Lesson

Is Lethal Injection Humane?

This article analyzes from a Jewish perspective the Supreme Court case about whether lethal injection as itis currently administered is “cruel and unusual punishment.” In this lesson,students will study Jewish texts to help them understandthe way that Jewish traditionand the transmission of Torah and Jewish values provide ameans of understanding andconfronting challenging contemporary issues $0.00$0.00from BabagaNewz Magazine, Nisan 5768 / April 2008 Lesson Summary:  In this lesson, students will study Jewish texts to help them understand the way that Jewish tradition and the transmission of Torah and Jewish values provide a means of understanding and confronting challenging contemporary issues. Printable Lesson:  7801lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Buoyancy

This article teaches the science of buoyancy and uses the concept as a metaphor for staying afloat in the waters of life. Through text study, discussion, and graphic representations, students will think about what keeps them afloat in the world. After, they will create a list to teach the next generation about keeping afloat.  $0.00$0.00 FLOTATION DEVICES Scuba divers wear BC (buoyancy compensator) equipment to adjust and control their buoyancy while underwater. Freedom Ship, an ocean vessel in development, will be the world's biggest ship floating on water. At one mile long and 25 stories high, engineers envision it as the first ever floating city, with 50,000 permanent residents, a hospital, parks, schools, and shopping malls. "They sank like lead in the majestic waters." Shemot 15:10 Lesson Summary:  Through text study, discussion, and graphic representations, students will think about where their help comes from to keep them afloat in the world. They will then create a list of ideas and values that they feel are necessary to teach to the next generation to keep them afloat as well. Printable Lesson:  7806lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Life Preserver Template

Digging Up King David's Palace

Share the work of Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar with your students. She  learned that sometimes the best way to reply to lies is by digging, literally, for the truth. $0.00$0.00 "The stories of the Torah and the Bible did not take place in the Land of Israel," claims Arab historian Jarid al-Kidwa. "They occurred in the Arabian peninsula, primarily in Yemen." "Jerusalem was never a Jewish city," adds Walid M. Awad, who served as the Director of Foreign Publications for the Palestine Ministry of Information. "There is no tangible evidence of Jewish existence from the so-called 'Temple Mount Era.'" "There never was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem," notes Palestinian journalist Ismail Jamal. "...And they anointed David as king over Israel." II Samuel 5:3 Lesson Summary:  This lesson gives students the opportunity to create personal archaeological digs in order to demonstrate howthe insights provided by artifacts enable us to understand and connect with Jewish history. Printable Lesson:  Lesson Plan Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Jason Gross: Building a "K'NEX"ion to the Past

For his Bar Mitzvah project, Jason Gross researched the temples in Jewish history and constructed them using K'NEX building sets.  Share this interesting project with your students.  Then take them on a scavenger hunt to connect them to their synagogue's history. $0.00$0.00For seven demanding hours, Jason Gross hunched over his K'NEX model and painstakingly connected more than 2,000 colorful pieces. As each plastic pair snapped snugly together, the 13-year-old from Commack, Long Island, felt a surge of satisfaction. Nothing, he thought, beats the thrill of watching a model emerge out of nothingness. During the past two months, these moments of creative joy had kept Jason enthused about his ambitious bar mitzvah project: to build K'NEX models of 12 historic synagogues-one for each table at his bar mitzvah reception. "In the 48oth year after the Children of Israel's exodus from the land of Egypt...[Solomon] built the Temple for God." I Kings 6:1 Lesson Summary:  Just as Jason forged a connection to Jewish communal life and history through his project, students in this lesson will engage in a scavenger hunt that will help them connect to the history of their synagogue. Printable Lesson:  7802lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  7802sources.pdf

Dave Isay: Listening Up

In this interview with Dave Isay, creator of the world's largest oral history project, explains the power of sharing, telling, and listening to family stories. In the lesson, students will have an opportunity to  interview each other about interesting questions and will then generate a list of questions that they can ask family members and friends during the Seder. $0.00$0.00  Every time Dave Isay visits his parents' house, he searches for an elusive audio tape he recorded decades ago, when he was a teen. It's ironic that he can't find that tape-an interview with his grandmother-because today, Isay is famous for having created StoryCorps, the world's largest oral history project. "What I would give to have that recording," Dave says sadly. "Ask your father and he will relate it to you, your elders and they will tell you." devarim 32:7 Lesson Summary:  In this lesson, students will have an opportunity to interview each other and will generate a list of questions that they can ask family members and friends during the Seder. Printable Lesson:  7804lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  StoryCorps Great Questions List Isay, Dave. Listening is an Act of Love. New York: Penguin Press, 2007.

Jay Feinberg: Healing with Hope

Jay Feinberg, the founder of the Gift of Life Jewish Bone Marrow Foundation, in his search for a bone marrow transplant that could save his life, Jay learned about embracing hope through acts of kindness by strangers. In this lesson, students will explore ways to have a positive impact on others' lives. $0.00$0.00  The shock was so great that Jay Feinberg, 22, felt himself slipping into a dreamlike state as the hematologist related the devastating news: Jay, who had made a doctor's appointment to investigate some flu-like symptoms, had leukemia, a lifethreatening disease. His only chance for survival was a bone marrow transplant, for which he required a genetically compatible donor. Since his two siblings were not matches, he needed to find a stranger to save his life. "Even if a sharp sword rests on a person's neck, the person should not despair of praying for God's mercy." Berakhot 10a Lesson Summary:  In this lesson, students will explore ways in which they, too, can have a positive impact on the lives of others. Printable Lesson:  6803lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Gift of Life homepage

Lior Liebling Lifts Our Spirits

This article is about Lior Liebling, a young man with Down syndrome who posseses the remarkable ability to find strength and hope in tefillah (prayer) and inspires others to do teh same. In the accompanying lesson, students will write meditations/kavanot and enrich their own prayer experiences. $0.00$0.00  "Hope in God; be strong and God will give you courage, and hope in God." Psalms 27:14 Lesson Summary:  In this lesson, students will write meditations/kavanot in order to enrich their own experience of prayer. Printable Lesson:  6802lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Making mizrach signs

Sports Superstitions Gone Batty

This article presents examples of athletes’ superstitions and contrasts them with the Jewish position on such behaviors. In this lesson, students explore the Jewish perspective on superstitions and superstitious behavior, as well as their own beliefs. $0.00$0.00  "You shall not be superstitious about times." Vayikra 19:26 Lesson Summary:  In this lesson, students explore the Jewish perspective on superstitions and superstitious behavior, as well as their personal beliefs and practices. Printable Lesson:  6806lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Questions

Hope in the Holy Land

Dr. Daniel Gordis speaks with four Israeli teens about hope for peace between Israel and Palestine. In the accompanying  lesson, students will explore their own hopes for Israel and compare them to the hopes expressed by the teens and those in Jewish texts. $0.00$0.00Though Israel's national anthem is called "Hatikvah," the hope, the mood in Israel is not always hopeful. With terrorist rockets landing regularly in Sderot (a small town in southern Israel that borders the Gaza Strip), key government officials under criminal investigation, and no peace deal with Palestinians in sight, many Israelis are concerned about their country's future. To find out what some kids in Israel think, BABAGANEWZ asked Dr. Daniel Gordis, a respected author and educator, to talk with four Israeli teens. Here are excerpts from their conversation: Lesson Summary:  In this lesson, students will explore their own hopes for Israel and compare them to the hopes expressed by the teens and in Jewish texts. Printable Lesson:  6807lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Daniel Gordis on the dialogue with students Live Hatikvah May 8, 2008

Mending Broken Hearts

Read this story about the Save a Child's Heart organization, and a girl saved by its team of Israeli doctors. Your students will be inspired by the work of this special organization and the Jewish values expressed in that work. $0.00$0.00  Lesson Summary:  Students will think about the concept of helping as something that is good to do versus something that is required to do. Students will study Jewish texts that relate to the responsibilities of helping and providing for others, and will create a list of universal rights for all children. Printable Lesson:  5809lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Template Statement of Child Rights 5809sources3.pdf Contact information for Get Well cards Additional Resources:  Save a Child's Heart UN Committee on the Rights of the Child What are human rights? Universal Declaration of Human Rights More on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Lessons in Life

Students will learn about the Landy family and the Jewish concepts of hesed (acts of kindness), ahavat Yisrael (love of fellow Jews), and tzelem Elokim (in God’s image). Students will prepare documentary-style interviews while role-playing people connected to the Landy family, and study Jewish texts to explore these concepts. $0.00$0.00  The physician's diagnosis was devastating. Six-year-old Becky Landy of Rochester, New York, born with spina bifada-a serious condition that results when the spinal column doesn't form properly-had developed scar tissue on her back, which was pulling on her spinal cord. The only way to save her life, concluded her surgeon, was to sever her spinal cord, which would mean she would never walk again. Becky's parents, Anita and Doug Landy, gave their consent to proceed with the surgery. "God gave three gifts to Israel: people who are merciful, people who are modest, and people who perform acts of kindness." Bemidbar Rabbah 8:4 Lesson Summary:  Students will identify ways in which we can do acts of hesed and can treat people with the awareness that they are reflections of tzelem Elokim. Students will consider how they can grow, or have grown from adversity. Students will examine the nature of their connection to other Jews as members of the Jewish people. Printable Lesson:  5808lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Empowering Jews with Disabilities Human Rights Learning Centre: A great resource on human rights and people with disabilities Bizchut: The Israel Human Rights Center for People with Disabilities Americans With Disabilities Act homepage

Reflections

Images in mirrors have no impact on each other, People, created in God's image, reflect God in their best interactions with other people.  Consider the refelction of your outer and inner self, and how well that reflects God. $0.00$0.00 SEEING IS BELIEVING Only large brained social animals-such as Asian elephants, dolphins, and orangutans-can recognize their own reflections in a mirror. In 1651, Peter Stuyvesant, gover nor of New Amsterdam, founded the first house of mirrors amusement park attraction based on the House of Mirrors in Versailles, France. The town of Viganella, Italy, which is located in a narrow valley and gets no direct sunlight for seven weeks in the winter, installed a computer-controlled mirror in 2006 to reflect sunlight into the town square. "As water reflects a face back to a face, so one's heart is reflected back by another." Proverbs 27:19 Lesson Summary:  Students will describe themselves externally (their appearance) and internally (their characteristics or nature), and they will attempt to describe God in similar terms. Students will examine the differences between comparing themselves to God externally and internally. Students will study texts that examine the implications of the statement that people are created in God’s image. Printable Lesson:  5806lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Template for 4x Reflections

To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo

Discuss tattooing with your students by reading this article and teaching the accompanying lesson. The lesson contrasts a common rationale that legitimizes tattoos with a Jewish perspective of humans being made b’tzelem Elokim (in God's image). $0.00$0.00Everyone who saw Michael Wilson agreed that he was a bit of a freak. (A bit of a freak, you say? If you called him a BIG FREAK, you could be accused of an understatement; after all, Wilson covered his entire body with 35,000 tattoos.) In the carnival world, where he worked until he died in 1996, Wilson was known as the Illustrated Man. "He could attract a crowd by just showing an arm, or even just a finger," says one former carney (a person who works in a carnival). "The lifebreath of humans is the lamp of God." Proverbs 20:27 Lesson Summary:  Students will explore the issue of tattooing in Jewish texts in relation to the theme of tzelem elokim. Students will apply their analysis of the texts to a scenario of a young person's dilemma. Printable Lesson:  5807lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Journal prompt

Max Moline: Shattering Stereotypes

Read how one day's experience inspires a boy to fight against prejudice and stereotypes. The lesson which accompanies this article  examines thedifferences that seem to separate people, and how to respect and even celebrate differences. $0.00$0.00  "You're late. Get off the bus n----rs," barked the tour guide at the Slavery and Civil War Museum in Selma, Alabama. "Put your hands on the wall and spread your legs," she screamed. The surprise reenactment of a slave auction shocked Max Moline and the other high school students in his group. "I will never know the pain of being an African-American slave," says Max, a 17-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia, "but this experience was so wrenching that I felt nauseous and cried." "Give, then, Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people." I Kings 3:9 Lesson Summary:  Students will consider the ways in which people are different and similar. Students will explore how human differences fit into the concept of tzelem Elokim. Printable Lesson:  5802lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Dead Man Walking

Read this article about "Body Worlds," a traveling exhibit of real human corpses with your students. Based on Jewish texts about being created in the image of God and the treatment of the body, students will discuss whether the exhibit "Body Worlds" is an educational tool or a violation of human dignity, and will design their own museum exhibit $0.00$0.00from BabagaNewz Magazine, Adar One 5768 / February 2008 Lesson Summary:  Students will explore the concept of tzelem Elokim as it relates to the treatment of the human body. Based on Jewish texts about tzelem Elokim and the treatment of the body, students will discuss whether the exhibit "Body Worlds" is an educational tool or a violation of human dignity, and will design their own museum exhibit. Printable Lesson:  5801lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Alex Orrelle: Animated Conversation

As an animator, Alex Otelle created characters for The Incredibles.  We were created in the image of God, and that affects our relationships with others, and our sense of responsibility towards them.  $0.00$0.00  Elastigirl, accompanied by two of her children, streaks through the sky in her jet, searching for her husband, Mr. Incredible. Suddenly, a missile roars toward her plane. The reluctant superhero grabs her kids and leaps out of the doomed aircraft. As they fall, her body morphs into a parachute, and the three float gently to the ground. "Who is wise? One who learns from every person." Pirkei Avot 4:1 Lesson Summary:  Students will discuss what it means to be made in the image of God. Students will explore the boundaries of honesty and sensitivity in their relationships, as well as the limits of our obligations to other people. Printable Lesson:  5804lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  The mirror scene from Duck Soup - the classic Marx Brothers routine similar to Me and My Image Heinz Dilemma

Flowering Fruit

Your class will enjoy making dried fruit centerpieces in honor of Tu B'Shevat, the holiday of trees.Send them home with some information about Tu B'Shevat and some readings or activities ( Tu B'Shevat Seder or Tu B'Shevat Leaves)  to add to the celebration at home. $0.00$0.00In celebration of the new year of trees, construct this edible dried fruit centerpiece with either a basket or terra cotta pot base. It’s the perfect addition to your Tu B’Shevat celebration. Lesson Summary:  Using texts and discussion, students will explore the symbolic link between different types of fruit and different approaches to leadership. Students will use their ideas to create a message about leadership through the construction of their flower fruit centerpieces. Printable Lesson:  4807lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Ashes of History

Read this story of the House of Katros in Jerusalem, circa 70 C.E. In the lesson students will discuss the relationship between past and present through the discussion of Jewish texts and the creation of their own Israel museum. $0.00$0.00  It's sunset after a hot day in 70 C.E. Although a cooling breeze blows through the open windows of the home of the High Priest known as Katros, inside the atmosphere is heated. The elder Katros, pointing to the Holy Temple which can be seen through the open window, is furious. He believes his teenage son has joined the Zealots, a group of Jewish rebels he both fears and despises. "Are you one of them?" the father shouts, his voice shaking with fury. "Have you turned against your family?" "The city that was great with people has become like a widow." Lamentations 1:1 Lesson Summary:  Students will explore the concept of ahavat Eretz Yisrael as it relates to Jewish history and the history of Israel. Students will discuss the relationship between past and present through the discussion of Jewish texts and the creation of their own Israel museum. Printable Lesson:  4808lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Tunnels and Chambers: A Virtual Adventure Through the Beit Hamikdash 3D tour of the vessels used in the Beit Hamikdash Information about an institute in Jerusalem working on reconstructing Temple vessels

Shemittah Showdown

Read this article about shemittah, the Torah commandment that requires that Jewish-owned land in Israel remain unplanted one year out of every seven. Help your students to understand the controversy that surrounds the observance of this mitzvah in Israel. $0.00$0.00from BabagaNewz Magazine, Tevet-Shevat 5768 / December 2007-January 2008 Lesson Summary:  Students will consider two scenarios involving ways to navigate a situation in which a prohibition exists. Students will apply their responses to the case of heter mekhirah, a rabbinic solution to the dilemma caused by the mitzvah of shemittah. Printable Lesson:  4801lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  More on heter mekhirah News article from Israel Article about the first shemittah after the State of Israel was declared Activity for Students News 'N' Views Story

Hydroponics

Hydroponics allows farmers to grow plants without soil. In the accompanying  lesson, students will learn about the importance and meaning of kedushat peirot shvi’it (the holiness of produce in the seventh year) by understanding how Jewish law views fruits and vegetables grown during shemittah. Mixing Jewish law with scientific advances helps the Jewish State function. Hydroponics plays an important role during the shemittah year. $0.00$0.00 NASA has extensively researched hydroponics as a method of sustaining life on space stations and space colonies. Eurofresh Farms in Willcox, Arizona, is the largest commercial hydroponics farm in the world, with 256 acres under glass. Hydroponics uses 1/20 of the water used on a regular farm to produce the same amount of food.   "The land must be given a rest period, a Sabbath to God." Vayikra 25:2 Lesson Summary:  Students will be challenged to define what is holy to them and to explain how they treat objects they consider holy. Students will discover what Jewish law defines as holy during the shemittah years. Printable Lesson:  4806lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Information on sustainable agriculture How to build a hydroponic garden Activity for Students Hydroponics experiment

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