Dear Devorah and Eliya The Project: In honor of Yud Tes Kislev we will be having a special pro- ject on the story of Yud Tes Kislev. The class is divided into groups of 2. Requirements: Each group is receiving a different part of the Yud tes Kislev story. Your job is to present this story to the class. It can be done in any way; video, play, skit, newspaper, powerpoint etc… BE CREATIVE! Your presentation should take at least 5-6 minutes not more than 10 minutes. Project Due: You have till next Monday, Yud Alef Kislev. Even though you may not be presenting it at that date please make sure to have it ready by then. Points You can receive up to 15 prize points. Points will depend on A. Nice group work B. How well the story was presented C. Creativity D. Timing Good Luck!! Introduction: Just over 300 years ago, most Jews lived very hard lives. They were poor- so poor they barely had enough food to feed their families. They were afraid - scared of the powerful goyim who ruled over them. They were sad- sad that they didn't know how to learn Torah…for most Jews were simple innkeepers or wagon drivers or store own- ers, not great Torah scholars. Then along came the Baal Shem Tov who lifted the spirits of the poor, frightened, and upset Jewish people. "Yidden," he told them, "you are precious to Hashem. When you serve Him with joy you can accomplish great things!"What wonderful news! Even a Jew who only knew a little bit of davening and Tehillim suddenly felt happy and excited about doing Mitzvos. But some great Torah scholars were worried. Did simple Jews now think that To- rah learning wasn't important? Would they lose their respect for the great rabbis and teachers who studied Torah day and night? Would these new ideas be good or bad for the Jewish people? bad and dangerous. As the Baal Shem Tov's ideas passed down to the Maggid of Mezritch and on to the Alter Rebbe, more and more people could see that they were very good. But some people, called Misnagdim - which means oppo- nents -,didn't want to give it a chance. They felt that any change was They felt that followers of the Alter Rebbe, called Chassidim "pious ones" and the Rebbe himself had to be stopped. A fierce battle started against Chassidism. This battle was at the beginning just in the form of sharp words and threats between the Misnag- dim and Chassidim. It had nothing to do with the Governments of the countries in which they lived. The Misnagdim felt that the Alter Rebbe and his teachings of Chassidus should be stopped. They felt he'd be better off in jail than leading his Chassidim. So, The Misnagdim told the Russian government bad things about the Al- ter Rebbe that weren't even true. When the Alter Rebbe was a young man, he and R. Mendel of Vitebsk, who were two famous Chassidim of the Maggid, wanted to end this dis- agreement. They tried to meet the Vilna Gaon, a very learned Torah scholar who was the leader of the Misnagdim. They wanted to explain the teach- ings of Chassidus to him and show him how won- derful it is. But the Gaon wouldn’t meet with them. The Russian Government believed all the bad things they heard about the Alter Rebbe. During Chol Hamoed Succos, an officer and a group of armed soldiers arrived in Liozna. They had orders to arrest the Alter Rebbe and to take him to jail in Peterburg. The Rebbe wanted a few moments alone and secretly left the house through the back door, to think about it in the field. .