Hebrew High Lesson Plan:  10/15/17

Today we will discuss two current event topics:  the White Supremacists marching through Charlottesville chanting "Jews Will Not Replace Us", free speech, hate speech, protests, and violence.  We will also discuss the Senate and House Bills making it a felony to participate in the BDS Movement through any type of commerce, based upon a Banking and Commerce Act of 1945, to nations that are friendly to the US.  We will discuss the ACLUs and First Amendement concerns, as well as the Jewish Democratic Senators and House Reps, and majority of Republicans supporting this.

We will discuss the use of the term Tikkun Olam from 3 viewpoints:  Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform:

http://www.jewishvaluesonline.org/594

We will talk briefly about some possible class and individual projects. 

We will briefly continue with The Middot and briefly review The Eilu Devarim and Mitzvot:

https://www.learnhebrewpod.com/jewish-prayers/Eilu_Devarim

1.  honoring one’s father and mother,

2.  engaging in deeds of compassion

3.  arriving early for study, morning and evening,

4.  dealing graciously with guests,

5.  visiting the sick

6.  providing for the wedding couple

7.  accompanying the dead for burial

8.  being devoted to prayer

9.  making peace among people

10.  study of Torah

A New Eilu Devarim

http://ritualwell.org/ritual/new-eilu-devarim

These are the obligations that enhance our world,
Honoring compassionate friendship,
performing acts of compassion and justice,
recognizing the need for education during any point in life,
welcoming the stranger,
showing equality to all people no matter where they are on the journey called life,
mourning and celebrating a life passed on,
turning life into a prayer,
creating peace out of moments of chaos,
Rejoicing in Torah because it encompasses them all !!!

Hebrew High Lesson Plan:  10/8/17

We had a fantastic discussion based upon the student's conceptions of "God".  Concepts ranged from a knowing, an openness, a feeling, to a belief in something greater, even if we don't know what it is, to the spark of The Big Bang perhaps starting all life, to just basically being there with us, observing, and eventually, perhaps through the darkest of times, drawing us back on track, and finally, to not knowing and not caring, but no outright atheistic, perhaps more agnostic, but simply not interested per se.

We discussed the ideas of B'tzelem, what the ideas of acting in the "image of God" might mean to each one, and effectively, it was the idea of doing the right thing, being helpful, and contributing to a better world.

We also touched on The Middot, and will continue on 10/15.

Hebrew High Lesson Plan:  9/24/17

We discussed concepts of being of service, what is worth it, how to improve the world.  We used Mordechai Kaplan's quote, "...to improve one's self, or to improve the world, we end up doing neither.  Actually, the only way to improve the world is by improving one's self, and the only way to improve one's self is by improving the world." 

We also talked about the student's B'nai Mitzvah Projects, asking in what ways was it important to you to incorporate certain aspects of the Middot, Mitzvot, rituals, ethics, into your life.  How will you do this?  In what areas of your lives, or areas of the community?

We then watched the following TED talk, by a younger cousin of mine from Santa Rosa, CA from Jun 21, 2012:

GABE FERRICK is 17 years old and attends Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, CA. Gabe's passion for aiding victims of genocide and human rights abuses began when he learned about the crisis in Darfur in 5th grade during a humanity class at Sonoma Country Day School. He was inspired to take action and organize projects and walks to raise awareness and funds for refugees in Darfur, Congo, Rwanda and other places where genocide has ravaged the population.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CkWcKMsDOc

We talked about doing what we can from the small things to the larger projects.

Sinai 7th Grade: 2/1/2015

In our 2/1/15 class, we began reviewing The Enlightenment and Jewish Emancipation in Europe from sections of the textbooks Journey Through Jewish History, The History of the Jewish People and The Atlas of Great Jewish Communities.   This will be a first lesson to be continued next week.  We are focusing on the conditions, events, impact, and timeline.

We talked a little bit about identity, racism, and ways people describe people of different races and cultures.  We also discussed the concepts of ghettos, shtetls, and many more of the actual events. 

Due to the recent events in France, we discussed aspects of this article,  The History of Jews in France in 6 Key Moments:

http://time.com/3669544/history-jews-in-france/

1. The French Revolution
2. Napoleon and the Great Sanhedrin
3. The Dreyfus Affair
4. The Holocaust
5. Jewish Migration from North Africa
6. Jewish-Muslim Tensions

We discussed the fact that Jews have been leaving France the last few years,  due to a rise in European and Muslim anti-semitisim from the 3rd most populous Jewish country in the world, after the US and Israel.

11:30AM - 12PM:  Art

Leah continued the project with the students working on getting their designs on to their tallits.

12-12:30PM:  Music

Mark played a number of examples of Israeli popular and rock music for the students today.  They discussed the meaning of the songs, the music, and styles.  Older and contemporary, with different influences.   He told them that the music was easy to relate to, referencing what they've heard in American music.  Next week he will bring in Israeli music of African, Greek and Arab influences.

Sinai 7th Grade: 1/25/2015

Thanks to Loren Israel (Kayla's Dad), who taught the 7th grade class,  last week, as I was out of town for my Father's 89th birthday.

Here was the itinerary for that session on 1/25/15:

10-11AM:  Torah Aura with Loren!

Loren presented situations where the students engaged in discussions about context, principles, ethics, and best choices based upon the You Be The Judge materials.

You Be the Judge books pose real-life situations and their Jewish answers. These legal cases are perfect as part of family or Shabbat programs, as the trigger to fun class discussions, equally usable at the dinner table and in the classroom. Here are three chances to share values, discuss ethics, and take a first look into the Talmud, the codes, and the wisdom of the Jewish legal process.

Each of these cases is drawn from the headlines. Here are real or realistic ethical problems that are submitted to the test of Jewish law in order to find “the right solution.” This book contains more than fifty cases and the Jewish responses to each case.

http://www.torahaura.com/item_You_Be_the_Judge_Book_One.aspx

11-11:30AM:  Facts About Israel

    ▪    Reviewed the lists of facts with the students. 
    ▪    Asked them to comment on them. 
    ▪    Did they know about these facts?
    ▪    What did they think of them?
    ▪    Did it change their viewpoints or perceptions on Israel one way or another?

11:30AM - 12PM:  Timeline of Historical Events in Israel

    ▪    Reviewed highlights on the timeline with the students.

    ▪    Shared historical context.

    ▪    Asked for comments, questions, and information about these events.

12 - 12:30PM:  Music With Mark

Giving and Riceland Rice: 11/2/14

Parents,

this will be a detailed one, but hopefully worthwhile, when you have a moment to read.

On, 11/2/14,  we had a long discussion on Tzedakah on both sides of the Mitzvah Day project with the Illini Hunger Project today (http://www.illinifightinghunger.org/), where we had quite an assembly line filling up rice in bags, weighing, sealing, and packing.  A great time was had by all.  This was a wonderful hands on project, where something like 350 pounds of rice was filled up in 1 pound bags for local food pantries, at the Eastern Illinois Foodbank and the Wesley Foundation Food Pantry.  We went earlier, and stayed a little longer to help finish up.  We'll get to some of our agenda more next week, with more on our maps and discussion of Mitzvah, as a Jewish concept. 

Meanwhile, we discussed all kinds of aspects of giving as the kids jumped right into the idea of giving for the right reasons.  Ethan felt this was key, in that giving for the wrong reasons, wasn't right.  David brought up Machiavelli, in terms of the ends justifying the means.  Not that he bought it, just part of the discussion.  To which I brought up the old line of "by any means necessary", used during the Black power movement of the 60's.  Audrey discussed the idea of balance within ourselves when giving, as the idea was not to give away all we have, but to give where appropriate and when we can.  Aaron brought up the idea of not so much the right intention, or giving for the right reasons, but HOW we give, the way in which we give.  Ryan felt that it was right to give, when we could to those in need, and that we knew inherently what was right.

Zach took a poll to ask if the following scenario was the same or different, in the spirit of intention and outcome, in giving:  His sister, he said, was told to move away from his project, with a drink, which eventually was spilled on his project, and then, his dog also chewed it up.  The class was divided along the lines of complexity as if a sibling was asked to move away, and an accident occurred, was that any different than a dog, who didn't know, also having an effect on something?  Zach felt it was really all the same in the end, due to the outcome, in that neither his sibling nor the dog meant to harm his project.  I brought up the idea that if the outcome is the same, yet the tendency is to blame, or at ascribe a different response, perhaps we might say, well, if it was intentional, we have one way to address the situation for better or more responsive behavior, and if an accident, we can take another tack.  Ultimately, the goal is the same, by different roads, based upon a similar outcome, as matter of paying attention, corrective action.  Somehow, we related to the idea of giving with intention and the right reason.

Back to the idea of the ends justifying the means.  Someone asked would you kill Hitler if you could?  Some said yes, others not sure.  Audrey noted yes, he killed many, but was it right to kill as well?  We brought up mathematical formulas and manipulation and calculation, as a mechanical approach to achieving an objective.  Isaac brought up the example that if he wanted to travel by plane, car, or train, what difference does it make, as long as he gets there.  But, he acknowledged, as did the class, that there are exceptions, when we inject ethics and morals, in terms of "doing right" by others and in the world.  Again, giving for the right reasons, giving to make ourselves feel better, or making ourselves better in general.  There are always exceptions and complexities, but overall, we all agreed, it's good and right to give in ways you can, when you can, but to also take care of yourself.  

We also talked about the concepts of helping others to become self-reliant as the highest form of giving, but that we must still address other needs at the same time.  For example, getting someone a job to sustain themselves, while also providing food if hungry.  We discussed other needs that people have in our community:  disease, war, water issues, the environment, safe homes for kids, kids who can't focus, who have learning challenges, or are hungry, or who don't get encouragement, or good grades, or doors opened to them.  We talked about the idea of playing it where it lies, a term in golf, and made an analogy in life.  As Ryan shared, to go from where we are.  I added, even if and when doors are seemingly closed, that we go from we are.  Ethan thought the idea was to open doors again.  Great discussion!  Bright kids!  Very chatty after the project, but we did what we could do!

I asked what do you all do to contribute?  Helping with homework for a friend or sibling came up.  Being polite, or smiling.  With or without being paid for it, came up. Actually doing something volunteer wise for others was not a common experience yet at this age, but they all understood that there were many ways to give to others, family, friends, and those in need.  And they would all do something like this Illini Hunger Project again.

I wanted to also share something else Issac brought up.  He said that he goes to Urbana Middle School early to tutor other kids.  Fantastic!  Additionally, he said that he loves eating at lunch with his friends and kids he knows, but that he makes an effort to sit as well with either those he doesn't know, or others who have no one to sit with, or who might be shy.  Asking if he felt this was a choice or an obligation, he said he felt an obligation to reach out, simply because he saw the need, even the loneliness.  Wow. What a courageous, generous, and beautiful thing! 

Here were our guiding questions from today:

• Why do we give?
• Why do we contribute to community?
• Why do we contribute to those in need?
• What does this do for others?
• What does this do for ourselves?
• What have you contributed?
• How does this make you feel?
• What if nobody cared?
• What if nobody gave?
• Do you feel an obligation to help?
• Is giving and helping a choice?
• What do you choose?

The Levels of Giving Tzedakah

• Giving begrudgingly
• Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully
• Giving after being asked
• Giving before being asked
• Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
• Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
• Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
• Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant

Why We Give:  What is Tzedakah:
http://www.hadassah.org/site/c.7gLFKYMJLnI2F/b.6036381/k.C1EE/Why_We_Give_What_is_Tzedakah.htm

 The Mitvah Day Project Recap

• What did you think of the project?
• Would you participate in something like this again?
• What other problems are there besides hunger/food insecurity in the world?
• What about right here in our own community?

 More to come next week!--Mick

History Through Maps and Anti-Semitism: 10/26/2014

Parents,

On Sunday, 10/2614, we began to review a number of maps, as a first run to get again a better understanding of the history, geography, various proposals for the Israel/Palestine states, and various events from the book entitled, The Atlas of Jewish History.  Please see Martin Gilbert's description of his book and his approach, as you scroll down the page a bit at this link http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Jewish-History-Compl-Updtd/dp/0688122647 if interested.   I will send a link to the maps when I come across it again for your reference as well. 

We made our way through a good part of these particular maps which are illustrated in an engaging, visual and tactile sense, offering a different experience in learning about all this, which we will continue to review:

Mapping Out Palestine/Israel

• Jewish Settlements in Palestine 1880 - 1914
• Arab - Jewish Conflict under Turkish Rule 1882 - 1914
• Frontier Proposals for Palestine 1892 - 1922
• Britain and the Jewish National Homeland 1917 - 1923
• The Palestine Mandate 1922 - 1948
• Jewish Owned Land in Palestine by 1942
• The UN Partition Plan November 29, 1947
• The Return of Jews to Israel 1948 - 1964
• The Arab - Israeli Conflict 1948 - mid 80's

Some of our discussion centered around the Caliphate of  the Ottmoman Turks as we discussed the ISIS or ISIL situation as well.  Zach drew a map on the board of the Middle East, which was both impressive and appreciated!  We reviewed the maps and noted where there had been Jewish settlements different plans and proposals put forth via European colonial (British and French) powers, as well as those put forth by various Arab representatives and Jewish organizations.  We discussed the years of Arab liberation, independence, and statehood.  We noted the concerns about population increase of Jews, whereby Jews were prohibited from immigration, and buying land.

We also held a discussion on Anti-Semitism:

*Where did it stem from?

*Beliefs

*Events

*Personal and Family Experiences

The students didn't have much to report in terms of direct experiences from other non-Jewish friends and acquaintances.   However, we did discuss the roots and causes.  Some of the comments as to "why" were as follows:

• the Jews are viewed as being different
• they are smart  - education is important
• the Jews are strong
• there are a disproportionate number of contributions to the world though the Jewish population is relatively small from a small group to the world
• why would there be anti-Jewish sentiment from Christians, when the first Christians were Jews?
• for killing Jesus - but he was Jewish!
• But the Romans killed Jesus, not the Jews!  (We discussed how the Jewish hierarchy, government, and Sanhedrin, the priests, were involved as well.)
• the blood libel (christian children's blood) at Passover
• the Jews were accused of poisoning the wells during theBlack Plague, surviving moreso due to handwashing, keeping kosher, and hygiene)
•  devil like, horns on head 

I shared a story of my father, nearly 89, who when stationed down in Biloxi, MS. in 1944 was approached by a fellow soldier, from the south, who had learned my father was Jewish. This man had never met a Jew, and said, "Where are you horns?"  My father wasn't sure he heard correctly, and assured him he had none.  He then did something that I consider to be very courageous and bold, and let the man feel my father's head for himself.  Upon feeling no horns, he couldn't believe there were none!  My father told him, that's right, there are no horns.  That he understood that this came out of absolute ignorance, rather than malice, and sized up the situation, to give this fellow soldier a tactile, interactive lesson, in feeling his head, to provide his own experience, was a great response, in my view.

We then went to Art at 11:30 and Music at noon.

More to come!