What does it mean to be “free” in Judaism?
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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
In what ways am I connected to the Jewish People?
How is my Judaism expressed in my life?
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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