Category Archives: Adult

Exercise: What counts as a miracle? – MS, HS, A

Leave a reply

Download the exercise here:  Word word-doc-icon  PDF  pdf-icon


Exercise: What counts as a miracle?

For the items listed below decide which word best describes it:

Miracle –  Miraculous – Awesome – Lucky – Ordinary

1. As I was walking home I was thinking “wouldn’t it be great to have money to buy an ice-cream” – and then I saw a dollar coin in the gutter.
2. In the storm, a bolt of lightning came down and split the tree in half.
3. I fell off my bike speeding down the hill, but came out of it without even a scratch.
4. When the house down the street caught fire, I prayed that everyone would get out of the fire safely and they did.
5. I wake up every morning feeling fresh and ready to start the day.
6. When the forest fire was out of control, the wind turned and the rain came and put it out.
7. The fortune teller told my sister that she would meet someone and fall in love and she did.
8. God created the world in seven days.
9. Jonah was swallowed by a whale/big fish and survived. (Is this the same as no.8?)
10. I prayed that something bad would happen to the boy at school who is always teasing me, and then he broke his arm. (How does your answer here compare to your answer to no. 4?)
11. A standard 747 airplane weighs more than 910,000lbs when it is loaded, and yet it can still get off the ground!

Discussion Plan: Seeing and Hearing – MS, HS, A

Leave a reply

Download the discussion plan here: Word word-doc-icon PDF pdf-icon

Discussion Plan: Seeing and Hearing

In each case, make sure to explain your answers / responses.

  1. Are there times you are heard but not seen?
  2. Are there times you are seen but not heard?
  3. Can you look at someone but not see them?
  4. Can you see someone without looking at them?
  5. Can you hear what someone says but not listen to them?
  6. Do you expect friends to see you better than other people? In what ways?
  7. Is there a difference between the way parents see you and the way teachers see you?
  8. Is there a difference between the way parents see you and the way your friends see you?
  9. Do you think all your friends see you the same way? If not, what accounts for the difference?
  10. Could a stranger see you better than your friends do?
  11. Could someone who disagrees with you see your point better than people who agree with you?
  12. When we respond to what we hear, do we do it the same way as we respond to what we see?
  13. Could you see something and respond as if you had heard it? What would this mean?
  14. Could you hear something and respond as if you had seen it? What would this mean?
IDL TIFF file
image source: shutterstock

Return to the questions above – try re-asking them about seeing and hearing God. (e.g.; Are there times when God is heard but not seen? Could you hear what God says but not listen to God? Does it make a difference if you see God as a parent or as a friend? Do you expect God to see you better than other people? In what ways?)

Vayeira (Bereshit 18:9-15) בְּרֵאשִׁית

Leave a reply

Download the text here:  Word word-doc-icon  PDF  pdf-icon

Bereshit 18: 9-15

בְּרֵאשִׁית

1 And God appeared to him [Avraham], in the plains of Mamre, and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent when the day was hot.

א  וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה, בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא; וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח–הָאֹהֶל, כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם.

2  And he lifted his eyes and saw, behold, three men were standing beside him, and he saw and he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and bowed down to the ground,

ב  וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו, וַיַּרְא, וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים, נִצָּבִים עָלָיו; וַיַּרְא, וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל, וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ, אָרְצָה.

3 And said, “My lords, please, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass on from beside your servant

ג  וַיֹּאמַר:  אֲדֹנָי, אִם–נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ—אַל–נָא תַעֲבֹר, מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ.

4 Please – let a little water be taken, and wash your feet, and lean back under the tree.

ד  יֻקַּח–נָא מְעַט–מַיִם, וְרַחֲצוּ רַגְלֵיכֶם; וְהִשָּׁעֲנוּ, תַּחַת הָעֵץ.

5 And I will fetch a little bread, to sustain your hearts; after that you will go on, because you have passed by your servant.” And they said, “So you will do, as you have spoken.”

ה  וְאֶקְחָה פַת–לֶחֶם וְסַעֲדוּ לִבְּכֶם, אַחַר תַּעֲבֹרוּ—כִּי–עַל–כֵּן עֲבַרְתֶּם, עַל–עַבְדְּכֶם; וַיֹּאמְרוּ, כֵּן תַּעֲשֶׂה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ.

…

…

9 And they said to him: ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ And he said: ‘Here, in the tent.’

ט וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו, אַיֵּה שָׂרָה אִשְׁתֶּךָ; וַיֹּאמֶר, הִנֵּה בָאֹהֶל.

10 And he said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and behold – there will be a son, to Sarah, your wife.” And Sarah heard from the entrance of the tent, behind him.

י וַיֹּאמֶר, שׁוֹב אָשׁוּב אֵלֶיךָ כָּעֵת חַיָּה, וְהִנֵּה–בֵן, לְשָׂרָה אִשְׁתֶּךָ; וְשָׂרָה שֹׁמַעַת פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל, וְהוּא אַחֲרָיו.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, coming on in years. Sarah had ceased the [biological] stage of childbearing for women.

יא וְאַבְרָהָם וְשָׂרָה זְקֵנִים, בָּאִים בַּיָּמִים; חָדַל לִהְיוֹת לְשָׂרָה, אֹרַח כַּנָּשִׁים.

12 And Sarah laughed, within herself, saying: ‘After I am old –will I have pleasure? And, my master is old.’

יב וַתִּצְחַק שָׂרָה, בְּקִרְבָּהּ לֵאמֹר: אַחֲרֵי בְלֹתִי הָיְתָה–לִּי עֶדְנָה, וַאדֹנִי זָקֵן.

13 And God said to Avraham: ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I really bear a child – I, who am old?”

יג וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה, אֶל–אַבְרָהָם: לָמָּה זֶּה צָחֲקָה שָׂרָה לֵאמֹר, הַאַף אֻמְנָם אֵלֵד—וַאֲנִי זָקַנְתִּי.

14 Is there anything too wonderous for God? At the appointed time, I will return to you, and at that time, Sarah will have a son.”

יד הֲיִפָּלֵא מֵיְהוָה, דָּבָר; לַמּוֹעֵד אָשׁוּב אֵלֶיךָ, כָּעֵת חַיָּה—וּלְשָׂרָה בֵן.

15 Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was ‘yireh’ (afraid, in awe, overwhelmed). And He said, “No, but you laughed.”

טו וַתְּכַחֵשׁ שָׂרָה לֵאמֹר לֹא צָחַקְתִּי, כִּי יָרֵאָה; וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא, כִּי צָחָקְתְּ.

16 And the men arose from there, and they looked upon Sodom, and Abraham went with them to escort them,

טז וַיָּקֻמוּ מִשָּׁם הָאֲנָשִׁים, וַיַּשְׁקִפוּ עַל–פְּנֵי סְדֹם; וְאַבְרָהָם—הֹלֵךְ עִמָּם, לְשַׁלְּחָם.

Leading Idea: The Experience of Laughter

Leave a reply

Download the leading idea description here: PDF pdf-icon

Leading Idea: The Experience of Laughter

In this text Sarah laughs be-kirba (בְּקִרְבָּהּ). What kind of laughter is this? The laughter is a ‘close’ laughter, translated variously as laughing ‘to herself’, ‘within herself’ or ‘at herself’. For Samson Raphael Hirsch it is “the natural, involuntary laughter which we can hardly keep back at the sight of some absurdity” (Hirsch, 1963, p. 352). The question is whether Sarah’s laughter is one of sheer incredulity or of irony, or something else. Two things happen later that further complicate things.

(i) She denies laughing (18:15). Why does she do this? What might this say about her laughter? (is she embarrassed? Is she in denial? Is it possible she was so amazed she was unaware of laughing? Or maybe, if she had worked to suppress her laughter, she now wanted to assert that she hadn’t really laughed because she had consciously controlled herself from doing so, keeping her laughter within.)

(ii) She speaks about laughter (21:7). When she gives birth to Yitzak a few verses later she says: “ God has made laughter of me, everyone who hears will laugh”. Here too the passage is open to different readings – is she saying that, in giving birth in old age, God has made her into a laughing stock and everyone will laugh at her (Hirsch), or that God has brought laugher to her and that everyone who hears will laugh with her in joy (Rashi)?

Those who read Sarah as fearing laughter tend to read her earlier reaction in the tent as a negative laughter, while those who read it as joy see her earlier laughter as incredulity or disbelief when told good but improbable news.
Sarah is not the only one who laughs. One verse earlier (Bereshit 17:17) Avraham ‘falls on his face and laughs’ when he is told he will have a child by Sarah. If Sarah’s laughter is inward, Abrahams laughter seems to be blatantly outward.

Several discussion plans and exercises explore the nature of laughter:

(i) One looks at how we laugh (where it happens in our body, the control we have over it, inward and outward laughter). This provides different resources for reflecting on how Sarah might have laughed be-kirba (בְּקִרְבָּהּ).

(ii) One looks at emotions that lie behind laughter and causes of laughter (insecurity, joy, embarrassment, etc). This looks at what Sarah might have been feeling as she laughed.

(iii) one looks at kinds of laughter (some distinctions to think about include whether the pictures shows people laughing with or at something, laughing as expression of joy, laughing inside or laughing openly, seeking to hide laughter, openly showing laughter, embarrassed laughter, laughing in amazement).

Intertextual Sources: The meaning of אות – MS, HS, A

Leave a reply

Download the intertextual sources here: Word word-doc-icon PDF pdf-icon

Intertextual Sources: The meaning of אות

Using a Tanach, Look up the following references. Is there any difference between the meaning of אות in these passages? What do you think the function of the אות is in each case?  (to show? tell? remind? something else?)

  • Bereshit 4:15 (Cain and Abel)
  • Shemot 31:13 (Shabbat)
  • Shemot 31: 17 (Shabbat)
  • Shemot 8:18-19 (Plagues)
  • Shemot 12:13 (Blood on the doorposts)

Discussion Plan: The Act of Laughter

Leave a reply

Download the discussion plan here: Word word-doc-icon PDF pdf-icon

Discussion Plan: The Act of Laughter

N.B. You might like to get students to actually do the first five questions/instructions before they talk about each one.

1. Ok – try to laugh. Can you do it? If you did, where in the body did the laughter take place?

2. Can you laugh from your belly?

3. Can you laugh with your eyes?

4. Can you laugh silently?

5. Can you laugh inwardly without showing anything outside? If so, where is the laughter happening?

6. Is there a difference between laughing inwardly and laughing silently?

7. What is a difference between laughing to yourself and laughing at yourself? Does the actual laughter feel different in each case? If so, in what way is it different?

8. Can you laugh without intending to?

9. Can you laugh without being aware you are doing it?

10. Could you be mistaken about whether you are laughing?

11. Can you hold back laughter?

12. If you suppress your laughter, have you still laughed?

Leading Idea: Establishing (מֵקִים), remembering (לִזְכֹּר) and remembering in the future (זָכַרְתִּי)

Leave a reply

Download the leading idea description here: PDF pdf-icon

Leading Idea: Establishing (מֵקִים), remembering (לִזְכֹּר) and remembering in the future (זָכַרְתִּי)

In Verses 9:8-17 God turns his attention from Noah to himself. “As for me…” Within this passage he reflects on the act of establishing a covenant and remembering it – that is maintaining a covenant (keeping it over time), and the intention to keep it in the future (I will remember). God also reflects on the ‘sign’ (אות) , or rainbow, as representing the covenant (as a sign of the covenant), as a way of showing us of his intentions (it stands as a sign between me and you), and as a way of reminding himself of his covenant. These exercises and discussion plans explore these subtle yet very powerful distinctions.

Exercise: Identifying Different Forms of Laughter

Leave a reply

Download the exercise here:  Word word-doc-icon  PDF  pdf-icon


Exercise: Identifying Different Forms of Laughter

What kinds of laughter are these?
What feelings might be involved in each case?

  1. Sam laughed out loud as he watched the funny movie.
  2. As soon as Yair began to speak in front of the class, he burst into laughter.
  3. As soon as Yair began to speak in front of the class, his classmates burst into laughter.
  4. When Sam told a joke in front of the class, his friends burst into laughter.
  5. Shelley laughed to herself as she remembered the funny things that had happened that day.
  6. The roller coaster ride was very scary, but at the end we laughed about it.
  7. When I was little my mother used to tickle me, and I would laugh so hard that I cried.
  8. When I realized the mistake I’d made I started to laugh.
  9. The magic trick was a huge success – all the children laughed
  10. Josh’s friends said to him: “We are not laughing at you; we are laughing with you.”

Lech L’cha (Bereshit 16: 1-13) בראשית טז א- יג

Leave a reply

Download the text here:  Word word-doc-icon  PDF  pdf-icon

Bereshit 16: 1-13

   בראשית טז א– יג
1. Sarai, Avram’s wife, had not borne [children] to him. She had an Egyptian maid, her name was Hagar.

א וְשָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם לֹא יָלְדָה לוֹ וְלָהּ שִׁפְחָה מִצְרִית וּשְׁמָהּ הָגָר:
2. And Sarai said to Avram, “Behold now, God has held me back from bearing; please come in to my maid; perhaps I will be built up [with sons] from her.” And Abram hearkened to Sarai’s voice.

ב וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרַי אֶל אַבְרָם הִנֵּה נָא עֲצָרַנִי יְהֹוָה מִלֶּדֶת בֹּא נָא אֶל שִׁפְחָתִי אוּלַי אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם לְקוֹל שָׂרָי:
3. Sarai, Avram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, at the end of ten years of Avram’s living [dwelling] in the land of Canaan, and she gave her to her husband Avram for a wife.

ג וַתִּקַּח שָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם אֶת הָגָר הַמִּצְרִית שִׁפְחָתָהּ מִקֵּץ עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים לְשֶׁבֶת אַבְרָם בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וַתִּתֵּן אֹתָהּ לְאַבְרָם אִישָׁהּ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה:
4. And he came in to Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became less important [lowered in esteem] in her eyes.

ד וַיָּבֹא אֶל הָגָר וַתַּהַר וַתֵּרֶא כִּי הָרָתָה וַתֵּקַל גְּבִרְתָּהּ בְּעֵינֶיהָ:
5.  And Sarai said to Avram, “The wrong [injustice] done to me is upon you! I gave my maid into your bosom, but now she sees that she is pregnant, I have become unimportant [lowered in worth] in her eyes. May God judge [do justice] between me and you!”

ה וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרַי אֶל אַבְרָם חֲמָסִי עָלֶיךָ אָנֹכִי נָתַתִּי שִׁפְחָתִי בְּחֵיקֶךָ וַתֵּרֶא כִּי הָרָתָה וָאֵקַל בְּעֵינֶיהָ יִשְׁפֹּט יְהֹוָה בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶיֹךָ:
6. And Avram said to Sarai, “Here – your maid is in your hand; do with her however it seems good in your eyes.” And Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from before her.

ו וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֶל שָׂרַי הִנֵּה שִׁפְחָתֵךְ בְּיָדֵךְ עֲשִׂי לָהּ הַטּוֹב בְּעֵינָיִךְ וַתְּעַנֶּהָ שָׂרַי וַתִּבְרַח מִפָּנֶיהָ:
7. And an angel [messenger] of God found her by a spring of water in the desert, by the spring on the way to Shur.

ז וַיִּמְצָאָהּ מַלְאַךְ יְהֹוָה עַל עֵין הַמַּיִם בַּמִּדְבָּר עַל הָעַיִן בְּדֶרֶךְ שׁוּר:
8.  He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where are you coming from, and where are you going to?” And she said, “I am fleeing from Sarai my mistress.”

ח וַיֹּאמַר הָגָר שִׁפְחַת שָׂרַי אֵי מִזֶּה בָאת וְאָנָה תֵלֵכִי וַתֹּאמֶר מִפְּנֵי שָׂרַי גְּבִרְתִּי אָנֹכִי בֹּרַחַת:
9. And God’s angel [messenger] said to her, “Return to your mistress, and allow yourself to be afflicted under her hand.”

ט וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ יְהֹוָה שׁוּבִי אֶל גְּבִרְתֵּךְ וְהִתְעַנִּי תַּחַת יָדֶיהָ:
10. And Go’s angel [messenger] said to her, “I will greatly multiply your seed [children], and it will be too many to count.”

י וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ יְהֹוָה הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֵךְ וְלֹא יִסָּפֵר מֵרֹב:
11. And God’s angel; [messenger] said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and and will bear a son, and name him Ishmael [God hears], for God has heard your affliction.

יא וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ יְהֹוָה הִנָּךְ הָרָה וְיֹלַדְתְּ בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁמָעֵאל כִּי שָׁמַע יְהֹוָה אֶל עָנְיֵךְ:
12. And he will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be upon all, and everyone’s hand upon him, and yet in the presence of all his brothers he will dwell.”                              

יב וְהוּא יִהְיֶה פֶּרֶא אָדָם יָדוֹ בַכֹּל וְיַד כֹּל בּוֹ וְעַל פְּנֵי כָל אֶחָיו יִשְׁכֹּן:
13. And she called the name of God, the one who had spoken to her, “You are the God of seeing,” because she said: “Have I continued [gone on] seeing here after I have been seen?”

יג וַתִּקְרָא שֵׁם יְהֹוָה הַדֹּבֵר אֵלֶיהָ אַתָּה אֵל רֳאִי כִּי אָמְרָה הֲגַם הֲלֹם רָאִיתִי אַחֲרֵי רֹאִי:
14. Therefore the well was called Be’er Lachai Ro’i; [Well of the living-one who sees me], behold it is between Kadesh and Bered.

יד עַל כֵּן קָרָא לַבְּאֵר בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי הִנֵּה בֵין קָדֵשׁ וּבֵין בָּרֶד:
15. Hagar bore a son to Avram, and Avram named his son, whom Hagar had borne, Ishmael.

טו וַתֵּלֶד הָגָר לְאַבְרָם בֵּן וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָם שֶׁם בְּנוֹ אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה הָגָר יִשְׁמָעֵאל:
LechLecha-S-image

Discussion Plan: The Effects of Laughter

Leave a reply

Download the discussion plan here: Word word-doc-icon PDF pdf-icon

Discussion Plan: The Effects of Laughter

1. Do you think laughter is infectious? If so, why?

2. Can you ever laugh too much?

3. Is laughter always pleasurable?

4. When people say “laughter is the best medicine” what do they mean? Do you think laughter can effect your health?

5. If you laugh just on the inside, have you still laughed?

6. Are there some kinds of laughter you can’t control? Are there kinds you can control?

7. Can you ‘laugh on demand’? If so, is this the same as real laughter?

8. Could you ever laugh out of fear?

9. Do you think that there are differences in the way women and men laugh or use laughter?

10. Can you use laughter as a way of controlling a situation? Explain.