Speaking at the memorial service for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, President Obama launched a national debate on gun violence in America. "No set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society," he said, "but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this.”
His words mobilized gun control supporters and detractors; namely, interest groups like The Brady Campaign for Gun Violence and the National Rifle Association. Jewish groups also raised their voices, joining other religious groups in the national debate. In a press release issued January 15th by Faiths United Against Gun Violence, a diverse coalition of more than 40 religious denominations, Rachel Laser, Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), said, “We in the Jewish community join our fellow faith leaders in making [the reduction of] gun violence a top priority.” The Jewish Reconstructionist Movement, the Union for Reform Judaism, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, The Rabbinical Assembly, and Women of Reform Judaism have all joined Faiths United.
Judaism has something important to say about this public policy debate; therefore, Jewish educators must not sit on the sidelines. If we fail to provide students with Jewish perspectives on the causes of and solutions to gun violence in our country, we not only shortchange them, but we also diminish the light of the Jewish tradition.
This school year, Behrman House has focused attention on Project Based Learning, a dynamic teaching strategy that encourages students to explore real-world problems and challenges. Gun violence in America is precisely such a challenge. To help teachers present this difficult subject, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Ross, Assistant Principal of Judaic Studies at Yavneh Academy in Paramus, NJ, and I are launching a series of PBL lesson plans that investigate the Jewish perspectives on gun violence. Our first lesson, which is appropriate for 5th- 10th graders, is now available as Featured Content in the Behrman House Resource Libraries. (Search for Jewish Perspectives on Gun Violence.) Without assuming a specific bias, the lesson explores Jewish sources on buying and selling weapons, hunting, and the value of life. Also, students will read and react to articles written by contemporary journalists on both sides of the discussion, such as Fareed Zakaria and Charles Krauthammer.
We believe Jewish education is about the business of liberating Judaism from the four walls of the classroom. This first lesson plan does so.
