Lesson Plans

METAPHORS FOR GOD

For 6th and 7th graders

Big Ideas: The Jewish belief system in multifaceted (complex) and dynamic (constantly changing)

Knowing: Learners will recognize and interact with some of the many ways in which Judaism speaks about God.

Doing: Through learning about different ways in which we conceive of God, learners will feel empowered to articulate, share, and revisit their own questions and notions of the Divine.

Believing: Through familiarizing themselves with a range of depictions of the Divine, learners will feel better equipped and more comfortable to forge or strengthen their own beliefs about God and how/why the world works.

Belonging: Students will offer their own conceptions of God and in doing so, create a class-Torah in which they share their own God-ideas. 

Jethro & Moses: An inter-faith duo raising Jews

For adult learners

Today, our communities are more heterogeneous than ever. They are filled with people and families of different ethnicities, sexualities, backgrounds and traditions. Furthermore, we are seeing a heightened level of heterogeneity in nuclear and extended family units. This learning session is designed to get interfaith child-rearing partners – whether they are co-parents, parents and grandparents, legal guardians or friend and relatives – to explore the complexities of that relationship. Both Jewish and non-Jewish learners are expected to be invested in the child-rearing process, but not necessarily Jewishly literate.

Enduring Understanding: Both non-Jewish and Jewish child-rearing partners (“parents”) share an equal role and responsibility in raising Jewish children.

Core Concept: The Midrashic relationship between Moses and Jethro can serve as an example for interfaith parenting.

Essential Questions: What does my faith tradition have to offer Jewish children? How does my interfaith relationship benefit my Jewish child’s rearing? What worries me about the influence of my interfaith relationship on my child’s religious identity?

Know – Learners will know their partners’ fears about raising a child in an interfaith relationship.

Do – Learners will engage with Jewish texts as a way to explore real life situations.

Believe – Learners will believe that both Jews and non-Jews have important things to offer their children.

Belong – Learners will connect with other interfaith co-parenting couples and form a community around that shared experience.

I know that there are Jews in Science, but is there Science in Judaism: Connecting the Jewish and Scientific Processes

For High School and College students

Enduring Understanding: I do not need to choose between living in the modern world and a Jewish world.

Core Concept: I can use my modern skill sets to discover my own Jewish lifestyle.

Essential Questions: What are some skills that I believe only work in the modern world? How do I make Jewish decisions that feel authentic? How do I balance my place in an ancient tradition with my place in the modern world?

Know – Learners will know that their modern skill sets and Jewish choices can be in harmony.

Do – Learners will practice making Jewish choices with their modern skills.

Believe – Learners will believe that their Jewish choices have an impact on their secular lives.

Belong – Learners will feel like their personal Judaism has a place in the modern world.

The Bible Uncensored: Stories No One Taught You: Do The Ends Really Justify The Means? (Judah & Tamar)

For Learners in their 20s and 30s

Enduring Understandings of Full Class Series: It is possible to find meaning in studying challenging biblical texts. Regardless of perceived morality, choices often have unseen motivations and consequences.

Core Concept of This Class: When Tamar chooses to deceive Judah and sleep with him, she exemplifies the complicated nature of social status in the Bible.

Essential Questions: Who was “right,” Tamar or Judah? What was Tamar risking by seducing Judah? What was Tamar risking if she didn’t seduce Judah? How does Tamar’s action affect the unfolding of the Jewish narrative?

Know – Learners will know Tamar’s justification for her acts, and their biblical legal foundation.

Do – Learners will study the intellectual and emotional challenges presented by difficult biblical texts.

Believe – Learners will challenge their beliefs regarding the simplicity of biblical texts and the polar nature of right and wrong.

Belong – Learners will engage in a candid and high-level discussion and textual-discovery with their peers.