Torah Theatre - Vayeshev - Joseph and His Brothers

The final Portions in the Book of B'reishit tell the dramatic story of Joseph. The range of emotions expressed and the intensity of the action make these Portions ideally suited to classroom theatre. The following activity is designed to help students understand the feelings of Joseph's brothers in the Portion, Vayeshev. (Students may work in small groups.)

Make a pipe cleaner figure for each group of students. Dress one figure in striped cloth. This will be Joseph. Dress the other figures in plain cloth or brown paper. These will be some of Joseph's brothers. Put each figure in a paper lunch bag or an envelope. Let each group of students choose a bag or an envelope.

Now for the theatrical part - with you, the teacher, as the director. Give lots of positive attention to the group that has the Joseph figure. Call on them to answer questions about the Portion. Give the Joseph group candy treats and keep mentioning how clever and outstanding they are. Pay scant attention to the groups that have the brother figures. Don't give them treats and or positive reinforcement.
Assign a short worksheet and have the Joseph group check on the brother groups and report back to you regarding the brother groups' work.

Provide the Joseph group with a copy of Chapter 37, Verses 4-11 of Vayeshev. Ask them to read Joseph's dreams out loud in a boastful manner. Praise the readers and require the brother groups to listen attentively.

At this point, end the exercise and ask the brother groups to describe what has been happening. Ask how they feel toward the Joseph group. Ask all of the students to explain how the exercise is related to Vayeshev.

Praise all of the students for participating in Torah Theatre.

Words of Wisdom - Vayeshev

Cue the orchestra! Curtain going up! This week's Torah Portion, Vayeshev, has all the drama and action of a Broadway production. In fact, Vayeshev and the following two Torah Portions, Miketz and Vayigash were the basis for the Broadway musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat." Andrew Lloyd Webber's music and Tim Rice's lyrics tell the tale of Joseph's fall and rise - from the pit to Pharaoh's favorite. Prophetic dreams, sibling rivalry, tragedy, seduction (?), prison - the Torah tells it all in Vayeshev. Vayeshev describes Joseph's boastful dreams which anger his brothers. The brothers throw Joseph into a pit and then decide to sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelites traveling to Egypt. In Egypt, Joseph becomes household manager for Potiphar. Joseph prospers until he spurns the advances of Potiphar's wife. The scorned Mrs. Potiphar falsely accuses Joseph of taking advantage of her. Joseph ends up in prison where he accurately interprets the dreams of two fellow prisoners. What a plot!

As they say on HBO, "Only three more episodes left." In the next three weeks, we'll read more about Joseph and his family in the final dramatic Portions of the Book of B'reishit. Stay tuned!

Words of Wisdom for Vayeshev come from Tim Rice's lyrics to the song, "Joseph's Dreams," from the musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat."
Joseph: "I dreamed that in the fields one day
The corn gave me a sign
Your eleven sheaves of corn
All turned and bowed to mine
My sheaf was quite a sight to see,
A golden sheaf and tall
Yours were green and second-rate
And really rather small"

Brothers: "This is not the kind of thing
We brothers like to hear
It seems to us that Joseph and his
Dreams should disappear"

But, seriously, folks -
In A Torah Commentary for Our Times, Harvey J. Fields presents several interpretations of the relationship between Joseph and his brothers and provides this summary comment:
"So what went wrong between Joseph and his brothers? Our interpreters offer several considerations: (1) Joseph's arrogance, his vanity, his self-centeredness, his lies about his brothers, his foolish declarations of superiority over his family; (2) Jacob's favoritism of one son over another; and (3) the brothers' isolation of Joseph, their insensitive treatment of a fearful and lonely young boy. Could it be that all these factors combined to spell tragedy for Jacob and his sons?"

Shabbat Shalom - Rest and Renew

A.V.I. - The Super Game

A.V.I. (Age-Value-Items) is an absolute must-have in your repertoire of learning games. A.V.I. can be played by 2 to 20 players (or more). It is suitable for ages 12 to adult. Once the materials are prepared, they may be used over and over. A.V.I. is a game of infinite possibilities. It can be used in a variety of formal and informal educational settings - classrooms, youth groups, madrichim training, teacher training, parent education, adult education.

MATERIALS for a group of up to 10 individual players or 20 players playing in pairs:
slips of paper in three different colors
three manila envelopes

PREPARATION:
Label the first envelope "Age." On each of 10 slips of paper of one color, write a different age or age group.
Examples - 4th graders, 2-year olds, kindergarten, senior adults, parents of B'nai Mitzvah students, college freshmen, etc.

Label the second envelope "Value." On each of 10 slips of paper of a second color, write a different Jewish Value (think Mitzvot and the Ten Commandments).
Examples - welcoming visitors, not stealing, repairing the world (Tikun Olam), observing Shabbat, honoring parents, preserving the earth, giving Tzedakah, etc.

Label the third envelope "Items." You will need 50 items for 10 individual players or 10 pairs of players. "Items" can be almost any object or activity. Give free rein to your imagination. Write each of the 50 items on slips of paper of a third color.
Examples - a pizza box, an Elmo puppet, an Etrog, plastic dinosaurs, marbles, a rainbow, a hike in the woods, a diamond, safety pins, planting a garden, a ball of yarn, a deck of cards, a trip to the zoo, a can of Kosher chicken soup, etc.
(Brainstorming the 50 items is a fun group project.)

DIRECTIONS:
Pass the envelopes to each player or pair of players, who select one slip (sight unseen) from the "Age" envelope, one slip from the "Value" envelope, and 5 slips from the "Items" envelope. The object of the game is for each player or pair of players to design a way to teach the Jewish value selected, to the age group selected using the 5 items selected.
Set a time limit of 10-15 minutes.
Then, the players share their teaching designs, so that all can enjoy and learn from the variety of creative responses. It's helpful to have a moderator who directs the game, calls on each player or pair to share, and provides positive feedback.
At the end of the game , the moderator collects the slips of paper, sorts them by color, and returns them to the appropriate envelopes ready to be used again.

Our Director of Life Long Learning presented the A.V.I. game at our first faculty meeting. It was a marvelous ice breaker, team builder, and game model for future use. The teaching ideas generated were imaginative and resourceful. A.V.I. was an excellent way to get acquainted with our colleagues and to appreciate their ingenuity.

Now, it's your turn! Below are the slips which my partner and I pulled from the envelopes:
Age - preschool
Value - not bearing false witness
Items - barbed wire, aleph-bet magnet letters, thumbtacks, yellow tile squares, a 1969 box of matzah

Go for it!

Words of Wisdom for Shabbat - Va-Yishlach

This week's Torah Portion, Va-Yishlach continues the drama of Jacob's life, twenty years after his bitter parting with his brother, Esau. Jacob is now anxiously planning for what he hopes will be a chance to reconcile with Esau. On his journey to meet Esau, Jacob wrestles one whom the Torah calls "ish" (man), but whom some Torah commentators have identified as an angel or "man-angel." My students also expressed various ideas about who the stranger might be and sought clues in the illustrations which accompanied the information sheets that I gave them about Va-Yishlach. "This picture is definitely an angel." "No, here, the stranger looks human." "Maybe it was God." My students, in struggling to understand this mysterious event, are joining in the time honored tradition of Rabbis and scholars and truly engaging in the study of Torah.

Harvey J. Fields, author of A Torah Commentary for Our Times, offers this observation:
"So who was this 'man-angel' with whom Jacob wrestled? Perhaps a figment of his imagination. Perhaps it was Esau or Esau's angel in a dream. Perhaps it was meant to represent all the enemies who would arise to destroy the people of Jacob-Israel. Perhaps, the man-angel was Jacob, and the battle was between two sides of Jacob's character.

At times, the intent of the Torah is unclear. Great literature and art allow for many differing opinions and interpretations. Each person, and often each generation, uncovers new meanings. That, now, is our challenge with Jacob's mysterious night battle."

Shabbat Shalom Rest and Re-new

Shalom Kitah Gimel Students and Families #8

Wednesday's Kitah Gimel Hebrew class was packed with activities! After the Blessings for Torah Study and cookies, we began a series of exercises to practice, practice, practice using Hebrew vocabulary and sentence/question patterns. The words and patterns were those which needed review, according to students' responses on last week's Comprehensive Exercise. Students worked with picture cards to create sentences, especially those involving the possessive pattern which, in English, would be translated as "I have..." or "He/She has..."
Each table received a wrapped gift (lollypops) with a big bow to visually represent the hard-to-remember word, "matana" (gift).

Each student received a card with words which need extra review as indicated by the Comprehensive Exercise.
Students were also asked to use at least three Hebrew words in their daily conversation at home. Listen for such Hebrew words as "ima" (mother), "aba" (father), "bayit" (house), "m'il" (coat), and even "geshem" (rain). The more Hebrew vocabulary words are used, the easier it is to remember them. At our next class, students will share the words which they chose to use.

This week's Torah Portion, Va-Yishlach, tells of Jacob's journey to reconcile with his brother, Esau. On the way, Jacob has another mysterious encounter. Each table read a packet of information and commentary about Jacob's wrestling match with...well, that's the mystery! Did Jacob wrestle with a man, an angel, or perhaps, with God, as some students suggested? Even the various illustrations in the packet presented different images of the one with whom Jacob wrestled. Jacob received a Blessing from the mysterious "ish" (man), as the Torah calls the stranger who wrestled with Jacob and even injured Jacob's hip. In the Blessing, Jacob's name was changed to Israel which means "God Wrestler."

In preparation for the exciting Mitzvah Mall on Sunday, November 21, we learned the Hebrew words for such Mitzvot as Welcoming Visitors, Repairing the World, Preserving the Earth, and Studying Torah. We discusssed those figures in the Torah whose actions exemplified several of these Mitzvot.

In T'fila, our Director of Life Long Learning taught the students to sign the song, "Hinei Ma Tov." A Kitah Gimel student helped to lead the Prayers. Students chose "Sim Shalom" as the closing song and students from all three grades volunteered to lead the singing.
It's a special pleasure to see our students so confidently leading the "congregation" in song and prayer. Please join us for T'fila in the coming weeks.

Next Wednesday, November 24, there will be no Hebrew class due to Thanksgiving Vacation. Check out the bulletin board in the hallway of the Religious School wing for information on Thanksgiving from a Jewish perspective.
I am thankful for the opportunity to be teaching our students.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
L'hitraot - See you soon.
Morah Ronni

The Comprehensive Exercise: Positive Assessment

Last week, my Hebrew School students completed a "Comprehensive Exercise" on the first three chapters of our modern Hebrew textbook. "Comprehensive Exercise" - a rather ponderously vague phrase. Why not just say "test" or "exam"? Actually, I came up with "Comprehensive Exercise" in order to avoid using the words "test" or "exam." Taking a test implies the possibility of passing or failing, and that doesn't fit in with the concept of life long learning on which my Religious School's educational program (and my own view of Jewish Education) is based.

No student should ever be burdened with the notion that he/she failed Hebrew (or Prayers or Jewish History for that matter).
"No, I'm not interested in any Israel programs. I failed Hebrew." That's not what I as a Jewish Educator ever want to hear. Better to use a positive, non-threatening approach which leads a student to believe, "I know some Hebrew words and phrases and can learn lots more by spending time in Israel."

Life long Jewish learning suggests a process of skill development and increasing understanding over time. Over-emphasis on grading and assessment in the Hebrew School years can have a negative impact on a student's desire to engage in future Jewish learning.

I recognize the challenge for the teacher of providing a professional, meaningful program in a way that makes each student feel successful in their Jewish education. We strive to foster excellence, while encouraging improvement and offering support. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of substituting "Comprehensive Exercise" for "test."

So, how did my students "do" on the Comprehensive Exercise? Well, they had mastered some words and need more practice on others. In this week's class, I'm giving each student a card with a list of words they need to review at home. Those with longer lists will see that they need to put extra effort into their weekly home assignment.

In class, I'll re-teach, repeat, and offer students more practice saying the words and phrases they didn't remember. One word that caused many errors was "matana" ("gift). I plan to give each table of students a gift-wrapped bunch of lolly-pops. They'll have a chance to say, "Todah la'matana." ("Thank you for the gift.') and "Hinei matana." ("Here is a gift.") and "L'shulchan aleph yeish matana." ("Table aleph has a gift."), etc.
Sometimes life long learning is better served by a treat than a test grade!

In the grand scheme of Jewish learning, the Exodus from Egypt was a Test.
Matching up a few Hebrew and English words and translating some Hebrew sentences - that's a Comprehensive Exercise.

Words of Wisdom for Shabbat - Va-Yetze

In this week's Torah Portion, Va-Yetze, Jacob is on his way from Beersheba to Haran. He spends the night in a "place" and dreams of a ladder which reaches from the ground to heaven. Angels are going up and down on the ladder, and Jacob, in his dream, receives a message from God.

In his book, Honey from the Rock, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner comments on the role of human Messengers - Messengers who might be you, me , or anyone.

"The Hebrew word for angel is malach. Which also means messenger. One who is sent.

Not cherubic creatures who adorn architecture, valentines, and fantasy. They can be anyone who is sent. Just as anyone who is sent can be an angel. It is required only that there be an errand. One message.
One angel never performs two missions just as two angels never go on one mission. (Genesis Rabba 50:2)...

There is one great difference between people chosen to be God's messengers and earthly messengers. While those on errands of this world almost always know that they are sent and where and why, people chosen to be messengers of the Most High rarely even know that they are His messengers. Unsuspecting and unaware. Consumed by their own plans and itineraries. Busy at work on their own schemes. God is already sending them somewhere else.

I do not know how many times in one's life one is also a messenger. But for everyone it is at least once. One to whom it is given to know that their errand is completed is blessed and rare. Not so for most of us.

Remember only that you are not always going where you are going for the reasons you think you are."

Shabbat Shalom - Rest and renew.

Shalom Kitah Gimel Students and Families #7

Today, in Kitah Gimel, students led the Blessings for Torah Study and cookies. In place of our usual attendance conversation, students completed a "Comprehensive Exercise." This Comprehensive Exercise provided students with an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the vocabulary and language elements presented in Chapters One, Two, and Three of our text, Shalom Ivrit. As I correct the Comprehensive Exercises, I'll be making note of the words and concepts which students know and which we can build upon. I'll also be attentive to vocabulary and language areas which need further explanation and review.

Once students had completed the Comprehensive Exercise, they turned to the weekly Torah Portion, Va-Yetze. They read the section of Va-Yetze which describes Jacob's dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder which reached from the ground to the heavens. Students were asked to consider a question which the Rabbis posed in the Midrash (a collection of Torah-inspired stories): How is prayer like the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream...?
In their responses, students referred to concepts which the Cantor had discussed with them in T'fila, and developed their own personal interpretations as well. Here are several examples of their comments:
We "go high" as we begin the service and "descend" as the service concludes.
In entering God's presence, we take three steps forward and three steps back as we pray "Adonai S'fatai Tiftach..." "The angels are entering God's presence and then leaving."
"The angels are like messengers of God, sending God our prayers, then coming back down to reward us."

Mature responses to a challenging question!

We began Chapter Four in our modern Hebrew text and added six new vocabulary cards for review at home. As we progress, home review of vocabulary is very important in helping students to succeed at spoken Hebrew. The more familiar they are with the words, the more readily they can use these words in practicing speech patterns, and the more easily they can understand the modern Hebrew which they hear in class.
Chapter Four introduces additional words related to the family and adjectives.

In T'fila, students entered into the spirit of "ascending" and "descending" which they had described so nicely in interpreting Jacob's dream.

L'hitraot - See you soon
Morah Ronni

Museum -Inspired "Art-Start Bags"

Museums, which fulfill their missions to collect, display, and educate in such a variety of creative ways, are a great source of learning activity models.

During many extended visits to Israel, I returned to the country's outstanding museums again and again. The Ruth Youth Wing for Art Education at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem www.imj.org.il features classes and exhibits designed to engage young people.
On one of my visits, I spent time in a section of the Youth Wing known as the Recycling Workshop. In this space, containers of curious materials were available for individual artwork. The materials included a colorful array of remnants from manufacturing processes.
Bottle caps, cardboard shapes, plastic bits, game pieces, fabric scraps and more spilled out of bins tempting the visitor to "make and take." The walls of the room were filled with ingenious examples of "art" objects (some inspired by the Museum's collections) which had been crafted from the materials provided.
I took photos, made notes, filled a bag with recyclables and took away a treasure trove of ideas for future hands-on projects.

Whether you say "recycle," "re-use," "re-mix," "re-purpose," or (in Hebrew) "michzor," using materials that might otherwise be tossed out makes good sense - especially for Jewish educators whose budgets are often less than lavish.

One idea inspired by the Israel Museum's Youth Wing Recycling Workshop - "ART START BAGS."

To create ART START BAGS, first, gather an assortment of recyclables such as colored paper scraps, beads and buttons, plastic baby food containers, fabric scraps, yarn, wallpaper pieces, ribbon, small jewelry boxes, words and phrases and pictures cut from used books and magazines,stickers, etc.
Religious School art teachers and friends who sew, make scrapbooks, and design other crafts may have project scraps to share.
Home decorating stores may have outdated fabric and wallpaper sample books to give away. (I recently found a bunch of colorful, textured fabric squares which a store had piled on the sidewalk with a sign saying, "Free!").

Next, fill sandwich or quart-sized plastic zip-top bags with an assortment of the items you've collected. This step could be a class, school, or youth group activity. Enclose a list of suggested projects which make use of the recyclable items. Include projects which students suggest. On the filled bags, stick labels that say, "ART START BAG" or (in Hebrew) "SAKIT L'OMANUT."

Then, give out the bags as the basis for a class art project (Torah Portion collage, Holiday greeting cards, bookmarks) or as a Family Education activity such as a design-your- own- Hanukkiyah contest. Provide scissors, glue, and blank sheets of paper (recycled office paper, perhaps?) to enhance the possibilities.
As a mini-fundraiser, sell ART START BAGS for twenty-five or fifty cents as part of a children's "Creation Station" at a synagogue event such as a Purim Carnival.
Suggest ART START BAGS as a combination birthday party favor and party project - a better buy than plastic trinkets from the party store!

ART START BAGS - a museum-inspired way to encourage creativity, add to your school's tzedakah funds, perform the Mitzvah of "Bal Tash'chit" (preserving the earth), and have fun!

Words of Wisdom for Shabbat - Toldot

In Hebrew class, my students plotted, wrapped their hands in "fur," shuddered and howled, as they dramatized the actions of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau in this week's Torah Portion, Toldot. After re-enacting the story of Rebekah's and Jacob's plot to trick Isaac into giving his blessing to Jacob, rather than to his first-born son, Esau, they voiced some of the questions that Toldot raises.
"Why was Rebekah so determined to have Jacob rather than Esau receive Isaac's blessing?"
"How could God allow such devious and dubious behavior on the part of three of our Ancestors whom we honor in the Avot V'Imahot Prayer?"

Responses to such difficult questions may be found in the commentary which accompanies the Torah Text. The following are selections from the "Gleanings" commentary section following Toldot in The Torah - A Modern Commentary; W. Gunther Plaut, General Editor.
The Torah - A Modern Commentary was published by the Union for Reform Judaism Press (2005).

"The Dilemma of Divine Choice"
" Apparently even God must select imperfect instruments to fulfill His purposes. He must choose between Jacob - a man who desires the birthright so deeply he will cheat to secure it - and Esau who so lightly esteems it that he forfeits the birthright for a bowl of lentils. Jacob's calculated cunning must be weighed against Esau's undisciplined craving for immediate self-gratification. Working with 'human material' involved God in a difficult but inescapable choice, and God decides: It is better to care too much than too little."
SAMUEL E. KARFF

"The Voice of Jacob"
"When Isaac said, 'The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau' (27:22), he spoke prophetically. 'The voice of Jacob' means learning and truth; 'the hands of Esau' means force and violence. As long as the voice of Jacob is heard in the houses of prayer and learning, the hands of Esau will not prevail against him."
MIDRASH

Shabbat Shalom Rest and Re-new

Shalom Kitah Gimel Students and Families #6

Lies, deception, thievery, murderous rage - among members of a prominent Jewish family. The latest reality show? NO! It's the weekly Torah Portion, Toldot!
After reciting our opening Brachot, we turned immediately to Toldot. Students read (in English) the account of Esau selling his Birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup. We discussed the meaning of "birthright" in ancient societies and each student received a recipe for Israeli lentil soup.

Students then read pages from Toldot in the Torah Commentary which told of Jacob's and Rebekah's plan to trick Isaac into giving his dying blessing to Jacob rather than to his first-born son, Esau. Students performed a "hatzaga," a dramatic reading of this section of Toldot. Each table group played a different "character" in the story. We even added some faux fur as a prop. (Why fur? Ask your students to explain the role of fur in Toldot.)

Students recognized that in Toldot, God (Adonai) allowed some negative aspects of human behavior to control events. Toldot raises a number of thought-provoking questions. One student asked why Rebekah was so determined to have Jacob, not Esau receive Isaac's blessing. Answers included the suggestion that this was Rebekah's way of asserting feminine power at a time when women had few rights. Another student observed that Jacob was Rebekah's "favorite."
Thoughtful responses to an excellent question - a fine example of the interactive process of Torah Study.

From the intrigue of our Ancestors, to the intricacies of modern Hebrew language - Next week students will demonstrate their knowledge by completing a Comprehensive Exercise on the vocabulary words and language elements in chapters one, two, and three in our textbook, Shalom Ivrit. No new vocabulary words were added. Students are asked to review, at home, the vocabulary cards they've already made.
We practiced using vocabulary in several sentence patterns. Students were able to recall and use a large number of words.

Since we had not done the attendance procedure at the beginning of class, we did so at the end. Without using the reference sheets, students were able to ask and answer in Hebrew the now familiar attendance questions.

In T'fila, the Cantor discussed the prayers of Creation, Revelation, and Redemption which surround the Sh'ma and called students' attention to several English translations which beautifully express the meanings of the prayers. Students sang one of the many lively versions of Mi Chamocha. Kitah Gimel students, along with other sixth graders were asked to sit among the fourth graders in order to asssist the younger students in following along with and reading the prayers.
Please enjoy T'fila together with our students. It is a very meaningful way to conclude each Hebrew School session.

L'Hitraot - see you soon,
Morah Ronni

Highly Recommended - URJ Webinar "Differentiating Instruction"

Once , participation in a professional development workshop meant traveling - to a synagogue, JCC, or conference center. No more! Professional development opportunities are available on-line in the form of webinars. I recently participated in an excellent webinar presented by the Congregational Consulting Group of the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism).

This particular webinar centered on the concept of "Differentiating Instruction," defined as "creating multiple paths so that students of different abilities, interests, or learning needs can experience success in the classroom." The webinar described practical, easily implemented ways to modify lessons in the skill areas of reading, writing, art, and cooperative learning. The suggested modifications shared the common goals of ensuring that Religious School is a positive experience and that each student feels personally successful at Jewish learning. As stated in the webinar, "A great teacher is one who can meet the needs of each student whether gifted or challenged." The information presented in the "Differentiating Instruction" webinar clearly supports our efforts to achieve such "greatness" in the classsroom. You will certainly find this webinar relevant and insightful.

To view the "Differentiating Instruction" power point presentation, go to
http://urj.org/learning/meetings/webinars/archive/?syspage=document&item_id=49740

To view the power point and to hear the accompanying audio presentation by Dr. Alan Levin, go to
http://media.urj.org/webinars/DifferentiatingInstruction9-20.wmv;
http://media.urj.org/webinars/DifferentiatingInstruction2.wmv

It's important to note that the actual webinar set-up allowed individual participants to ask questions, make comments, and receive responses from the webinar presenters. At the end of the webinar, participants were invited to e-mail additional comments and questions to the presenters. I did so and received extremely helpful responses.

Kol HaKavod to Dr. Alan Levin, Joan Carr, Marlene Myerson, and Deborah Niederman, the URJ Education Specialists who developed this very worthwhile presentation.

Teachers, parents, and congregants will find useful resources for Torah Study, Holiday celebrations, Israel programs, and more on the Union for Reform Judaism website http://www.urj.org/