Category Archives: HS

Activity: Neighborhood Trail-MS, HS

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Activity: Neighborhood Trail

  1. Walk around your neighborhood block.
  2. Photograph all the different types of things you can see that grow bigger as they grow older
  3. Photograph all the different types of things that you see that grow up as they grow older
  4. Photograph all the kinds of trees you see that bear fruit that we can eat.

Pick one interesting example of each. Tell us why you chose that object to photograph as an interesting example of growth and upload it with the photograph.

Leading Idea: Thinking about Journeys and Journeying

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Leading Idea: Thinking about Journeys and Journeying

The books of Bereshit and Shemot are full of journeys. Several ideas are explored here that prepare students for the pieces of narratives that they will encounter. In this regard the first set of discussion plans and activities can act as induction exercises to ‘journeying’ in general, as well as being used to explore more deeply questions students raise. Attention is drawn here to two aspects of journeying that can prepare students for thinking about this Parashah.

  • The meaning of journeying– what makes something a journey and what does journeying involve?
  • The act of going on a journey – what do the things people take on a journey tell us about the kind of journey they are on?

Secondary Source: Six Jewish Strategies for Spiritual Growth-MS, HS

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Secondary Source: Six Jewish Strategies for Spiritual Growth:

A daily regimen for building your spiritual muscles
by Sara Debbie Gutfreund

  1. Make gratitude a habit. Tu-BiShvat-Growth-SS-Strategies Picture
  2. Elevate the physical world.
  3. Be kind to others.
  4. Count each day. Every day has a purpose make it count.
  5. Pick yourself up often.
  6. Prioritize Rest.
Sara Debbie Gutfreund


Sara Debbie Gutfreund received her BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania and her MA in Family Therapy from the University of North Texas.

Source: http://www.aish.com/sp/pg/Six-Jewish-Strategies-for-Spiritual-Growth.html

Discussion Plan: Leaving Home -HS

  1. Discussion Plan: Leavings
  2. Do we all have to ‘leave home’ in order to grow up? Explain.
  3. Avram took his extended family with him – so what was he really leaving behind?
  4. Is there a difference in growing up between leaving your parents and leaving your brothers/sisters? If so, what is it?
  5. If you go away but you still think about people a lot, and text them/e-mail them, have you left them behind?
  6.  If you still hear them speaking to you – telling you what to do – have you left them behind?
  7. In growing up – do you think the important thing is what you are leaving, or what you are heading towards?
  8. Are you attached to places as well as people? Describe these places.
  9. Do you think that places are tied to our identity in the same way as people are? Explain.
  10. Which do you think would be more difficult – to leave individual people, or to leave your language and culture?

Lech L’cha (Bereshit 12:1-5) בְּרֵאשִׁית

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Bereshit 12:1-5   בְּרֵאשִׁית יב :א-ה
1. God said to Avram, “Go, take yourself
from your land
and from where you were born,
and from your father’s house
to the land that I will let you see:		 א  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-אַבְרָם, לֶךְ-לְךָ
מֵאַרְצְךָ
וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ
,וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ 
.אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ 
 2.   I will make you a great nation
And I will bless you,
I will make your name great.
And be a blessing.		  ,ב  וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ, לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל
,וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ
וַאֲגַדְּלָה שְׁמֶךָ
וֶהְיֵה, בְּרָכָה
3. I will bless those people who bless you
And those that curse you, I will curse;
And all the families of the earth shall find
blessing through you [by way of you.”		 ,ג  וַאֲבָרְכָה, מְבָרְכֶיךָ
;וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ, אָאֹר
.וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ, כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה
4. Avram went, as God had told him,
and Lot went with him.
And Avram was seventy-five years old
when he went out of Haran.		 ,ד  וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָם, כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלָיו יְהוָה
;וַיֵּלֶךְ אִתּוֹ, לוֹט
,וְאַבְרָם, בֶּן-חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים וְשִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה
.בְּצֵאתוֹ, מֵחָרָן
5. Avram took Sarai, his wife,
and Lot, his brother’s son,
and all their belongings that they had gained,
and the people they had made their own in Haran;
and they went to go to the land of Canaan.		 ה וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָם אֶת-שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ
,וְאֶת-לוֹט בֶּן-אָחִיו
,וְאֶת-כָּל-רְכוּשָׁם אֲשֶׁר רָכָשׁוּ
,וְאֶת-הַנֶּפֶשׁ, אֲשֶׁר-עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן; וַיֵּצְאוּ
.לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן, וַיָּבֹאוּ, אַרְצָה כְּנָעַן 
Lech-Lcha-map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noach (Bereshit-9:8-9:17) – בְּרֵאשִׁית

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Noach (Bereshit 9:8 -9:17) – בְּרֵאשִׁית

8 And God said to Noach, and to his sons with him, saying: ח  וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל-נֹחַ, וְאֶל-בָּנָיו אִתּוֹ לֵאמֹר.
9 ‘As for Me, here, I now set up [establish] my covenant with you, and with your seed [children] after you; ט  וַאֲנִי, הִנְנִי מֵקִים אֶת-בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם, וְאֶת-זַרְעֲכֶם, אַחֲרֵיכֶם.
10 and with all living creatures that are with you, the fowl, herd-animals, and all the wildlife of the earth with you;  with all those going out of the Ark, of all the living things on the earth.

י  וְאֵת כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר אִתְּכֶם, בָּעוֹף בַּבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל-חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ אִתְּכֶם; מִכֹּל יֹצְאֵי הַתֵּבָה, לְכֹל חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ.
11  I will establish my covenant with you; never again shall all flesh be cut off again by waters of a flood; never again shall there be a flood, to destroy the earth!

יא  וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת-בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם, וְלֹא-יִכָּרֵת כָּל-בָּשָׂר עוֹד מִמֵּי הַמַּבּוּל; וְלֹא-יִהְיֶה עוֹד מַבּוּל, לְשַׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ.
12 And God said: ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I set between me and you and all living creatures that are with you, for all ages to come:

יב  וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, זֹאת אוֹת-הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר-אֲנִי נֹתֵן בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם, וּבֵין כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, אֲשֶׁר אִתְּכֶם–לְדֹרֹת, עוֹלָם.
13 My bow, I set in the cloud, so that it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

יג  אֶת-קַשְׁתִּי, נָתַתִּי בֶּעָנָן; וְהָיְתָה לְאוֹת בְּרִית, בֵּינִי וּבֵין הָאָרֶץ.
14 And when I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow is seen, in the clouds

יד  וְהָיָה, בְּעַנְנִי עָנָן עַל-הָאָרֶץ, וְנִרְאֲתָה הַקֶּשֶׁת, בֶּעָנָן.
15  I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and all living creatures of all flesh; so the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

טו  וְזָכַרְתִּי אֶת-בְּרִיתִי, אֲשֶׁר בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם, וּבֵין כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, בְּכָל-בָּשָׂר; וְלֹא-יִהְיֶה עוֹד הַמַּיִם לְמַבּוּל, לְשַׁחֵת כָּל-בָּשָׂר.
16 When the bow will be, in the cloud; I will see it, and remember the covenant between God and all living creatures – all flesh that is on the earth

טז  וְהָיְתָה הַקֶּשֶׁת, בֶּעָנָן; וּרְאִיתִיהָ, לִזְכֹּר בְּרִית עוֹלָם, בֵּין אֱלֹהִים, וּבֵין כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה בְּכָל-בָּשָׂר אֲשֶׁר עַל-הָאָרֶץ.
17 And God said to Noach: ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.’

יז  וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, אֶל-נֹחַ:  זֹאת אוֹת-הַבְּרִית, אֲשֶׁר הֲקִמֹתִי, בֵּינִי, וּבֵין כָּל-בָּשָׂר אֲשֶׁר עַל-הָאָרֶץ.
18 And the sons of Noach, that went out from the Ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth; and Ham is the father of Canaan.

יח  וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי-נֹחַ, הַיֹּצְאִים מִן-הַתֵּבָה–שֵׁם, וְחָם וָיָפֶת; וְחָם, הוּא אֲבִי כְנָעַן.

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              

 

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?

Noach (Bereshit-9:1-7)- בְּרֵאשִׁית

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Please note: A lower primary school version of the Biblical text is offered here

 

Noach (Bereshit-9:1-7) – בְּרֵאשִׁית

1. And God blessed Noach and his sons, and
said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply [be
many], and fill the earth.		 א  וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-נֹחַ וְאֶת-בָּנָיו; וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ, וּמִלְאוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ.
2. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall
be upon all the wildlife of the earth, and upon
all the fowl of the heavens, and all that crawl
on the soil, and all the fish of the sea – into
your hand are they given.		 ב  וּמוֹרַאֲכֶם וְחִתְּכֶם, יִהְיֶה, עַל כָּל-חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ, וְעַל כָּל-עוֹף הַשָּׁמָיִם; בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּרְמֹשׂ הָאֲדָמָה וּבְכָל-דְּגֵי הַיָּם, בְּיֶדְכֶם נִתָּנוּ.
 3. All things crawling about that live, for you
shall they be, for eating, as with the green
plants, I now give you all of it.		  ג  כָּל-רֶמֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר הוּא-חַי, לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאָכְלָה:  כְּיֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב, נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת-כֹּל.
4. However – flesh with its life, its blood, you
shall not eat.		 ד  אַךְ-בָּשָׂר, בְּנַפְשׁוֹ דָמוֹ לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ.
5. And for your blood, of your own lives, I will
demand satisfaction – from all wild animals
I will demand it, and from humankind, from
every man regarding his brother, will I
demand satisfaction for human life.		 ה  וְאַךְ אֶת-דִּמְכֶם לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם אֶדְרֹשׁ,
מִיַּד כָּל-חַיָּה אֶדְרְשֶׁנּוּ; וּמִיַּד הָאָדָם,
מִיַּד אִישׁ אָחִיו–אֶדְרֹשׁ, אֶת-נֶפֶשׁ
הָאָדָם.
6. Whoever now sheds human blood, for that
human shall his [own] blood be shed, for in
Elohim’s image he made humankind		 ו  שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם, בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ: 
כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים, עָשָׂה אֶת-הָאָדָם.
7. As for you – bear fruit and be many, swarm
the earth and become many on it.		 ז  וְאַתֶּם, פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ; שִׁרְצוּ בָאָרֶץ, וּרְבוּ-בָהּ