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Torah Lesson 3 Parashat Sh'mini: Kashrut— Holy Eating

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Torah Lesson 3 Parashat Sh'mini: Kashrut— Holy Eating Torah Lesson 3 Parashat Sh’mini: Kashrut— Holy Eating INTRODUCTION This lesson is an introduction to the mitzvah/commandment of keeping kosher as found in Vayikra/Leviticus 11:1–23. There are three essential ideas that the students are to take away from this lesson. The first part of the lesson will help the students to gain an understanding of what foods are permissible and what foods are forbidden to eat according to the laws found in Leviticus. Additionally, there is men- tion of Deuteronomy 14:21, which deals with the idea of not mixing milk and meat. This section is not meant to give the students an exhaustive understanding of the laws of kashrut/keeping kosher. There is much more to keeping kosher than what is found in this lesson, but this lesson will provide an intro- duction to the basics. For a family education lesson on applying informed choice to kashrut, see the les- son “Informed Choice” in CHAI Jewish Family Education: Jewish Living (Vol. 2). The second idea of the lesson deals with the Reform Jewish perception of the mitzvot/commandments as a vehicle for becoming closer to God. We need to examine different mitzvot to determine if observing these commandments will help us feel closer to God. The laws of kashrut fall into this category. Mark Washofsky, in his book Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice, says: There are any number of compelling “reasons” that might motivate a Reform Jew to adopt kashrut. Some of these are: 1) identification with the contemporary and historical Jewish reli- gious experience; 2) the authority of the religious tradition itself, both biblical and rabbinic; 3) a desire to have a home in which any Jew might feel free to eat; 4) a desire to place limits upon one’s diet as an expression of ethical responsibility toward nature. (p. 184) The third concept is that we need to be thankful to God for the food that we eat. By keeping kosher and saying blessings, we are continually reminded that having food is a blessing and a gift from God. ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS • Torah is an ongoing dialogue between the text and its students. • Torah is real in our daily lives; it is with us wherever we are. • Developing the skills to study Torah is essential to integrating Torah into our lives. • The laws and rules found in the Torah can help us to live lives filled with holy moments. 21 22 Torah Lesson 3 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS 1. What does the Torah have to say to me and to my world? 2. Why is the Torah different from other books? 3. How can Torah study help me in my everyday life? 4. How can understanding and observing the rules and laws found in the Torah make my life more holy/kadosh? QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED 1. What are the laws of kashrut? 2. Why should I study and follow the mitzvah/commandment of kashrut? 3. How might the mitzvah of kashrut add holiness to my life? EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING • Students will be able to list foods that are permissible to eat and forbidden to eat based on the laws stated in Leviticus 11:1–23. • Students will be able to explain that eating is a holy action. There are different things Jews do to remind themselves of that. Two ways are by blessing the foods we eat and by following the laws of kashrut. • Students will be able to create a menu using the laws of kashrut examined in this lesson. • Students will be able to explain why we, as Reform Jews, need to consider the laws of kashrut, and other mitzvot/commandments. • Students will be able to discuss the idea that we have blessings and a dietary system that remind us to be grateful for the foods we have to eat, and that God has provided this food for us. LESSON OVERVIEW • Set Induction (10 minutes) • Chevruta Text Study (20 minutes) • The Great B’rachah Hunt (20 minutes) • Letter to the Board of Trustees (optional; 10 minutes) • Conclusion (10 minutes) CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Parashat Sh’mini: Kashrut—Holy Eating 23 MATERIALS NEEDED • Chalkboard and chalk or white board and markers or chart paper and markers • Copies of The Laws of Kashrut as Found in Leviticus 11:1–23 (page 28) • Copies of Deuteronomy 14:21 text (page 33) • Copies of permissible and forbidden foods worksheet (page 34) • Copies of animal list (page 29) • Pencils or pens • Magazines and/or newspapers with pictures of foods • Scissors • Glue or glue sticks • Menu worksheet (page 31) • Lined paper • Letter to parents (page 30) READING RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS Dresner, Samuel, and Seymour Siegel. The Jewish Dietary Laws: Their Meaning for Our Time. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 1982. Siegel, Richard, Michael Strassfeld, and Sharon Strassfeld, eds. The First Jewish Catalog. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1974. Washofsky, Mark. Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice. New York: UAHC Press, 2001. LESSON VOCABULARY ,UrJF The system of dietary laws for Jews. kashrut r¥JF Fit or suitable according to the laws of kashrut. kosher v²um¦n Commandment from God. mitzvah ,«uum¦n Commandments from God (plural of mitzvah). mitzvot 24 Torah Lesson 3 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life LESSON PLAN SET INDUCTION (10 MINUTES) 1. Ask the students to list some of the foods their parents do not allow them to eat. After you have made a list, ask them why they are not allowed to eat those foods. Answers may include: • These foods are not healthy; they are “junk” foods. • Food allergies. • They are vegetarians and are not permitted to eat meat. 2. Then ask the students to make a list of foods that their parents encourage them to eat. Ask why these foods are encouraged. A list might include: • These are healthy foods. • These are easy for my parents to prepare. • These are the foods that everyone in my family is willing to eat. LEARNING ACTIVITIES Chevruta Text Study (20 minutes) 1. Break the students up into chevruta (partners or small groups). They should remember this way of studying with a partner from the last lesson. Give each chevruta a copy of page 28 (The Laws of Kashrut as Found in Leviticus 11:1–23) and copies of the list of animals (page 29) and of the work- sheet of permitted and forbidden foods (page 34). Each chevruta is to look at the text and then look at the list of animals to complete the worksheet of permitted and forbidden foods. Note that some of the rules are explained, but the birds are just listed, with no rules given. It is thought that the birds of prey are not permitted, but that is an extrapolation—it is not found in the text. After they have com- pleted the task, make a class list on chart paper by having the students share their answers. Then ask the students: “Why do you think God gave us these rules?” You will get a variety of answers, includ- ing “I don’t know.” You might want to offer the following ideas: • Think back to the last lesson about korban/offerings. We learned that giving a gift to God can bring us closer to God. • Another possible way to become close to God is by how we act, like following God’s mitzvot/com- mandments. 2. Using the ideas generated above, tell the students to again work with their chevruta partners and list reasons why we should study and perhaps follow the laws of kashrut. Have each pair share their answers. Here are some possible responses: • If we think about what foods we can and cannot eat, then we need to consider everything we eat before we eat it. CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Parashat Sh’mini: Kashrut—Holy Eating 25 • Thinking about the food we eat might help us to be more grateful for it. • We acknowledge that God is providing us with the food we have. 3. At some point in the discussion, you might want to mention the reasons why we as Reform Jews need to study the laws of kashrut and to go into a little more depth: • As Reform Jews, we believe that following God’s commandments can bring us closer to God. It is our responsibility as Reform Jews to learn about different mitzvot. After learning about a mitzvah/ commandment we then need to decide if we think that following the mitzvah/commandment will help us feel closer to God or bring some holiness into our lives. • The reasons for doing some mitzvot are easy to understand. Other mitzvot are more difficult to understand and to practice. • Keeping kosher involves a lot more than the rules from the list we made here today. For example, in D’varim/Deuteronomy 14:21 it says: “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” Today that means that if we keep kosher we do not eat dairy products and meat at the same time. (Examples: no cheeseburger, no cheese on meatballs, no hot dog with milk to drink, etc.) The Great B’rachah Hunt (20 minutes) 1. Explain to the students that there are other things that Jews do to think about the foods they eat. For example, we have many blessings. Ask the students: Do you know any blessings for foods? After the students have given you the blessings that they know, ask them to turn to page 8 in their workbooks. Explain to the students that they should hunt through magazines and newspapers to find at least two pictures of foods that belong under each blessing.
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