Opening Session: Finding out the interests of the group
We had a short meeting in mid-September to get to know one another and to give the teachers a chance to learn about the interests of the group. We passed out the questionnaire below. The students were unanimous about the theme for the year: Judaism and Food. This worked out spectacularly, as many important learning sessions, from prayer, to Bible, to Jewish history, turned out to lend themselves beautifully to lessons plans organized around food. In fact, we could easily create another year's worth of learning connected with this theme! The questionnaire proved very useful for helping us tailor the program to the interests of the students.
Check the things that interest you. Check as many as you want, and add more!
Themes for the year:
- Judaism and nature
- Judaism and food
- Jewish visions of God
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Special programs:
- Go outdoors with a Jewish environmentalist
- Israeli pop music
- Jewish values in American pop music
- TV show episodes about Jewish issues
- Movies on Jewish themes
- Talk to an Orthodox Jew about how they live
- Learn the art of Hebrew calligraphy
- Make your own gorgeous clay mezuzah
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Hebrew Language:
- Get better at reading prayers and Torah fluently
- Understand the prayers and blessings
- Understand the language of the Torah
- Speak modern conversational Hebrew
Prayer – how and why:
- Learn the deep, mystical meaning of the Hebrew prayers
- Write your own prayers
- Compose your own new melodies for traditional prayers
- Meditation and silence: sitting, walking, visualizing, eating
- Where did the prayers in our prayerbook come from?
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Discussion questions:
- How can someone believe in the Bible and in evolution?
- Why do bad things happen to good people?
- What happens after you die?
- Is there a difference between the Jewish and the Christian God?
- Who wrote the Bible? Did it really happen?
- What is a miracle? Are they possible?
- Why does it matter if you are good?
- How much do we owe to poor and unfortunate people?
- Keeping Kosher: Does God really care what you eat?
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