Lesson

"This is Where I Belong"

Young men from the United States share why they chose to join the Israeli Defense Force. The accompanying lesson teaches about the importance of Biblical and modern heroes who chose to fight for Eretz Yisrael. The class will develop a tzedakah project to support lone soldiers. $0.00$0.00  Basic training jolted Binyamin Zemelman out of his comfort zone. He faced freezing cold weather, grueling work, and primitive living conditions. "I would picture all my friends back in college, sitting around eating pizza and listening to music," recalls Binyamin, 21. "Since Israel is in trouble, I will share that burden." Ta'anit 11a Lesson Summary:  Students will identify why people might choose to join the Israeli army. Students will list the challenges for foreigners to serve in the Israeli army. Students will learn the phrase “hayal boded,” lone soldier. Students will organize a project to help hayalim bodedim. Printable Lesson:  1807lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Contact information for the 3 soldiers: Mahal2000 Jewish Agency Bldg. 17 Kaplan St., Tel Aviv 64734, Israel The official Mahal website Information about Americans who volunteered to fight for the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. A Package From Home Read about Barbara Silverman and her tzedakah project in this Jerusalem Post article: A Taste of Home on the Front by Ruhama Shattan Standing Together Connections Israel: Bringing Jewish People Together Stories of two Americans who came to Israel in 1947 on their own to help fight for Israel: Letters from Jerusalem by Zipporah Porath and The Jews’ Secret Fleet by Murray Greenfield and Joseph Hochstein.

Naomi Shemer: Golden Girl

This article about Naomi Shemer provides insight into Shemer’s love for Israel, the Hebrew language, and her deep connection to Jewishhistory. In the accompanying lesson, students will explore the metaphors in “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” and consider why Jerusalem is special. $0.00$0.00Published in Iyar 5765/May 2007. Based on quotes from articles that appeared in The Jerusalem Post. "Jerusalem of gold and of copper and of light, behold for all your songs, I am a violin." "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" Lesson Summary:  Students will analyze the lyrics to a song about Jerusalem. Students will study Jewish texts about Jerusalem to identify how the song echoes the texts. Students will discuss what made Jerusalem golden in the mind of the lyricist and how it remains golden today. Printable Lesson:  8704lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Word association words Additional Resources:  Jerusalem of Gold, The Kotel

Compasses

Ask your students to read this article about compasses, the “Jerusalem Compass,” and the idea that everyone prays toward Jerusalem. With the help of various Jewish texts, students will explore othertypes of compasses (things that can show where to go) in their lives. This lesson will then continue into the next day as students will gather pictures at home to create a compass collage that they can use as book covers for their personal Siddurim. $0.00$0.00 POLAR OPPOSITES The magnetic North Pole indicated by a compass is actually 1,400 miles away from the geographic North Pole. The first known compass was made in China over a thousand years ago. Scientists believe that the Earth's magnetic field flips its north and south poles every few tens of thousands of years. OPPOSITES ATTRACT Long before GPS satellites were invented, humans relied on compasses to navigate on land. "A person standing in prayer should direct his or her heart toward Jerusalem." Berakhot 30a Lesson Summary:  Students will read about the directions in which compasses lead people and explain how a compass can serve as a metaphor for the forces that guide people in their pursuits. Students will describe Jerusalem's role as a national compass for the Jewish People. Students will identify personal compasses to create a compass collage to adorn their own Siddurim. Printable Lesson:  8701lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Sources to hang in class Compass Worksheet Additional Resources:  How Compasses Work

Gateways: A Ceremony for Yom Yerushalayim

Each gate that surround Jerusalem's Old City has a history of its own. They speak about themselves in this PowerPoint presentation which is appropriate for a school assembly in honor of Yom Yerushalayim or as part of a unit on Jerusalem. $0.00$0.00NARRATOR: In ancient times, Jerusalem was surrounded by a wall, which was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries. The first wall surrounded the city of David, and as the city expanded, new areas were included within the barriers, including the Temple Mount. The Romans destroyed most of Jerusalem's walls when they conquered the city in 70 C.E., but in the 16th century, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the walls on the foundations of earlier ones. Each of Jerusalem's gates surrounding the wall reflects the history and development of the city. "Our feet stood firm within your gates, Jerusalem." Psalms 122:2 Lesson Summary:  This article is a scripted ceremony that movingly voices the experiences to which the gates to the old city of Jerusalem were eyewitnesses. The article provides a classroom-ready dramatic text that can serve as the basis for a Yom Yerushalayim celebration in your school. You can enhance the ceremony by using the slideshow available online and the scavenger hunt to encourage attentive participation. Additional PDFs:  Scavenger Hunt List Script for the Ceremony PPT Slider: 

From Zion Comes Torah...And Talking Computers!

This article examines the revolutionary speech recognition technology developed by a high-tech company in Jerusalem. This lesson invites students to think about the creative power of speech from a Jewish perspective and use that power to create ads for the launch of the speech recognition software. $0.00$0.00Within five years, your relationship to your computer and all your household appliances will resemble life aboard the USS Enterprise, the fictional starship that carried Captain Kirk and his "Star Trek" crew "where no one has gone before." Speech enabled software developed by pioneers like those at Linguistic Agents-a Jerusalem-based company-promises to transform your life. You won't be able to beam yourself out of embarrassing or dangerous situations, but you will be able to have a conversation like this with your computer: Lesson Summary:  Students will learn that Israel is a technological hot-spot from which many important inventions have come, including speech recognition software. Students will explore the creation story in Bereishit 1 and analyze the use of voice in Creation. Printable Lesson:  8705lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Text of Bereishit 1

Recline in Style

Make a special pillowcase for the Pesach Seder with your students. Then do a lesson in which students will explain different meanings of freedom as it relates to Pesach and  articulate how the idea of freedom connects with reclining at the Seder.   $0.00$0.00We lean on pillows at the Seder table to show that we're free from slavery. Show that you've got style, too, with your own chic pillow cover. "On all other nights we eat sitting up straight or reclining. Tonight we all recline." Mah Nishtana, Pesach Haggadah Lesson Summary:  Students will explain different meanings of freedom as it relates to Pesach. Students will articulate how the idea of freedom connects with reclining at the Seder. Students will have fun and massage their creative, artistic muscles. Printable Lesson:  7706lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  7706sources.pdf

Abraham Foxman: Redeeming the World from Hate

This important article introduces students to the story of Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. In the accompanying lesson, students will enjoy thinking about their own heroes, and will learn that we are surrounded by heroes who each lead the world closer to redemption.     $0.00$0.00Actor Mel Gibson may have battled foes in Braveheart and Lethal Weapon, but that didn't prepare him for combat with Anti-Defamation League (ADL) National Director Abraham H. Foxman. When the Hollywood star uttered antisemitic slurs last July, Foxman swiftly responded, declaring, "At a time of escalating tensions in the world, the entertainment industry cannot idly stand by and allow Mel Gibson to get away with such tragically inflammatory statements." As a result, Gibson offered an apology to the Jewish community. "You shall not hate your fellow in your heart." Vayikra 19:17 Lesson Summary:  Students will study texts that explore Judaism's relationship to tolerance and discrimination. Students will identify the relationship between heroic actions and redemption. Students will list qualities in themselves that they could use to take steps toward redemption. Printable Lesson:  7705lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Anti-Defamation League

Undercover Jews

This article describes how the Meshhadi Jews of Iran had to observe their Judaism in secret before moving to Israel. Through considering which parts of Judaism are most important to them, reading about and simulating Iranian Jews' situations, students will imagine how they would live a life where they would have to hide themselves -- an important lesson anytime or before Pesach. $0.00$0.00At dusk on Fridays, Rachel Betsalely's family marked the beginning of Shabbat with an unusual action: They closed the windows, so as not to be spotted drinking wine, a forbidden substance in the strict Islamic society of Meshhad, Iran. That evening, they dined on the kosher meat Betsalely's mother had spent hours secretly preparing, after carefully smuggling it home from the shohet (kosher butcher) under her chador, long cloak. Their dog, meanwhile, devoured the non-kosher meat she had openly purchased at the market. "Bless the State of Israel, the first flowering of our redemption." Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel Lesson Summary:  Students will engage in an activity that simulates the secret life the Meshhadi Jews had while living in Iran. Students will discuss the role Israel plays in the redemption of the Jewish People and identify the most important aspects of Judaism. Printable Lesson:  7709lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  About the Marranos Marranos The Jews of Iran Mashhadi Jews in New York

Leavening

What is the difference between matzah and bread? YEAST. Learn a little bit about the physical and chemical properties of yeast.  The physical rising is a metaphor for inflated egos, What does the banishment of hametz during Pesach symbolize?  Perform a mock bedikat hametz in the classroom to bring the physical and the spiritual together.  $0.00$0.00 RISE AND SHINE One pound of yeast contains approximately 3,200 billion yeast cells. RISE TO THE OCCASION The trick to light, fluffy baked goods is using the right leavening agent. And the key to baking matzah is avoiding leavening agents altogether. That's why matzah is called unleavened bread. So, what is a leavening agent anyway? Any substance that causes dough to rise is called a leavening agent. "They baked the dough that they took out of Egypt into unleavened cakes for the dough could not be leavened." Shemot 12:39 Lesson Summary:  Students will read about hametz on a physical level as it relates to leavening agents and rising time. Students will discuss the possible symbolic meanings behind the weeklong banishment of hametz for the holiday that constitutes our birth as a nation. Students will experience bedikat hametz, the search for hametz, in class, either as preparation for their families’ bedikat hametz, or as a first experience. Printable Lesson:  7707lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Leaveners for Baking

Elijah's Visit

A mysterious visitor to a Passover Seder bestows a hidden gift upon his hosts that reveals itself a full year later. Why do we all invite Elijah to our seders?  Use your ideas about the prophet and about the redemption he will announce to inspire decorations of am Elijah's Cup to use on Passover. $0.00$0.00Though married for many years, Jeffrey and Rachel remained childless, and were quickly losing hope of ever raising a family. They had tried medicines and prayers-to no avail. They began avoiding the market as much as possible, because they couldn't bear their friends' looks of pity. "Elijah the Prophet...may he quickly come to us." Eliyahu Hanavi song from Havdalah Lesson Summary:  Students will study a story and texts about the concept of geulah, redemption. Students will create Elijah's cups for their Seder table, using the cups' surfaces to represent the themes that emerge from discussion of Elijah's role in the process of redemption. Printable Lesson:  7708lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Elijah's Cups instructions

Youtai Means "Jews"

Read this story about the short existence of Judaism and the Hebrew language in 17th century China. In the accompanying lesson students will consider what it means to rebuild a Jewish community.Students will think about how they would build up a Jewish community and decide what aspects of their own Jewish community they would send to another Jewish community that over time had been destroyed. $0.00$0.00For six months in 1642, the emperor's enemies tightened their siege around Kaifeng, China, and choked the life out of the historic provincial capital. As the situation deteriorated, a desperate plan to save the city emerged. In a last-ditch effort to repel the invaders, defense forces demolished the dikes that held back the deadly Yellow River. The tactic succeeded, but tragically, 100,000 inhabitants drowned in the flood waters, including an unknown number of Jews who lived in Kaifeng's 800-year-old Jewish community. Lesson Summary:  Students will learn about the history of the Jewish Community of Kaifeng, and how it was destroyed. Students will establish which aspects of their own Jewish community they value and believe to be central to a vibrant community. Printable Lesson:  7702lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  href="http://www.galigirls.com/product_info.php?cPath=50&products_id=205"> Reyna and the Jade Star Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center

Time for an Oil Change?

Read this article and discuss the  Jewish view on banning trans fats with your students.   In the accompanying lesson students will create proposals for decreasing their own consumption of trans fats and will also write letters advocating that institutions within the Jewish community work toward the same goal.       $0.00$0.00  from BabagaNewz Magazine, Nisan 5767 / April 2007 Lesson Summary:  Students will study Jewish texts about the community’s role in monitoring the well-being of its members. Students will suggest modifications to their own diets that limit their intake of trans fats. Students will draft letters based on Jewish sources to advocate that schools, synagogues, or companies producing kosher food work toward eliminating trans fats from their products. Printable Lesson:  7701lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Glossary Daily Diet worksheet

Robyn Steinerman: Just Clowning Around

Read this article about Robyn Steinerman who volunteers as a mitzvah clown and connect this joyous activity with Purim. In the accompanying lesson,students will assume different emotions to discover how putting on a happy face affects their performance of mitzvot. They will also create Purim masks to mirror their happy faces. $0.00$0.00Butterflies fluttered in Robyn Steinerman's stomach as she slathered starch-white makeup on her forehead and rosy-red blush on her cheeks. She firmly pressed on a big, red clown nose. It was her first experience as a mitzvah clown, and her mission was to spread joy to nursing-home patients. As she dressed, fear nibbled at her confidence: How do I talk to people who are old and sick? How can I make them feel better? "A cheerful heart is good medicine." Proverbs 17:22 Lesson Summary:  Students will explore the concept of simhah, happiness, as it relates to the experience of performing mitzvot. Students will discuss Jewish texts concerning simhah and the impact that feelings and attitudes can have on their own experience and the experiences of others. Students will also create and decorate Purim masks. Printable Lesson:  6703lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Don't Laugh!

Surprise your students with a class full of  games from which they will learn something. This article outlines severalgames that share the same goal: To win, players cannot laugh. This lesson utilizes thegames to bring students together in a fun and positive way. . Thelesson also aims to create a tangible experience from which students can explorethe reason(s) for the Jews’ celebration at the end of Megillat Esther. $0.00$0.00 GAME1:HA How many: You'll need a minimum of three people to play this game, but it's best suited for large groups. Setup: Each player rests his or her head on the tummy of another person, forming one giant circle. How to play: The first player begins by saying "ha." The second player says, "ha ha"; the third player says, "ha ha ha," and so on, with each player adding another "ha." Each "ha" must be pronounced solemnly. Lesson Summary:  Students will play games to explore how simhah created through humor–particularly when created intentionally for the benefit of another–fosters camaraderie and a heightened sense of community. Printable Lesson:  6707lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Efrat Izaks: To the Rescue

Jerusalem resident Efrat Izaks volunteers for Israel's national emergency medical service.  Read about her work and help your students think about the diversity of Jerusalem that she encounters in her efforts as a volunteer for Magen David Adom as they create tableau scenes of other scenarios in Jerusalem in which one could experience the diversity of the city. $0.00$0.00  The 4-year-old boy's shrill cries pierced Efrat Izaks' heart, and she desperately tried to think of a reliable method to calm him down. She couldn't blame him for being scared; he had suffered a bad fall and his bleeding head demanded immediate emergency medical attention. But the rare snowfall that blanketed Jerusalem created treacherous driving conditions, and so the family had summoned Efrat and her fellow Magen David Adom volunteers to help. "Malki Tzedek, king of Shalem, said: 'This place makes its inhabitants righteous'...so he called it Jerusalem 'Tzedek' (righteousness)." Bereishit Rabbah 43:6 Lesson Summary:  Students will learn about the diversity of the city of Jerusalem. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by creating scenes in which this diversity is represented. Printable Lesson:  8702lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Dancing with the Jews

This article describes the festivities at the  Karmiel Dance Festival in northern Israel in 2006.  This dance festival had to be rescheduled due to  intense shelling by Hezbollah on Israel’s northern towns during the summer of 2006.  In this lesson students will learn how dance reflects joy, and investigate additional ways through which to express emotions.     $0.00$0.00During July and August 2006, Hezbollah, an Islamic terrorist organization in Lebanon, attacked northern Israel with 4,000 rockets. Approximately 200 of those rockets struck Karmiel, a small city near Haifa known as the gateway to the Galilee. "Through dancing and the movements you make with your body, you awaken joy within yourself." Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav Lesson Summary:  Students will discover the value of dance as an expression of Jewish joy, and will study text to discover ways to express emotion and joy through music and dance. Printable Lesson:  6708lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Foot Template Dance Steps Additional Resources:  Hinei Dance Video About Karmiel Information about the war with Lebanon Learn how to dance the hora Yaffa Eliach's book, Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust, offers inspirational stories on courage in the face of tragedy. Several stories even talk about dancing as a response to extreme situations.

Dress Codes: Pro or Con?

Students and teachers share their views on dress codes. Invite  your students join in with their opinions and share some Jewish values on the matter with them.   $0.00$0.00Thirteen-year-old Dana Goldstein knows her school dress code well. As an eighth grader in the Sharon Middle School in Massachusetts, she is aware that girls are forbidden from wearing flip-flops, open-toed or backless shoes, spaghetti straps, short shorts, or skirts higher than an inch above the knee. And Dana doesn't like it one bit. "Rabbi Yohanan said that clothes honor a person." Shabbat 113a Lesson Summary:  In this lesson students will voice their own opinions about dress codes. Students will also identify appropriate attire for different venues. Printable Lesson:  5705lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  The NBA's dress code policy: http://www.nba.com/news/player_dress_code_051017.html

Ethics of Donating Human Organs

Read this article to find out the Jewish view of the ethics of donating human organs.  In this lesson, students will study Jewish texts and create kinetic art to depict what Jewish values need to be balanced and weighed in the discussion of organ donation. $0.00$0.00from BabagaNewz Magazine, Shevat 5767 / February 2006 Lesson Summary:  In this lesson, students will study Jewish texts that highlight the importance of pikuah nefesh, saving a life. Students will also create a graphic representation to show the relative weight of the mitzvah to save a life compared to other mitzvot. Printable Lesson:  5701lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Halachic Organ Donor Society

In the Dark

.This article describes an exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Holon that isdesigned to give participantsthe experience of being blind. In this lesson, students play an experiential game to consider how experiencing what others go through canlead to better understanding them, and can cultivate greater respect and honor for them. $0.00$0.00Shani, 13, listened intently to the raucous shouts of the marketplace vendors, and felt the jostle of the crowd. She wished to purchase some fruit, but she could not see. Gingerly, she stretched out her hand to search for any familiar fruit shape. In an instant, her hand recoiled in horror: She had accidentally placed her hand in a garbage bin, and touched moldy, rotting fruit! "You shall not put a stumbling block before the blind." Vayikra 19:14 Lesson Summary:  Students will play one or two games that compel them to compensate for the loss of certain abilities. Students will study Jewish texts that show how experience can lead to greater understanding. Students will discuss how experience can also lead to greater respect and honor for others. Printable Lesson:  5708lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  The Israel Children's Museum http://www.childrensmuseum.org.il/ The Jewish Braille Institute http://www.jewishbraille.org/

Alyson Gorun: Taking New Orleans by Storm

Despite the mud and destruction one teen found as she helped to clean up New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, her actions on behalf of others demonstrate emulating God's compassion while maintaining the dignity of those she helped.  What do your students do on a daily basis to emulate and glorify God? $0.00$0.00eventeen-year-old Alyson Gorun couldn't believe her eyes. A year earlier, she had watched on TV from her home in Montclair, New Jersey, as Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but it didn't prepare her for seeing the destruction in person. The raging storm had ripped houses from their foundations, leaving empty slabs of concrete. At other homes, rampant winds tore every shingle off the rooftops and collapsed the walls. ""Don't look at the container, rather at what is inside of it." Pirkei Avot 4:27 Lesson Summary:  In this lesson, students will explain why emulating God is an important Jewish value and they will describe how it relates to kvod habriyot. Students will also identify ways in which they glorify and emulate God on a daily basis. Printable Lesson:  5702lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

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