This section of text about the Keshet comes after the flood – after God in his anger almost completely destroys the world. The Keshet is a reminder to God to avoid global destruction in the future. This raises a larger question about our relationship to the world and our care for it. Molly Cone’s poem invites discussion around our sensory experiencing of the world and our care for it. You might like to create your own poem or artwork that draws on the way your students’ own experiences of connecting to the world through their senses.
Look upon this land— Touch it. Sand under your bare feet, The squish of mud, Silky coat of cat, Soft rose petals, A smooth round rock, Rain on your face.
Touch it with your eyes. Cherry trees blossoming pink, Lake of blue and summer sky, The green of life, Purple grapes and apples red, Moon rising yellow, Orange sun going down.
Touch it with your ears. Splatter of rain, Crack of thunder, Wind whispering, Birds singing, The crying of babies and puppies, Kittens and ducklings.
Touch it with your nose. Pine-scent of woods, lilacs blooming, new-mown grass, smoke of chimneys, strawberries in the sun.
Touch it with your tongue. Lick of sugar, Tang of lemon, ginger, or spice, Bite of cold snow, Gulp of pure water.
Look upon this land— Touch it. Touch it in every way you can, For this land is part of you, And you are part of it.
Given into your care is this earth. See how beautiful it is. Be careful not to spoil it, For if you destroy the world, There will be no one after you to restore it.
(Molly Cone, Listen to the Trees, UAHC press, 1995, pp. 42-43)
Molly Cone was a well known children’s author, having published over 45 books. She was a founding member of Temple Beth Am in Seattle.
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.
Interview two people in your family or community about the following:
Is there any kind of food that you personally choose not to eat? Why?
Do you think that what you eat affects your health?
Do you think that what you eat affects your mood?
Do you think you can look at what someone eats and draw any conclusion about their lifestyle? Their values?
Do you think that what you choose to eat or not eat can makes you a better person?
Do you eat meat? Do you think this affects the kind of person you are?
In the account of creation God blesses us and tells us and gives us all seed bearing plants to eat. In Noah, after the flood he tells he blesses us again, but this time he also allow us to eat meat. Why do you think God changes his blessing? Do you think we should eat meat?
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, explain what it would mean to ‘go’ for each one you marked (eg: going camping might be ‘go forth’ because going to camp means you are moving geographically, but it also may be ‘go to yourself’ because when you are camping you discover you are now capable of doing things that you never would have thought you could do).
Go! Leave where you are for somewhere else
Go for yourself! For your own benefit — (eg: financial or physical benefit)
Go to yourself! Getting to know yourself better
Go to the person you will become! Growing up, becoming a better person
Kate, age 6: “I’m excited about starting a new school, I’m going to learn so many new things.”
Eli, age 5: “we went to the lake for the first time I thought I would be scared to go in the water but I learned that I really liked it!”
Zaitlan, age 8: “Going to summer camp last year was my first time away from home – I really became more confident and independent.
Ronnie, age 7: “We are going to visit our grandparents in Texas – I am really excited”
Kate: “I’m going to miss you when you leave, but I know the job in Boston pays a higher salary.”
David, age 9: “Once a week after school I go with my mum to the home where my grandparents live. I help them to go down to the dining room and sometimes I sing for them because they like that.
Go back to the Biblical text – if we view Avram’s journey through each of these lenses, how might we understand the meaning and significance of his journey?
Discussion Plan: Different 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, explain what it would mean to ‘go’ for each one you marked (eg: going camping might be ‘go forth’ because going to camp means you are moving geographically, but it also may be ‘go to yourself’ because when you are camping you discover you are now capable of doing things that you never would have thought you could do).
Go! Leave where you are for somewhere else
Go for yourself! For your own benefit — (eg: financial or physical benefit)
Go to yourself! Go to greater self-understanding (to understand who you are now better)
Go to the person you will become! The person you will one day be — fulfilling your destiny, or becoming a better person
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 grow up to be ourselves. But I think I am my best self right here.”
David: “Getting up early for basketball training is not fun, but I know that I’ll appreciate the fact that I made this effort when I make it to the championships.”
Sam: “Once a week after school I go with my mum to the home where my grandparents live. I help them to go down to the dining room and sometimes I sing for them because they like that.”
Go back to the Biblical text – if we view Avram’s journey through each of these lenses, how might we understand the meaning and significance of his journey?
‘Lech l’cha’ is generally taken as an expression meaning “Go forth”. But this isn’t the only way of reading it. While Lech l’cha on its own is a command (like sit! or stop!), lech on its own means ‘go’ and l’cha’ on its own generally means ‘to you’. What might these mean when put together?
In this unit we explore the following different readings of the phrase ‘Lechl’cha’.
Go forth: move forward, leave where you are (pick up your tent and go pitch it elsewhere)
Go for yourself: for your own benefit, for your own material good (financial, social, etc)
Go to yourself: discover yourself – go to greater self-understanding (as an inner existential journey – become aware of who you currently are, get in touch with yourself)
Go to the person you will become: Go toward you’re the person you will one day be (eg, your ‘better self’ or your destiny, or the person you are striving to be – as in the joke that has a mother describing her 6yr old son as ‘my son the doctor’) – this captures the idea that we are all on a journey of self-formation, and we become who we are over time.
Each of these offers a different understanding of Avram’s journey. The resources here both provide voices from within our tradition that speak to these interpretations and resources for students to apply the distinctions in their own lives and thus to come to internalize the different meanings as resources for making sense of different kinds of ‘Lech!’ in their own lives.
