Lesson

Louis Sachar: The "Hole" Truth

Author Louis Sachar, famed for Holes and the Marvin Redpost series, talks about his inspiration for writing and his Jewish background as well as what he deems important qualities in a friend. By playing a game that compels them to consider the friendships depicted in a number of books, TV shows, and movies, students will discuss some of the parameters of friendship as expressed in Jewish thought.       $0.00$0.00  Imagine a juvenile detention center in the middle of a scorched desert, where the juvees toil hour after hour, digging enormous holes in the rocky soil. Or, imagine meeting a boy who feared that he would turn into a girl if he kissed his elbow. "A person with friends is befriended, and sometimes a friend is closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24 Lesson Summary:  By playing a game that compels them to consider the friendships depicted in a number of books, TV shows, and movies, students will discuss some of the parameters of friendship as expressed in Jewish thought. Printable Lesson:  1604lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Friendships Sheet Additional Resources:  The Friendship of David and Jonathan: Samuel I, Chapters 18-20 A Friendship during difficult times: http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?PID=482&LID=2 Reviews of Chaim Potok's books: http://www.mosaicminds.net/book_worm_chaim_potok

Geoffrey Samuels: He Eases the Teasing

.Is bullying a problem in your school or community? Share with your students this story of how working as a peer counselor taught Geoffrey  important lessonsabout how to be a friend. Invite your students to think about how it feels when someone says something nice about them, as opposed to how it feels to be ridiculed, teased, or bullied. Role- play scenarios in which the students take turns playing the role of a student seeking help with being bullied or teased and the person whois giving advice. $0.00$0.00Geoffrey Samuels of New Orleans, Louisiana, clutched the receiver and listened to the sixth-grade boy describe his hopeless situation in school. "I-I-I don't know what to do anymore," the boy stammered. "A lot of my friends tease me. I want them to stop." Geoffrey realized that the young caller had nobody else to turn to. He drew a deep breath and encouraged the sobbing boy to act. "Do not do to another person what you would not want done to you." Shabbat 31a Lesson Summary:  Students are invited to think about how it feels when someone says something nice about them, as opposed to how it feels to be ridiculed, teased, or bullied. Students will also role-play scenarios in which they play both the role of a student seeking help with being bullied and the person who is giving advice. Printable Lesson:  1602lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  Tools for kids and parents for prevention of bully behavior as well as games and cartoons on the topic https://www.stopbullying.gov/

Target: Teshuvah

In the article, students are given the challenging mission of beginning the teshuvah process before the ten days of repentance using a spy metaphor. The lesson engages students in the mission by encouraging them to define specific steps for their teshuvah this year. An alternate lesson offers scenarios for students to grapple with understanding the teshuvah message. $0.00$0.00MEMO RECEIVED From: STATE Code: SECRET URGENT and TOP SECRET Attention Special Agent: Inspect your deeds, do teshuvah, remember your Creator. Rambam, Hilkhot Teshuvah 3:4 Lesson Summary:  The lesson engages students in the mission by encouraging them to define specific steps they can take to help them hit their teshuvah marks this year. Printable Lesson:  1608lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Alternative Lesson Source Sheet

The Gaza Dilemma

An exploration of the disengagement from Gaza and the public opinion surrounding it. After understanding the background and considering both sides of the argument, students will be able toform and articulate an opinion on the matter. $0.00$0.00  "No to expulsion, yes to the Land of Israel," shouted 150,000 protestors last July, as they demonstrated against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate all Jews from the Gaza Strip. The demonstrators formed a human chain that stretched from the Gaza Strip to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, 56 miles away. "Nothing can break this chain, because it is reinforced with the faith and unity of the nation of Israel," exclaimed one protester. Lesson Summary:  Have students explore and articulate their opinions about Israel’s disengagement plan. Printable Lesson:  1509lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  1509quote.pdf Map of Israel Signs for the Classroom Additional Reactions to the Disengagement Plan Additional Resources:  http://www.cfr.org/background/background_israel_disengagement.php http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/DisengagemePlan http://www.washingtoninstitute.org

Pet Therapy

A relationship with a pet can affect your realtionships with people, as well as your health. Did King David's years as a shepherd make him a better ruler and a better friend? Students who understand this will write a manual on the care and feeding of friendship. $0.00$0.00DID YOU KNOW THAT? * Some pet owners use nose prints to identify their dogs in the same way they use footprints to identify newborn babies. * Sixty-two percent of pet owners sign their pets' names to cards and letters. * Americans spend more than $20 billion on their pets, which is more than they spend on movies and home videos combined. A PET A DAY "Love which is not dependent on a cause will never pass away." Pirkei Avot 5:19 Lesson Summary:  Students will explore the similarities and differences between being a friend to a pet and being friends with a person, and discover how relationships with pets can inform their human interactions. In addition, students will create manuals detailing the care and feeding of a friendship. Printable Lesson:  1607lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

The Gladiator and the Scholar

Reish Lakish went from being a gladiator to a scholar, and along the way his teacher became his close friend.  Their story, as told in the Talmud, ended with estrangement when neither would forgive the other after a disagreement.  After carful study of the article and texts on teshuvah, repentence, students will be able to recognize the transformative power of friendship and the power of teshuvah as a means of transformation, repair andpossible necessary to help maintain friendships.  Article also available in Hebrew. $0.00$0.00  The hungry lion paced around the amphitheater. tossing its head from side to side, eyeing the scores of jeering spectators who had paid to witness the fight. In a corner stood a muscular man, dressed in armor, waiting fearlessly with his spear and shield in hand. He had fought wild animals before and respected their strength, but he was determined to win this battle, just as always. "I have learned a lot from my teachers, and even more from my friends." Ta'anit 7a Lesson Summary:  Students will reflect on the joys and challenges of friendship, and consider teshuvah as a means of transformation and repair, in one’s own life and in maintaining a friendship over time. Printable Lesson:  1609lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Text Analysis Sheet Source Sheet 16HA.pdf Additional Resources:  For more background, either in school or at home, students can go to the BBC web site to read about gladiators. Drawing on this material, they could even, if time allows, dress up for some of the role-playing. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/gladiators_01.shtml Resources about video game violence: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=monitoring+video+game+violence&ei=UTF-8&xargs=0&pstart=1&fr=ush1-us-mail&b=1 A humorously profound book that is really about teshuvah, the importance of being able to say, “I’m sorry.”: Bartholomew and the Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss

Obesity: Who's to Blame?

Read what American and Jewish law have to say about who is responsible for the obesity epidemic. In the lesson, students will debate the issue of if someone is to blame for it. $0.00$0.00Morgan Spurlock ate his way to fame last year, when he directed and starred in Super Size Me, a documentary that chronicled the consequences of eating only fast food for 30 days. Spurlock--who gained 25 pounds during the experiment--spearheaded the project after hearing fast-food industry executives criticize two obese sisters who had filed a lawsuit in August 2002 against McDonald's restaurants. Lesson Summary:  Students will debate the issue of who is to blame for this epidemic: Are fast-food chains and food companies responsible or are individuals responsible for what they eat? Printable Lesson:  1601lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Additional Resources:  The new food pyramid, approved by the United States Department of Agriculture in April 2005: http://www.mypyramid.gov/global_nav/media_animation.html

Can You Hear Me Now?

This article features comments of six Israeli and American who share about what it means to be "ambassadors of unity." In the lesson, your class will plan to send a stuffed animal as an "ambassador" to its own partner school and consider what the ambassador will represent about the class.  $0.00$0.00They hardly knew each other. The two groups of teenagers didn't speak the same language and lived in vastly different cultures halfway around the globe. Yet, when a group of 16 teenagers from Cleveland traveled to Israel last year, they were greeted with open arms by their Israeli peers. The students met through the Jewish Agency for Israel's Partnership 2000 (P2K) program, which links 43 Israeli regions with more than 550 communities worldwide--making connections between them. Lesson Summary:  The class will plan to send a stuffed animal or puppet as an "ambassador" of its own to a partner school and consider what the ambassador will represent about the students, class, school, and community. Printable Lesson:  8508lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Passport Sheet

Fair Ball? Steroid Scandal Strikes Baseball

Read “Fair Ball? Steroids Scandal Strikes Baseball,” which discusses Barry Bonds’ involvement in the Major League steroids scandal. In this lesson, students explore the concept of geneivat da’at, deception and cheating. $0.00$0.00San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds went yard 73 times, shattering the single-season home-run record in 2001. With 703 total home runs, Bonds (who is temporarily sidelined by an injury) is closing in on Hank Aaron's all-time record of 755 career home runs. But recent allegations that Bonds used illegal performance-enhancing drugs have raised questions about the legitimacy of his feats and his true place in baseball history. Hall of Fame pitcher and U.S. Senator Jim Bunning says steroid users aren't playing fair. "Wipe all of their records out," he protests. Lesson Summary:  Students explore the concept of geneivat da'at - deception and cheating. Printable Lesson:  9501lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Scenarios Sheet

Daniela Aharoni: Celebrity Host

Read this interview with Daniela Aharoni, a guide who combines her love for Israel and Hollywood by organizing tours of the Holy Land for American celebrities. $0.00$0.00  "Let your home be wide open." Pirkei Avot 1:5 Lesson Summary:  Students will follow Daniela's example and imagine ways to make every guest feel like a celebrity. To welcome guests and exercise the value of hakhnasat orhim, they will create brochures for their neighborhood or city that highlight noteworthy Jewish attractions or view general attractions through a Jewish lens. Printable Lesson:  8503lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Rina Kellerman: Lessons from the Heart

Read how Rina helps immigrant children get  accustomed  to life in Israel.   Your students will learn about some of the challenges in coming to a new society, as well as how people already settled in that society can help newcomers and make them feel welcome and comfortable. $0.00$0.00  The Hebrew letters resembled an enormous tangle of incomprehensible vowels and foreign symbols--or so it seemed to David (not his real name), a second-grader in Kiryat Motzkin, Israel. How could he possibly decipher this mysterious language, which, he thought incredulously, was read from right to left? Sadly, he realized that homework was the least of his problems. A recent immigrant from the former Soviet Union, David thought about his Israeli classmates whom he could never understand. Would he ever make any friends? "The One Who scattered the People of Israel shall gather them in and guard them as a shepherd guards his flock." Jeremiah 31:9 Lesson Summary:  Students will learn about some of the challenges in coming to a new society, as well as how people already settled in that society can help newcomers and make them feel welcome and comfortable. Printable Lesson:  9502lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

An Exercise in Excellence

Young Israelis at the Wingate Institute train for the Olympics day and night hoping to win a gold for their homeland.  Your students will exercise their understanding as they learn about Judaism's attitudes towards the body and the mitzvah of shmirat haguf   $0.00$0.00Their eyes search every inch of the country. They spotted Michal Feinblatt when she was only 13. With her parents' permission, they whisked her away from her home in Bnei Brak and brought her to live at their facility. They found Miki Halika in Jerusalem when he was 10. Now he's in college, but he lived at their institute for many years. "They" are the scouts of the Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports, and they comb the neighborhoods and playgrounds of Israel looking for gifted young athletes who dream about winning Olympic gold. "Those who accomplish acts of exercising their body in the wish to be healthy...are in the opinion of the ignorant engaged in frivolous actions, but they are not frivolous to the Sages." Rambam, Guide for the Perplexed Printable Lesson:  9207lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Long-Lost Jews

In “Long-Lost Jews,” students  learn about the Bnei Menashe, a community of people in India descended from the ancient Israelite tribe of Menashe, and the efforts that the world Jewish community has made to help them return to Judaism. In this lesson, students will examine their own notions of what creates a Jewish community by playing a simulation game in which they are “lost, cut off from the rest of the Jewish world, and compelled to establish a Jewish community of their own." $0.00$0.00Your jeep heads perilously down the narrow, winding road through lush, green hills, taking quick hairpin turns that make your stomach drop. In the distance, elephants, tigers, and wild boars roam through the jungles of India. But your destination is much closer to home. You pass through miles of uninhabited land, broken by the occasional cluster of makeshift bamboo homes, until you reach a small building with a Jewish star and an emblem of the State of Israel on the roof. "By you Israel shall bless, saying: May God make you as Ephraim and Menashe." Bereishit 48:20 Lesson Summary:  Students will examine their own notions of what creates a Jewish community by playing a simulation game in which they are "lost" and must establish a Jewish community of their own. Printable Lesson:  6507lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Task Sheet Divided Kingdom Map Additional Resources:  Bnei Menashe: http://www.bneimenashe.com Shavai Israel - For Our Lost Brethren: http://www.shavei.org/index.php

Taste Buds

Ever wonder how your tongue can identify so many tastes? Read on to learn more! How does taste impact your seder experience? What are the objectives of the seder and how do food and the other experiences of the seder help us reach those goals? $0.00$0.00A Mouthful *Girls have more taste buds than boys. *Insects have taste buds on their feet, mouths, and antennae. Fish can also taste with their fins and tail. *Catfish have the most taste buds of any animal--more than 250,000. All in Good Taste ""With matzot and maror shall they eat [the Pesach lamb]." Bemidbar 9:11 Lesson Summary:  Students will explore the ways in which taste impacts the Seder experience. They will also discuss the objectives of the Pesach Seder and the necessity and meaning of the experiential components in telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt . Printable Lesson:  8506lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet

Israel's Messengers to the World

Read about the work of  Shlih.im, Israel’s cultural ambassadors, who enliven Jewish summer camps and bring a taste of Israel to thousands of Jewish campers in the Diaspora. In this lesson, students will recognize the importance of strong ties with Israel, even though they do not live there; graph their connection to Israel; and discuss how feeling close to Israel can be an expression of ingathering of the exiles. $0.00$0.00  "Everywhere I go, I journey toward the Land of Israel." Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav Lesson Summary:  Students will recognize the importance of strong ties with Israel, even though they do not live there; graph their connection to Israel; and discuss how feeling close to Israel can be an expression of kibbutz galuyot. Printable Lesson:  9507lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Sample Survey Sheet Hearts Template

Up Close with President Katsav

On the eve of the 57th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, Moshe Katzav speaks about his journey to Israel and his job as president, in particular about unifying Israelis and the Diaspora.In a game that involves standing on chairs, students will learn how important it is to work together to achieve a goal, and how important the gathering of exiles is to the goal of building a strong and just society in Israel. $0.00$0.00Published in Iyar 5765/June 2005 As a young boy growing up in an Arab country, Moshe Katsav never imagined that someday he would be president of the Jewish State of Israel. Longing to help build the budding Jewish country, his family made aliyah from Iran in 1951, when he was only five. "When God will return the exiles of Zion, we will be like dreams." Psalms 126:1 Lesson Summary:  Students will solve a problem together and analyze Jewish texts about kibbutz galuyot to explore how this concept is integral both to Judaism and the State of Israel. Printable Lesson:  9504lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Presidents Chart

Lisa Fuld and Dawn Henning: We Are Family

Foster children who are taken in by a Jewish family are introduced to Jewish values and traditions that profoundly affect them later in life. Students will play a game in this lesson to simulate the feeling of being a stranger or visitor and analyze Biblical examples of hospitality. $0.00$0.00  "One who says, 'Mine is yours and yours is yours,' is a godly person." Pirkei Avot 5:13 Lesson Summary:  Students will play a game in this lesson to simulate the feeling of being a stranger or visitor and analyze Biblical examples of hospitality. Printable Lesson:  8502lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Bible Stories Worksheet

They've Got Game!

Introduce the Israeli game Hamesh Avanim to your students with these instructions. Playing this game serves as the introduction to a lesson which examines the needs of new immigrants and explores how games can aid integration into a new society. $0.00$0.00In one swift movement, Dani Weiss tosses five metal cubes in the air, quickly slaps the ground with his palm, and reaches his palm upward, deftly catching the cubes before they crash to the floor. The 12-year-old, of Passaic, New Jersey, is a master at Hamesh Avanim (Five Stones), a popular game imported from Israel. Whether they're sabras or olim, Israeli kids unite to play this game, also referred to as Israeli Jacks. Here's how to play: Materials: Lesson Summary:  Students will examine the needs of new immigrants and how games and music can aid integration into a new society. Printable Lesson:  9505lesson.pdf

On Eagles' Wings: Operation Solomon

Operation Solomon brought over 1,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel--here is the story of one woman's journey. $0.00$0.00  On May 24, 1991, in a record-breaking airlift of 36 planes, the Israeli Air Force smuggled more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa International Airport to Israel. It was a Herculean task in many ways, not only because C-130 Hercules planes were used in the operation, but because the job was so enormous, unprecedented, and almost incomprehensible. LEAVING IN DARKNESS "I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Me." Shemot19:4 Lesson Summary:  Students will learn about that rescue mission, as well as other operations that Israel has initiated to save Jews from persecution in the lands of their dispersion. Students will create three-dimensional symbols that represent the various operations to use in celebration of Yom Ha'atzmaut. Printable Lesson:  9508lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Book Study Guide for the Storyteller's Beads

American Idle No More

Share these exciting bar and bat mitzvah community service projects with your bar- and bat-mitzvah-age students! In the accompanying lesson, your students will explore their own neighborhoods and communities in an effort to identify ways in which they too can be proactive in addressing challenges.  $0.00$0.00  Welcome to American Idle No More! This is the night you've been waiting for. Tonight we're going to hear about our finalists, all of whom refused to "stand idly by" when their help was needed. Our judges, Randy Jewson, Paula Av-shul, and Shimon Cohen will weigh in, but it's your vote that counts. Visit babaganewz.com to vote for the next American Idle No More. And now, the contestants: "Do not stand idly by while your neighbor's blood is shed." Vayikra 19:16 Lesson Summary:  Students will explore their neighborhoods and communities in an effort to identify ways in which they too can be proactive in addressing challenges. Printable Lesson:  7504lesson.pdf Additional PDFs:  Source Sheet Community Walk Sheet Alternative Community Walk Sheet

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