Advisor Copy. Welcome the NCSYers to your session. Feel free to try a quick icebreaker to learn their names.

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Merry Melton
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Advisor Copy Before we begin, I would like to highlight a few points: Goal: 1. It is VERY IMPORTANT for you as an educator to put your effort in and prepare this session well.

1 Advisor Copy Before we begin, I would like to highlight a few points: Goal: 1. It is VERY IMPORTANT for you as an educator to put your effort in and prepare this session well. If you don t prepare, it will show. Kids will be able to tell if you don t know what you re talking about. 2. The goal of this session is purposefully open-ended. By giving this session, we are not trying to get specific points across. The goal is to make the NCSYers think and ask questions. 3. That being said, there is a lot of material here. It s totally ok if you don t get through all of it. It s possible you get caught up on a discussion of one of the sources. That s just as good if not better than getting through all the sources. To help the NCSYers think about their freedom to choose between good and bad in life and to explore the negative effects of anger on that freedom. Content of the Session: II. Welcome the NCSYers to your session. Feel free to try a quick icebreaker to learn their names. A. Let s get right into the session: 1. Engage the NCSYers and ask them: Who here has seen Star Wars? Pick someone to give a short background of Star Wars (two sides, main characters, etc.). (30 Seconds) 2. Make sure to highlight the idea of the Force. That one can use the Force if they are sensitive to it. But once someone is able to use the Force, they can decide what to use it for. It s their choice whether to use it for the light side (good) or the dark side (evil). B. Now that we ve gotten a little background, let s see how the Torah can help us understand this on a deeper level. III. Pass out the source sheets and have an NCSYer read source 1. A. The pasuk that Rabbeinu Bachya is commenting on says that Hashem is placing before us Life and Good and Death and Evil. 1. Ask the NCSYers what they think it means that Hashem is placing these things before us. (Validate their answers! This will encourage them to continue participating.)

2 B. Rabbeinu Bachya explains that Hashem is letting us choose which path we want to follow. 1. He says that for people that choose Good and keep the Torah, the Torah will be a good thing for them. For those that choose Evil, the Torah will be a bad thing. 2. This sounds just like Star Wars. When someone is sensitive to the Force, it is up to them to choose how they use it. They can use it for good or for bad. When they use the Force for good, it will affect them positively. But if they use the Force for evil, it will have a bad effect on them. C. Continue on to source 2 1. In this source Hashem creates light and separates it from the darkness. Ask the NCSYers if they notice anything interesting about these psukim. (Remember to validate!) a) We see that when Hashem creates light, he says it s good! Something He doesn t say about darkness. And He separates the light from the darkness. 2. If we think about this source while trying to understand source 1, it seems confusing. We just said that Hashem is giving us the ability to choose between good and bad. (Light and Darkness). But here, Hashem says that the Light is good! a) Basically, the Torah is telling us which side is right! So why would anyone choose evil/darkness when they know which path is the right one. (1) In Star Wars terms Why would anyone in their right mind choose to go to the Dark Side??? IV. Have an NCSYer read source 3. A. Generally, the Rambam says to find the middle ground in all character traits. This is true except for the traits of haughtiness and anger. He says that one shouldn t have any part of these traits at all! 1. The Rambam even brings super harsh sources like: Anyone that gets angry is like they worshiped idolatry If a wise person is angry he will lose his wisdom The life of an angry person isn t a life! 2. Ask the NCSYers why they think the trait of anger is so bad. (Don t forget to validate!) B. I think source 4 could help us understand the Rambam and why anger is so bad 1. The Egyptians knew what would happen if they kept hitting the frogs. But they did it anyway because they acted out of anger.

3 2. When someone is acting out of anger, they can t think logically. Because of their anger, they lose the freedom to choose. C. When a person acts out of anger, their judgment is clouded and they choose evil. Once they choose the dark side, they will continue to act out of anger and at some point they lose their ability to choose at all. 1. We can see this more clearly through the example in source At first Paroah hardens his heart out of anger. He keeps doing so and refuses to let bnei yisrael leave Egypt. But at some point, Paroah doesn t need to harden his heart anymore, Hashem does it for him. a) Paroah has acted out of anger so many times that it s as if he has no choice in the matter anymore. V. Here is a great point to add in your own story or game to highlight the points we ve been discussing up till now. (Feel free to share ideas with each other! Remember you re not the only one giving this session) VI. Wrap-Up A. We saw that it is up to us to choose between good and bad. And we know what s right and what s wrong. The Torah even tells us that the Light is good! B. We also saw that one of the main reasons people might end up choosing the Dark Side is because anger takes away their choice. The Egyptians kept hitting the frogs even though they knew that they would multiply. Similarly, Darth Vader and Paroah let their anger get the better of them. The angrier they got, the father to the Dark Side they went. C. If we are able to avoid the trait of anger entirely, like the Rambam wrote, we will be able to choose the Light Side, to choose Life and Good. D. Thank the NCSYers for their participation! And walk with them to the next program.

4 The Light Side or The Dark Side? The Choice is Yours JR NCSY Spring Convention Camp NAgeela May 12th-14tH

טו : דברים פרק ל, רבנו בחיי Source 1 מכאן שהרשות נתונה לו לאדם והבחירה. טו) ראה נתתי לפניך היום את החיים ואת הטוב כי התורה... שאם לא כן לא היה מקום לתורה והיה העונש והשכר בטל, בידו לעשות טוב או רע.

From here we see that it is up to man to choose between good and bad. For if not so, there would be no place for Torah and punishment and reward would be nullified.

ד - ג : בראשית פרק א Source 2 להים ב ין ה א ור י ט וב וי ב דל א להים א ת ה א ור כ י א ור (ד) ו י רא א להים י הי א ור ו י ה ג) ו יאמ ר א וב ין ה חש ך Bereishit 1:3-4 (3) God said, Let there be light ;

Source 3 ג : פרק ב, משנה תורה הלכות דעות, רמבם ג) ו יש דע ות ש א ס ור ל ו ל א ד ם ל נ הג ב ה ן ב בינ ונ ית א ל א י ת רחק מן ה ק צ ה ה א ח ד ע ד ה ק צ ה א מר ו.

חכ מים ה ראש ונ ים כ ל ה כ ועס כ אל ו ע ובד ע ב וד ת כ וכ ב ים. וב ע לי כע ס אין ח ייה ם ח י ים.

5 טו : דברים פרק ל, רבנו בחיי Source 1 מכאן שהרשות נתונה לו לאדם והבחירה. טו) ראה נתתי לפניך היום את החיים ואת הטוב כי התורה... שאם לא כן לא היה מקום לתורה והיה העונש והשכר בטל, בידו לעשות טוב או רע. ולרשע הוא המות והרע, לצדיק היא החיים והטוב Rabbeinu Bachya, Devarim 30:15 "See, I have placed before you life and the good, death and evil". From here we see that it is up to man to choose between good and bad. For if not so, there would be no place for Torah and punishment and reward would be nullified...for the Torah is considered life and good for a tzaddik. But for a rasha, it is considered death and evil. ד - ג : בראשית פרק א Source 2 להים ב ין ה א ור י ט וב וי ב דל א להים א ת ה א ור כ י א ור (ד) ו י רא א להים י הי א ור ו י ה ג) ו יאמ ר א וב ין ה חש ך Bereishit 1:3-4 (3) God said, Let there be light ; and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. Source 3 ג : פרק ב, משנה תורה הלכות דעות, רמבם ג) ו יש דע ות ש א ס ור ל ו ל א ד ם ל נ הג ב ה ן ב בינ ונ ית א ל א י ת רחק מן ה ק צ ה ה א ח ד ע ד ה ק צ ה א מר ו... ו כן ה כע ס מד ה רע ה ה יא ע ד ל מאד ו רא וי ל א ד ם ש י ת רחק ממ נ ה ע ד ה ק צ ה ה א חר... ה א חר ו א מר ו ש כ ל ה כ ועס אם ח כ ם ה וא. חכ מים ה ראש ונ ים כ ל ה כ ועס כ אל ו ע ובד ע ב וד ת כ וכ ב ים. וב ע לי כע ס אין ח ייה ם ח י ים. ח כ מ ת ו מ סת ל ק ת ממ נ ו ו אם נ ב יא ה וא נ ב וא ת ו מ סת ל ק ת ממ נ ו Rambam Hilchot De ot, 2:3 There are traits which people shouldn t find the middle path, but rather should distance themselves to the opposite extreme. Anger is one of these traits...the Chachamim said, Anyone that gets angry it is as if they worshiped idolatry. And they said, Anyone that gets angry, if they are a wise person, they lose their wisdom. And if they are a prophet, they lose their prophecy. And, The lives of angry people are not lives. Source 4 Steipler Gaon on Parshat Vayera During the plague of frogs, when the Egyptians would hit the frogs, they would multiply. But once they saw that they just kept multiplying, why didn t they just stop hitting the frogs?? The answer is that they became angry and couldn t control themselves. They became so angry that they couldn t even see they were hurting themselves. Source 5 כ : שמות פרק ח כח) וי כ בד פ רעה א ת ל ב ו ג ם ב פ ע ם ה זאת ו לא של ח א ת ה עם Shemot 8:20 28) But Pharaoh became stubborn this time as well, and would not let the people go.

eriktology The Writings Book of Ecclesiastes [1]

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