Category Archives: Discussion Plan

Exercise: The Multiple Meanings of “Lech L’cha”

Exercise: The Multiple Meanings of “Lech L’cha”

Read the sentence on the left – which kind of “Go Forth!” do you think is invoked here? You can mark more than one, but make sure you can explain what you mean in each case. If you mark more than one, show which one you think might be more central than the others (if this is the case).

 

Go forth – leave where you are (for another place) Go for yourself!  (your own benefit) Go to your yourself (to greater self-understanding) Go  – to the person you will become
Sam: “The camping trip will be good for you – you should go!”
Kate: “I’m going to miss you when you leave, but I know the job in Boston pays a higher salary.”
Eli: “I went on this retreat to get in touch with the ‘real me’ – it was very cool. I learned lots about myself.
Zaitlan: “Going to summer camp last year was really important – I really became more self-confident and independent.
Esti: “We are moving to Israel– I don’t want to go, but my parents say it is the only place we can truly be ourselves. But I am my best self right here.
Ronie: “In my head I am such a different person than people around me see – I think the only way I can make that person come out is to start over somewhere else.”
David: “Getting up on Sunday morning for Synagogue School is not fun, but I know that I’ll appreciate the fact that I made this effort when I get older.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go back to the Biblical text – for each of these different forms of “Lech l’cha” – how does that change your reading of Avram’s journey?

Discussion Plan: Journeys and Journeying

Discussion Plan:  Journeys and Journeying

  1. Does a journey need to have a place of departure? Explain
  2. Does a journey need to have a set destination? Explain
  3. Are there different kinds of journeys? What makes them different?
  4. If I start walking but end up back where I started from, have I taken a journey
  5. Can I end up in a different place without taking a journey?
  6.  Can I take a journey without moving at all?
  7. Can I take a journey while sleeping?
  8. What is the difference between going on a vacation and going on a journey?
  9. Can a journey be both exciting and scary at the same time?
  10. Can a journey be both boring and worthwhile?
  11. Can journeys be good or bad, or is it the things that happen on them that are good or bad?
  12. Could a trip to the end of the street become a journey?
  13. Is there a difference between a journey I take on my own and a journey I take with others? If so, what are some of the differences?
  14. In what ways might a journey change you?
  15. In what ways might a journey surprise you?
  16. Is there a difference between a journey someone instructs you to take, and a journey you choose to take? If so, what are some of the differences?

 

Exercise: Showing and Reminding

What is the difference between…

  • Putting a sign on the door to show visitors that they can’t enter without knocking.
  • Putting a sign on the door to remind visitors that they can’t enter without knocking.
  • Putting a sign on the door to remind yourself that you shouldn’t let visitors in unless they have knocked on the door first.

When might you need to post each of these signs?

Exercise: Setting something up vs. Maintaining it

 

Exercise: Establishing something and Maintaining it

Is there a difference between these things, if so, what is the difference?

  • Setting up (establishing) a rule that says “do not enter the room without knocking”
  • Maintaining the rule the says “do not enter the room without knocking”
  • Forming (Establishing) a friendship
  • Maintaining that person as a friend
  • Forming (Establishing) a reputation for fairness
  • Maintaining a reputation for fairness

Exercise: What do we eat and why / why not? – HS

Exercise: What do we eat and why / why not?

 


 		 I eat this Someone else in my family eats this Other people in my culture eat this In the Torah it says we shouldn’t eat it People from other cultures I know of do eat it I don’t think anyone eats this – but it wouldn’t be wrong if they did No-one should eat this– it is morally wrong
Fish              
Dried  Pineapple              
Mushrooms              
Beef              
Golf  balls              
Raw eggs              
Lamb              
Animal Hair              
Blood sausage              
Monkeys              
Cats              
Gum              
Pork              
Elephants              
Leftovers              
Strawberries              
Ants              
Human Beings              
A leather shoe              
Dolphins              
Mice              
Paper              
Someone elses half eaten sandwich              
A pen              

 

Exercise: What do we eat and why / why not? -PS

Exercise: What do we eat and why / why not?


 		 I eat this Someone else in my family eats this Other people in my culture eat this In the Torah it says we shouldn’t eat it People from other cultures I know of do eat it I don’t think anyone eats this – but it wouldn’t be wrong if they did No-one should eat this– it is morally wrong
Fish              
Dried  Pineapple              
Mushrooms              
Beef              
Buttons              
Raw eggs              
Lamb              
Animal Hair              
Blood sausage              
Cats              
Gum              
Pork              
Leftovers              
Strawberries              
Ants              
Human Beings              
Dolphins              
Mice              
Paper              
Someone else’s half eaten sandwich              
A pen              
             
             

 

 

Discussion Plan: Deciding what we should eat- PS

Deciding what we should eat

  1. Do you think parents should decide what food their pre-school child should eat?
  2. Do you think your family should decide what you eat now?
  3. Are there food you can eat too much of?
  4. Are there foods you can eat too little of?
  5. Are their kinds of food that it is hard to stop eating once you start?
  6. If a species is endangered, should people continue to eat it? (even if it acceptable to eat it)
  7. Are there animals you don’t think we should eat because it is wrong to kill them?
  8. If you raise an animal and look after it – would it be wrong to eat it? (Would this be the same if you lived on a farm?)
  9. In many ways, animals are like people – is that a reason not to kill them?
  10. Think of eating an animal’s eye – disgusting? Why does this disgust you?
  11. To what extent do you think that your culture decides what it is possible for you to eat?

Discussion Plan: Deciding what we should eat – HS

Discussion Plan: Deciding what we should eat

  1. Do you think parents should decide what food their pre-school child should eat?
  2. Do you think your family should decide what you eat now?
  3. Are there food you can eat too much of?
  4. Are there foods you can eat too little of?
  5. Are their kinds of food that it is hard to stop eating once you start?
  6. If a species is endangered, should people continue to eat it? (even if it acceptable to eat it)
  7. Are there animals you don’t think we should eat because it is wrong to kill them?
  8. If you raise an animal and look after it – would it be wrong to eat it? (Would this be the same if you lived on a farm?)
  9. In many ways, animals are like people – is that a reason not to kill them?
  10. Think of eating an animal’s eye – disgusting? Why does this disgust you?
  11. To what extent do you think that your culture decides what it is possible for you to eat?
  12. To what extent do you think the Torah should guide what you eat and what you don’t?
  13. Do you think that if we think it is OK to kill animals we are more likely to think it is ok to kill people?
  14. Can you love animals and eat meat?

 

 

 

Discussion Plan: Deciding what we eat – PS-HS

Discussion Plan: Deciding what we eat

  1. Is there any kind of food that you personally choose not to eat?  Why?
  2. What makes certain foods attractive to you  – such that you want to eat them?
  3. What makes certain foods unattractive to you – such that you don’t want to eat them?
  4. Do you eat the same range of food now as you did 5 years ago?
  5. Do you eat the same range of food now as you did when you were a baby?
  6. Can people’s diets change, even when they are adults? Can you give an example?
  7. Do you think that what you eat affects your health?
  8. Do you think that what you eat affects your mood?
  9. Can you look at what someone eats and draw any conclusion about their values
  10. Do you think that what you eat or don’t eat can make you a better person?

Discussion Plan: Giving and Receiving Blessings

Discussion Plan: Giving and Receiving Blessings

  1. Can you be blessed with good health? If so, what does this mean?
  2. Can a day be blessed? Explain
  3. Can we be a blessing to our parents? If so, what does this mean?
  4. Is there a difference between ‘being blessed’ and ‘receiving a blessing’?
  5. If I bless you saying “May God grant you long life”, is that the same as wishing you a long life? hoping you will have a long life?
  6. Can people give blessings, or only God? If people can give them, do you think there is a difference between a blessing given by God and a blessing given by a person? Explain.
  7. Can anyone receive a blessing? Any thing receive a blessing?
  8. Can anyone give a blessing?
  9. Can a blessing ever be a burden?
  10. Does giving a blessing guarantee that the content of the blessing will happen or come true?
  11. Can you believe in blessings without believing in curses?
  12. Can you believe in blessings without believing in God?
  13. What blessing would you wish for?
  14. What blessing would you like to give to someone else?