kids and with my friends’ kids.
I see great reactions from adults. I think the icons are so real and vivid that people connect with them.
I remember children being surprised there was an Israeli astronaut.
A few weeks ago, a parent from the school sent me pictures of a few parents playing together while the kids were playing. I love to see adults engaging with Israel, and keep learning, and keep connecting.
R. Efrat Zarren-Zohar (CAJE-Miami): The symbols in the game — all 57 of them. How did you end up choosing them? Were there any controversial ones? What was that process?
Romina Naparstek: We started with almost 70 symbols. We wanted to take some that are obvious, like a boureka, and we wanted to include some like the Dome of the Rock, or the word Shalom in Arabic, which maybe is controversial.
We definitely had to pause and consider: Okay, we want to show Israel. But what Israel do we want to show? Do we want to show the diversity? Do we want to show that there are minorities? Do we want to show that Israel is a place of prayer for everybody?
We also included Deni Avdija, who is a basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA. I didn't know about him. Somebody else told me.
By researching, we realized that this is someone who we also want to put into the game. We don't usually hear about Jewish or Israeli athletes in the Big Leagues.
R. Efrat Zarren-Zohar (CAJE-Miami): Israel has always been a complex and emotional place. How and why is Matzati especially relevant now?
Romina Naparstek:
I hear from families that Israel is now taking a bigger part in in their everyday life, and I think the game makes it tangible. Matzati is a way of bringing Israel home.
Because again, this is the language of childhood.
Matzati brings the engagement, the emotion, the vocabulary of Israel to children and families.
R. Efrat Zarren-Zohar (CAJE-Miami): Wow, okay, I'm convinced this is a great game. Where can we buy it?
Romina Naparstek: We have our website, matzati.info. That's where all the resources are located and you can buy it. And shipping is included, and you'll get it right to your door in 2 to 3 days for only $18.
R. Efrat Zarren-Zohar (CAJE-Miami): Romina, I'm so impressed with your creativity on this and always, ever since I met you long ago.
I'm so excited that you're doing great things for our community both at the Michael-Ann Russell JCC as their Director of Early Childhood and obviously bringing this incredible game to the world.
Thank you so much for joining us today!
