Thursday, 19/09/2024 (ט"ז אלול התשפ"ד)

Parashat Hashavua -

How can I experience moments of connection to God?

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Jewish Philosophy & Thinking

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Diversity, Disagreement and Reconciliation

Jewish Peoplehood

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Values in Jewish Texts

Communication and Respect

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6-8

9-11

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15-18

Essential Questions

Individual and Society

How am I an important part of my community?

How can a person’s decisions and actions impact his/her life?

How can my actions make time sacred?

How do beliefs, ethics, or values influence different people’s behavior?

How do I connect to my community?

How do I grow as a result of the Jewish life cycle?

How do we make good decisions?

How does family play a role in shaping our values and beliefs?

How do we form identities that remain authentic and true to ourselves?

How does the idea that Jews everywhere celebrate the same holidays and pray the same prayers connect me to the Jewish community?

What are the factors that move individuals / communities / nations to great sacrifice and what are the consequences?

What is the individual’s responsibility to the community? What is the community’s responsibility to the individual?

What factors shape our values and beliefs? How are my values and beliefs impacted by those around me?

What happens when belief systems of societies and individuals come into conflict?

What is the relationship between freedom and responsibility?

What makes a strong Jewish community?

What resources support/enable/inspire my growth?

When is it appropriate to challenge the beliefs or values of society?

Continuity through Traditions, Symbols, Prayers, & Behaviors

How is my Judaism expressed in my life?

In what ways am I connected to the Jewish People?

How are symbols used in celebrations and holidays?

How can I experience moments of connection to God?

How do family traditions play an important role in our lives?

How do Jewish practices reflect Jewish values?

How do Jewish rituals and practices enrich the way I experience my life and the world?

How do values and tradition impact my Jewish practice?

How does being Jewish affect what I do in my daily/weekly life?

How is Judaism’s value of life expressed in its practices and traditions?

How does prayer present us with questions about God and the Divine?

How is prayer a vehicle to help us access connections to God?

What can we learn from different generations?

Why are holidays, rituals, customs, important to me, my family, and my community?

Why/how might Jewish practices be meaningful for me even if I don’t define myself as “religious”?

Cycles and Time

How can I be the best “me” this year? In class, at home, on the playground, etc?

How do I grow as a result of the Jewish calendrical cycle?

How do Jewish cycles shape our lives?

How do the holidays bring beauty and order to our Jewish year?

What makes time holy?

What turning points determine our individual pathways to adulthood?

Why is it important to mark the beginnings and ends of stages in our lives?

Jewish Values

How are prejudice and bias created? How do we overcome them?

How can literature serve as a vehicle for social change?

How can we think more carefully about the consequences of our actions?

How do beliefs, ethics, or values influence different people’s behavior?

How do we make good decisions?

How does Judaism shape or define our understanding of happiness?

To what extent does power or the lack of power affect individuals?

What propels some individuals to take a stand against prejudice/oppression while others choose to participate in it?

What are the factors that move individuals / communities / nations to great sacrifice and what are the consequences?

What are the Jewish values (e.g., freedom, responsibility, justice, community, respect of diversity etc.) that should be honored in an ideal society?

What are the responsibilities of the individual in regard to issues of social justice?

What does it mean to be “free” in Judaism?

What is morality and what are the factors that have an impact on the development of our morality?

What is the relationship between freedom and responsibility?

When is it necessary to question the status quo? Who decides?

The Jewish Story

How can exploring the past impact our present?

How do challenges and struggles lead to growth?

How do I become a voice in the chain of Jewish interpretation of Torah?

How do Jewish texts help me grapple with questions of life, the universe and everything?

How does a nation change over time?

What would Jewish life look like if we truly followed the idea of machloket l’shem shamayim?

How has the concept of utopia changed over time and/or across cultures or societies?

How is Jewish text a vehicle to help us access connections to God?

How is the Torah story my story?

How would we define a utopian society?

In the face of adversity, what causes some individuals/nations to prevail while others fail?

What are the different ways to be a hero and how do I become one?

When does a positive personality trait become a tragic flaw?

Why is it important for people and cultures to construct narratives about their experience?

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6 Unit(s), 19 Resource(s),

Hashgacha and Freewill

This house focuses on the two central Jewish concepts of Hashgacha (Divine Providence) and Human Free Will and how to harmonize between these two notions that seem to be in conflict.

Humankind

This house focuses on the nature and purpose of humankind as understood from early and modern sources examining the creation narrative in Sefer Beresishit.

The Why of Shabbat

What are the philosophical underpinnings of Shabbat observance that make it a critical area of religious observance throughout history? In this house this will be explored through the eyes of several contemporary Jewish thinkers.

The How of Shabbat

In this house the “how of shabbat observance” will be explored in all its complexity and diversity among the Jewish people today.

About Prayer

A unit which deals with some basic underlying questions regarding prayer, including who prays, to whom one prays and the connection between prayer and faith. It also focuses on different types of prayer – shevach (prayers of praise), hodaya (prayers of thanks) and bakasha (prayers of request).

Ages: 9-11, 12-14,

Just Remember: Symbols and Reminders in Judaism

All religions and cultures incorporate symbols and reminders into the norms of everyday life. In this unit, examples of these from Judaism will be presented, and the ideas and values they represent will be explored. Students will be encouraged to consider what their own connection and relationship can be in a 21st century context.

Contemporary approaches to divine providence and free will

This lesson looks at several contemporary thinkers’ approaches to the issues of divine providence, divine foreknowledge, and human free will.

Human Responsibility and Divine Providence

This lesson explores the tension between the concepts of divine providence and human free will and therefore responsibility to self well-being. If there is divine providence at an individual level, does this mean we can rely on God’s protection if we are worthy or do we still have a responsibility to look after ourselves?

Free Will and do we really have it?

This unit will explore Jewish perspectives on free will in light of the Jewish belief of hashgachah, divine providence. Belief in an all-knowing God that controls the universe complicates a belief in the existence of free will. Yet, free will is a critical component in determining sin or its opposite, the fulfillment of a mitzvah. If there is no free will, how can one be responsible for their actions?

Hashgacha – Divine Providence

This lesson explores the concept of divine providence. Texts will examine the role of God in the world following its creation, exploring themes including what hashgacha is, natural law, relying on divine intervention and does human behaviour matter.

Two accounts of the Creation of Humankind

In this unit we will look at a second version of the creation of Adam found in chapter 2 of Beresishit, and explore various approaches that reconcile this with the version in chapter 1.

In God’s Image

In this unit we will consider what it means that humans are created ‘in the image of God’, and what that tells us about the Torah’s approach to the nature and purpose of humankind.

Shabbat and Creation

In this block we will consider the connections between Shabbat and the Creation of the world.

The Spirit of Shabbat

In this block we will explore the overall theme of “rest” on shabbat as a way to maintain the spirit of shabbat.

Contemporary Approaches to Shabbat

In this block we will explore contemporary approaches to shabbat observance from various streams of Judaism that differ in some way from Orthodox observance.

Zachor – the “dos” of Shabbat

In this resource we will consider the positive aspects of Shabbat observance, including the positive mitzvot involved in an active Shabbat observance.

Shamor – the “do nots” of shabbat

In this block we will consider the classic Biblical and Talmudic sources for the prohibitions involved in shabbat observance.

Kriyat Shema (for older children)

In this resource, we will learn about a text that expresses beliefs that have been central to Jewish tradition over the course of history and in Jewish communities around the world.

Tzitzit as a Symbol

In this lesson, the symbolism of the mitzvah of Tzitzit will be examined, through looking at the biblical source for the mitzvah, and then exploring different approaches through talmudic and modern voices.

Mezuzah as a Symbol

In this lesson, the symbolism of the mitzvah of Mezuza will be examined, through looking at one of the biblical sources for the mitzvah, and then exploring different approaches through talmudic, medieval, and contemporary voices.

Tefillin as a Symbol

In this lesson, the symbolism of the mitzvah of Tefillin will be examined, through looking at the biblical source for the mitzvah, exploring a national symbolism of Tefillin in a medieval commentary on the Torah, and a more personal approach taken by a modern thinker and a teen author.

Hallelujah

This resource discusses the relationship between music and prayer that enables a full range of emotions, feelings and the body to be more completely expressed during prayer.

Ages: 6-8, 9-11,

Kriyat Shema

The Shema is a central prayer in Judaism. In this resource, we will learn about how this prayer has been a symbol of Jewish identity throughout the generations.

Intention in Prayer

Traditional Jewish prayer involves set language and is recited at set times. Alongside this, Judaism also values intention and feeling in prayer. In this resource, we will explore the tension between routine and intention/feeling, as well as how routine and intention can complement one another.

What is Prayer?

In this resource, we’ll explore prayer: what is said, to whom it is directed, what we pray for and when we pray. We’ll broaden our view of prayer through the study of the prayer-poem “A Walk to Caesarea” by Hannah Senesh.