Temple Solel Religious School Third Grade Concepts
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Temple Solel Religious School Third Grade Concepts Creation (Child’s Bible, Behrman House – Creation) God created the sky and the earth. The earth had no shape. It was empty. Darkness was over the deep. The breath of God floated over the water. On the first day God created the light and called it day and God called the darkness night. On the second day God divided the waters and created a space. On the third day God made dry land appear and flowers and plants grow. On the fourth day God created the sun, moon and stars. On the fifth day God made fish and birds and on the sixth day God created all the animals and people. On the seventh day God rested from all the work and God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Creation is an ongoing process The Sabbath is an important part of Creation Creation consists of bringing order to chaos God wants people to look for ways to take care of all living things The world God created is intended to be a good place God is always with us In Creation, God brought order to chaos, light to darkness, and goodness in the world. Adam and Eve (Child’s Bible, Behrman House – In the Garden) God planted a Garden in Eden and put Adam there. In the middle of the Garden was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam not to eat from this tree. God made Adam sleep in a deep sleep and he took one of his ribs and made a woman. The snake was sneaky and he manipulated the woman into eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam also ate the fruit from this tree. Then, the eyes of Adam and Eve were open and, being afraid of God, they hid. They told God that the snake had tricked them. God cursed the snake and told him to eat dust for the rest of his life. God sent Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden to farm the soil from which they were shaped. It is not good for people to be alone. God loves all of Creation. Human beings have free will. We must take responsibility for our actions. Cain and Abel (Child’s Bible, Behrman House – The Terrible Crime) Adam and Eve had two sons, first Cain then Abel. Abel became a shepherd and Cain farmed the soil. Once, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as a gift for God while Abel brought the best, first born of his flock as his gift. God accepted Abel's gift but not Cain's offering. Cain was very angry and his anger grew and grew. While they were in the field Cain started fighting with Abel and he killed him. When God found out what Cain had done he condemned him to a life of wandering the earth. God, however, put a mark on Cain so whoever met him would know not to kill him. Cain began his wandering. God wants us to give our best efforts. Good choices lead to good results. Bad choices lead to bad results. We are responsible for each other. God wants us to live, even if our actions are wrong. Noah (Child’s Bible, Behrman House - Noah and the Flood) Noah was a good and righteous man who walked with God. God saw that the people did a lot of evil on the earth and his heart was pained. He told Noah to build an ark, as he was bringing a flood on the earth. Noah and family, as well as every kind of living thing (in twos) came to the Ark. Then, God shut them in and seven days later the waters of the flood covered the earth. The rain fell for 40 days and nights. The waters rose for 150 days. Then God remembered Noah and the waters went down. The Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah first sent out a raven and then a dove to see if there was still water on the face of the soil, but the dove did not land. Seven days later, when the dove returned there were olive leaves in her beak and Noah knew that the water had gone down. After another seven days, the dove was sent out again but she did not return. Soon the earth was dry. Noah, his family, and all living things emerged from the Ark and God blessed Noah and his sons. God said that the rainbow would be a sign of the covenant between Him and the earth. Noah was a righteous man in his time. There are many things we can do to be righteous people today. Some of the righteous things we can do are to visit the sick, feed the hungry and speak kindly to our friends and family. Jewish symbols such as the following help us remember Jewish teachings: a rainbow, a mezuzah, a menorah, and the Star of David. Tower of Babel (Child’s Bible, Behrman House - A Tower to the Sky) All the people on earth had one language. Everyone lived together in a land called Shinar. The people decided to build a city with a tower with its top to the sky. The tower would keep them from being scattered all over the earth. When God saw what the people were doing, God babbled their language so that they would not understand each other. They stopped building the city and God scattered them all over the earth. That is why the city is called Babel; because in Babel, G-d babbled all the languages. It is wrong to think that all humans should be one and the same. In truth, God is One and Unique, while we are many and different. God makes each of us special, so every person is important. Every person has something special to offer the world. “Looking down” on people is always a mistake. God wants us to remember what is really important. Bricks can never be more important than people. That is what the builders in the Tower of Babel story forgot, and that is what we must always remember. Abram (Child’s Bible, Behrman House - Abram Walks With God) Abram and his wife, Sarai, lived in Canaan. Abram was very rich in herds, in silver, and in gold. Lot, Abram’s nephew, also owned sheep, oxen and tents. The land would not support both of them living together, so Abram, in order to avoid conflict, told Lot to take whatever part of the land he desired. Lot saw the banks of the Jordan River, which was a rich land with much water, and he chose this land, the Jordan Plain. Abram lived in Canaan and Lot lived near the City of Sodom. Growing up involves choosing the right path. Families should live at peace – in Hebrew, shalom bayit. The Jewish people derive strength from unity. Sodom and Gomorrah (Child’s Bible, Behrman House - The Sad Tale of Sodom) Abram and his wife had no children. When Abram was ninety years old, God told Abram to walk in God’s ways and God will make a covenant between God and Abram. Abram’s new name will be Abraham and Sarai’s new name will be Sarah. God will give Abraham and Sarah a son. One day, Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent. Three strangers passed the tent. Abraham invited them in and gave them food and water. Later, God told Abraham that the people living in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were so evil that he was going to destroy them. Abraham argued with God and asked if he would destroy good people with evil people. God said that if he found fifty innocent people he would not destroy the cities. Abraham eventually bargained down to ten innocent people but God could not find even ten innocent people in Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his family were good so God told them to run away and to not look back. Lot took his two daughters and his wife and they ran, but as they reached the top of the hill, Lot’s wife looked back. She turned into a pillar of salt. But Lot and his daughters were saved. Welcoming strangers (hachnasat orchim) is a Jewish value. God provides us a chance to repent when we “miss the mark.” A good person earns the right to argue even with God. There is always a righteous element, even in our tough world. Because of that, humanity has survived. Abraham and Isaac (Child’s Bible, Behrman House - Abraham’s Gift to God) God remembered Sarah and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. When Isaac was grown, God told Abraham to take Isaac to the land of Moriah and to use him as a sacrifice. Abraham and Isaac climbed up Mount Moriah and when they arrived at the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood and bound Isaac and he picked up the knife to kill his son. God intervened and told Abraham to spare Isaac’s life, as by his actions, Abram had demonstrated his intense love and faith in God. Abraham sacrificed a ram as an offering and called the place “Adonai Yireh”, as it is said, “On the mountain of God there is vision.” G-d wants human beings to live, not die.