Curriculum: Creating Together
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Global Day of Jewish Learning Curriculum: Creating Together A Project of the Aleph Society The Global Day of Jewish Learning A project of the Aleph Society © 2013 by The Aleph Society All Rights Reserved 25 West 45th Street, Suite 1405 New York, New York 10036 212.840.1166 www.steinsaltz.org www.theglobalday.com DEDIcatION www.theglobalday.com “ Grandchildren are the crown of their elders, and the glory of children is their parents.” – Proverbs 17:6 In honor of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren: their lives burnish the glory of those who perished in the Shoah. For my parents, Benjamin and Charlotte Gottesfeld z”l, these children are the greatest reward… o Chana Hanina o Galia Hanina The Global Day of Jewish Learning o Sarah Rose Warren o Joseph Nathan Warren A project of the Aleph Society Children of Shira and Steve Stein © 2013 by The Aleph Society o Simcha Meir All Rights Reserved o Tamara Yocheved 25 West 45th Street, Suite 1405 o Eliyahu Aryeh New York, New York 10036 o Eitan Yosef 212.840.1166 Children of Aliza and Zev Ganz www.steinsaltz.org www.theglobalday.com o Shmuel Yoel o Atara Rina o Daniel Yomtov o Yosef Children of Tamar and Josh Heller o Yakira Eliyana o Gavriella Talia o Yehuda Meir Children of Laura and Adam Hanina o Samuel Azriel o Charlotte Eliora And in tribute to Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, whose work has opened the doors of Jewish learning to our generation and those to come. – Fanya Gottesfeld Heller TABLE OF CONTENTS www.theglobalday.com Curriculum 2013: Creating Together Overview ...................................................................iv–ix 6. Bezalel’s Creativity: Art as an Expression of the Divine FOR ADUlt PARTICIpaNTS God chooses Bezalel to build the sanctuary in the desert 1. Creating Friendship: Acquire for Yourself a Friend because he was filled with “the spirit of God.” In this What is the essence of friendship? Can true friendship session, we will explore God’s role as creator and its ever be consistently one-sided? This session explores implications for humankind, as we are created “in the friendships in the Bible, the Talmud and the ancient world. image of God.” Can an appreciation for artistic creativity How do we learn to trust another person? What must we bring us closer to the divine? How can art be used as a do to earn friendship? medium for spiritual development? o Facilitator’s Guide ...................................................... 1 o Facilitator’s Guide .................................................... 47 o Sourcesheet for Participants ...................................... 8 o Sourcesheet for Participants .................................... 54 2. Creating the Amidah: How our Defining Prayer FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ELEMENtaRY Came into Being SCHOOL PARTICIpaNTS This session begins with stories of the origin of the Amidah Creating Together: Fear and Splendor (Middle School) (silent standing prayer) and explores the communal and In this session we will explore the building of the Golden personal significance of prayer. Can a prayer be created by Calf and the building of the Sanctuary (mishkan). We will committee or must it be the result of individual expression? highlight the power of working together and understand Can one person speak for all Jews? that collaboration can yield both wonderful and terrible o Facilitator’s Guide .................................................... 12 results. Together, we will make our own group project. o Sourcesheet for Participants .................................... 19 o Facilitator’s Guide .................................................... 58 o Sourcesheet for Students ........................................ 63 3. Creation and Creativity In this class we look at the structure and creativity in Creating the World (Elementary School) God’s creation of the world along with humankind’s The book of Genesis outlines the way that God created responsibility to the world. We are not only care givers the world. In this session, we will explore the world God but we are partners in creating and sustaining the planet. created while also looking into the smaller worlds that o Facilitator’s Guide .................................................... 22 each and every one of us creates. o Sourcesheet for Participants .................................... 27 o Facilitator’s Guide .................................................... 64 o Sourcesheet and Worksheet for Students ............... 68 4. Creativity and Torah Study Does commitment to a tradition curtail individuality? Do FOR EARly CHILDHOOD: rules and structure inhibit individual expression? This PJ LIBRARY PROGRAMMING UNITS session asks whether religion is the enemy of innovation. Creating Intergenerational Community Together Is it ever possible for rules to encourage creativity? What Introduction and Three Book-Based Intergenerational frameworks foster creativity? Family Programs ......................................................... 73 o Facilitator’s Guide .................................................... 31 o Say Hello, Lily o Sourcesheet for Participants .................................... 36 o Red, Blue, and Yellow Yarn o Rise and Shine: A Challah Day Tale 5. Creating Shabbat: Rest as a Creative Act The Torah tells us that God rests when the six days of Supplemental Readings ........................................... 119 creation are completed. Thus, Shabbat is created. We have the chance to emulate God and shape the world as well, both by being creative and by instituting meaningful rest in our lives and our societies. Is it ever possible to be unplugged? o Facilitator’s Guide .................................................... 39 o Sourcesheet for Participants .................................... 44 I OVERVIEW Preface www.theglobalday.com Preface Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has laid down a challenge to Jews everywhere: “to take a step ahead in Jewish learning and commitment.” The Global Day of Jewish Learning is the collective response—a most successful one—by over 400 communities around the world. Initiated in 2010 to celebrate the completion of Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz’s monumental translation and commentary on the Talmud, the Global Day has quickly become an internationally recognized annual event. As the study of Torah is one of the few things that the entirety of our people can share, the Global Day is a day for all Jews to celebrate and cherish. The Global Day is the work of many hands, internationally and in communities large and small. We appreciate the work being done on the ground to organize events in synagogues, JCCs, Hillels, Federations, and other community organizations all around the world. The success of the Global Day is due to all of your collective efforts. Thank you. The Aleph Society, which spearheads the Global Day of Jewish Learning, is an affiliate of the Shefa Institute, which promotes the work of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. We are grateful to Rabbi Menachem Even-Israel, Shefa’s Executive Director, for his guidance and creativity. Several agencies and individuals were instrumental in the planning and outreach for the Global Day. Our deepest thanks go to our key international partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and our organizing partners the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. We are excited to again have JAFI’s Partnership2Gether join us as a community partner. We are grateful to our 20+ supporting partners, including the rabbinic bodies of all the denominations, for promoting the Global Day to their constituencies. This is truly a collaborative effort. Thank you to Dov Abramson (artist), Rabbi Yitzchak Blau, Erica Brown, Yaffa Epstein, Devorah Katz, and Sara Wolkenfeld for contributing pieces to this curriculum. And a special thank you to Devorah Katz for the dedication, passion, and creativity she brought to her role as Curriculum Editor. We greatly appreciate our special partnership with the PJ Library and its work to prepare this year’s early childhood family programming unit—Creating Intergenerational Community Together. We wish you a wonderful day of learning on Sunday, November 17th and hope that the study of “Creating Together” will inspire our creativity and further unite us. Margy-Ruth Davis and Karen Sponder The Aleph Society THE GLOBAL Day OF JEWISH LEARNING iv November 18, 2012 www.theglobalday.com OVERVIEW The Aleph Society and Rabbi Steinsaltz www.theglobalday.com Aleph Society’s Mission & Ventures The Aleph Society was founded in 1990 to further Rabbi Steinsaltz’s mission of “Let My People Know.” The Rabbi’s network of publishing ventures, scholarly work and schools span the globe. After completing a 45 volume Hebrew translation and commentary on the Talmud, he oversees translations of this masterwork into English, French, Russian and Spanish. He has written more than sixty other books that have been translated into a dozen languages. Over 1,000 youngsters—from kindergarten to those in post-army advanced studies—study in his Israeli institutions. All of the Rabbi’s affiliate organizations are under the umbrella of the Shefa Institute; its website, www.hashefa.com, offers a wealth of digital classes and lectures by the Rabbi and his colleagues. The American-based Aleph Society sponsors informal education programs that reach a world-wide audience. The Global Day of Jewish Learning, now in its fourth year, is celebrated in over 400 communities, from Singapore to San Francisco and from Dallas to Djerba. Many, many thousands of Jews join together