- Traditionally, Judaism believes in a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and involved in history, both with nationals and individuals.
- Human free will and human agency are foundational beliefs in Judaism on which much of Jewish thought is predicated.
- There are various approaches to harmonize between Divine Providence and Free Will.
Introduction
Classical Judaism teaches not only belief in a supernatural being, but belief that that being takes an interest in and is involved in the affairs of the world. It is this supernatural being or God of Israel that redeemed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, performed miracles for them, established a covenant with them, and communicated with their prophets. According to the Torah, God is interested and involved in the affairs of humankind in general and of the Jewish people in particular.
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. In either case, if there is no free will, how can one be responsible for their actions? The tension between these core philosophical ideas is the topic of this house.
Desired Outcomes
Big Ideas
Essential Questions
- How can I experience moments of connection to God?
- How do Jewish texts help me grapple with questions of life, the universe and everything?
- How is Jewish text a vehicle to help us access connections to God?
- What factors shape our values and beliefs?
- What is the relationship between freedom and responsibility?
- How do beliefs, ethics, or values influence different people’s behavior?
- What happens when central principles or values within Judaism seem in conflict?
Knowledge
- Biblical sources, talmudic and modern interpretations on divine providence and free will.
- Why it is critical to Judaism that there is human free will and agency.
- The interaction between human free will, God’s divine providence, and human responsibility.
- Contemporary sources exploring these topics.
Skills
- Students will be able to analyze biblical and talmudic texts in order to ascertain Judaism’s approach to the philosophical concepts of divine providence and free will.
- Students will be able to use critical thinking to consider how these ideas are in tension, and how they can coexist.
Assessment Evidence
What evidence will students provide to demonstrate that they:
Know the knowledge; Can do the skills; Can respond thoughtfully to the EQs and BIs
Teacher creates authentic assessments before beginning the unit
Learning Experiences
Resources
Possible Unit Plan
Possible Unit Opener:
Once in a while a movie has an impact so large, its title becomes a concept used in everyday life (even for those who have never seen the movie, or were born many years after its release!). Sliding Doors is one such movie. Show your students the official trailer, and ask them to consider the following questions:
- Who do you think decides on whether you ‘get the train’?
- Does this take away your free will to decide your own destiny?
- Does this mean we should take a ‘wait and see’ approach to our lives as we are not in charge of our own destinies?
- What are we in charge of?
- Have you ever had a ‘sliding doors’ moment? How did it impact your life?
(another alternative movie that can illustrate this point is Back to the Future, where seemingly small events and decisions are shown to have very profound impact on history)
Content Study:
Each of the four lessons in this House stands alone, and can be taught independently.
Unit Closing/ Assessment:
Ask your students to revisit their Sliding Doors moments (if they did not all have one, then divide them into groups so they can work on a scenario from one member of the group) in light of the sources and ideas they have explored in this house. What role did the following play in their story:
- God
- Their own freewill
- Other factors
Ask them to incorporate at least three sources they have seen to inform their thinking on this.