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!
N.B.: you might like to put these on pieces of card face down on floor/table. One at a time student select a card, read it and comment on it (leave time for other students to respond before the next person selects a card.)
If you do this before reading the text, then return to the cards after your discussion and see whether they offer insights into Sarah’s laughter.
If you do this after your discussion, pause after discussing each one and ask “do you think this quote offers a new way of thinking about Sarah’s laughter?
It is impossible for you to be angry and laugh at the same time. Anger and laughter are mutually exclusive and you have the power to choose either. Wayne Dyer, Psychologist, 1940-2015 source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/waynedyer127372.html
N.B.: you might like to put these on pieces of card face down on floor/table. One at a time student select a card, read it and comment on it (leave time for other students to respond before the next person selects a card.)
If you do this before reading the text, then return to the cards after your discussion and see whether they offer insights into Sarah’s laughter.
If you do this after your discussion, pause after discussing each one and ask “do you think this quote offers a new way of thinking about Sarah’s laughter?
It is impossible for you to be angry and laugh at the same time. Anger and laughter are mutually exclusive and you have the power to choose either. Wayne Dyer, Psychologist, 1940-2015 source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/waynedyer127372.html
Being able to laugh at a situation can help you hang on to your perspective. And there’s an intimacy in laughter that nothing else can come close to. Eric Mabius, actor 1971- source: http://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=laughter&pg=8
Laughter does not deny pain. Laughter – like a wail – acknowledges and replies to pain. Tim O’Brien, author, 1946- source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/timobrien515506.html
At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. Jean Houston, author 1937- source: http://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=laughter&pg=6
When God asks Abraham why Sarah laughs Sarah denies that she did so. Is this denial? Embarrassment? Fear? A lie or… maybe even the truth (if she ‘laughed within’, managing to suppress her laugh, has she still laughed? (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.)
At face value this seems a pretty clear cut case of lying – yet god does not administer any form of divine retribution. Why does Sarah get no punishment? Could it be because it was in some way excusable? If so what would make it so? Sarah lies because she was yirah – in fear, or struck with awe – Can we be so overwhelmed that we lie without intending to? (it just slips out?).
The discussion plan explores lying and the texts that come after explore lies that seem to be good lies. Could Sarah’s lie be of this sort, If so, how would we have to understand the situation she was in?
1. Does ‘lying’ have more than one meaning? 2. Can you say something that is false without it being a lie? 3. Are there different sorts of lies? 4. What is the difference between them? Are they equally wrong/right? 5. Is exaggeration a form of lying? 6. Can you lie without meaning to? 7. Can you tell the truth without meaning to? 8. If your lie turns out to be the truth have you still lied? 9. What are some of the likely consequences of lying? 10. Is lying ever justified?
The text tells us that when Sarah gave birth to Yitzak she was 95 years old. Even if Biblical years are calculated differently, the story tells us she was past childbearing years, and of a ripe old age. Is this, then, a Miracle? If so, what kind of miraculous event is this? Use the resources on Miracles in Parshat Shemot to explore this (and yes I know we need some sources from women here – just having trouble finding some so if you do…..
Note, that the sources are for primary and high school – so pick ones appropriate to your age class if you take up this topic.
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?
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