Judaism About the topic In this topic pupils will learn about their Jewish sisters and brothers, how they live as a family and how they worship Where this topic fits in This topic will be taught discretely but will follow two of the CHURCH topics: domestic family, and either local community or universal world Key words God, commitment, Abraham, believe, Shema, Mezuzah, Moses, Ten Commandments, Torah, Bar and Bat Mitzvah, tallit, responsibility ing outcomes One We care for the earth God is the creator, he cares for us God is creator of the world and for each other God created the world Two (a) There are special days Saturday as God s special day Shabbat, day of rest, worship and Shabbat, the family gathers family for the meal Two (b) Special places going to the synagogue to worship the worship in the synagogue Three (a) Commitment to belief Jews believe in one God, How the Jewish people God leading Abraham to start express their love of God the nation. the Shema Three (b) We need guidance the Torah, the guidance God the importance of the Torah gives his people. God uses Moses to care for his people. Bar/bat Mitzvah Four (a) Special seasons Pesach, God caring for his people, the celebration of Pesach kosher food, family gathering welcoming the stranger, special food Four (b) Special seasons Yom Kippur making a new start. the celebration of Yom Kippur Forgiveness; how Jewish people prepare opportunity to atone for sin Three: Other faiths: Judaism 1
JUDAISM Three (a) Lesson 1 Key words: God, commitment, Abraham Commitment to belief Draw on the children s own experience of making a commitment e.g. belonging to cubs, brownies, football teams, etc. What does this entail? Is there anything that you have to do in order to belong? Jews believe in one God, God leading Abraham to start the nation. The Shema God spoke to Abraham and asked him to be the leader of his people. God told Abraham that if he obeyed God s commands, God would make him the father of many people and many generations and give them a special land to live in. He asked Abraham to leave his country of Ur and his father s house and follow God. God promised that he would make his name a blessing and his descendants very numerous. At the age of 75 Abraham took his wife Sarah and followed God. God showed Abraham that he is one. Until the time of Abraham, people worshipped many gods. It was through Abraham that the Jewish people became committed to God.. Abraham understood how God keeps his promises and cares for his people. The Jewish people know that Abraham was a great example of someone who was faithful to God. He was the first leader of the Jewish people. Find out some other stories about Abraham. Write about Abraham s new commitment, what he had to give up. How the Jewish people express their love of God Abraham is an important part of the Jewish people s story 2 Three A: Other faiths: Judaism
JUDAISM Three (a) Lesson 2 Key words: Commitment, believe, Shema Commitment to belief What rules do you have in your class, or in cubs or brownies? Why do you have to try to keep the rules if you want to belong to the group? What happens if you don t? Jews believe in one God, God leading Abraham to start the nation. The Shema God proved his love and commitment by rescuing his people and staying with them on their journeys. God asks his people to return that love and commitment by worshipping him alone and caring for other as God would care for them. God gave Moses, another leader of the Jewish people, some commandments and rules for his people. These helped the people to love God and live in peace with each other. In the book of Deuteronomy (6;4-9), which is part of the Torah, God gives his people a special reminder of their responsibility to love God. It is a prayer called the Shema. It helps the Jewish people to focus on the day ahead and on the day that has just gone. It is a commitment to belief. It shows belief in God. The Shema is recited twice a day by Jewish people and is a special prayer in the synagogue. Listen Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your souls and with all your might. These words which I am commanding you today must remain in your heart. Teach them to your children and speak of them when you are at home, when you are travelling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie these words as a sign on your hand, let them be an sign in the centre of your head. Also write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. Discuss the meaning of the Shema. Copy the text and decorate it (remember Jews never write the word God. It is too holy so they use G-d) Read it aloud in pairs. What words do you remember? Discuss the importance of what you remember. How the Jewish people express their love of God Understand the importance of the Shema to the Jewish people as an expression of their love of God. Three A: Other faiths: Judaism 3
JUDAISM Three (a) Lesson 3 Key words: Mezuzah, Shema Commitment to belief What is the school mission statement? Can you find it written somewhere in the school? Why is it important? How does it help you understand what the school is for? Jews believe in one God, God leading Abraham to start the nation. The Shema Recall the last lesson on the Shema. There are some hidden commandments in the Shema. at this break down of the Shema: 1 Listen 2 God is one 3 Love God your Lord with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might 4 Remember these words 5 Teach them to your children at home 6 Pray in the morning and evening 7 Tie these words as a sign on your hand, let them be a sign in the centre of your head 8 Also write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates The last commandment is kept by the use of a mezuzah. That is a little box containing a parchment with the Shema written on it which is fixed to the side of the front door of the house and sometimes on the door posts of the rooms in the house. The parchment has to be written by a specially trained scribe who uses pen and ink. Many Jews touch the mezuzah with their fingers when they go through the doorway. Doing this helps them to show their love and respect for God and God s laws. at a Mezuzah In groups take one of the parts of the Shema and discuss how a Jewish person might observe that commandment. Make a mezuzah. It must be weatherproof, as it is placed outside the house, and be capable of being attached to a doorpost. The Shema should be written on a card or paper 8cm by 4cm. The outside of the mezuzah can be decorated with Hebrew letters or scenes form stories How the Jewish people express their love of God Understand the importance of the Shema to the Jewish people as an expression of their love of God. 4 Three A: Other faiths: Judaism
JUDAISM Three (b) Lesson 1 Key words: God, Moses, Commandments We need guidance What would happen to you if you walked to school for the first time in your life and no one had told you how to get there? Imagine what you would do? You would have to ask someone the way or hope you would find a sign post. The guidance God gives his people. God uses Moses to care for his people. The Torah. Bar Mitzvah The people of Israel had been rescued from Egypt by God s power. He gave them Moses to lead them their promised land. They were travelling for a long time. After a while they were fed up and started quarrelling amongst themselves and were being very greedy and selfish. They had reached Mount Sinai It was there that God asked Moses to climb up the mountain to speak to him. Moses warned the people not to go near the mountain. When Moses got to the top, God spoke to him and told him how much he cared for his people and that he knew they needed guidance and help. God gave Moses two tablets of stones on which were written ten commandments that would help the people find their way to him and live in peace with others. This event is very important to the Jewish people. Imagine the dialogue between God and Moses about the difficulty Moses was having with the people. up the story of the Exodus and the journey through the desert in your own Bibles. Make a cartoon of the events. Find out about the ten commandments. Find out about Moses from a CD Rom encyclopaedia The importance of the Torah The giving of the Ten Commandments is an important event for Jewish people Three B: Other faiths: Judaism 5
JUDAISM Three (b) Lesson 2 Key words: Ten commandments, Torah We need guidance Which is the most important rule in the highway code for you? What would happen if you rode your bike or drove a car without knowing the highway code? Who would be hurt? The guidance God gives his people. God uses Moses to care for his people. The Torah. Bar Mitzvah Recall the last lesson. The Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) contains guidance for the people of Israel and is very important for the Jewish people today. The Torah is written on scrolls by hand by very specially trained scribes. (Show a picture of a Torah scroll) A section of the Torah is read each week by the Rabbi in the synagogue in Hebrew. Studying and learning the Torah and what it means is very important for the Jewish people. There are Hebrew classes for the children. Jewish people have great reverence and respect for the Torah because they know it is God s message to them and shows God s care for them. The ten commandments are part of the Torah. The first 4 commandments are about our attitude to God. The last 6 are about our relationship with others. 1 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt. 2 You must have no other gods but me, you must not worship idols. 3 You must keep God s name holy. 4 Keep the seventh day holy and do not do any work on that day. 5 your parents. 6 Do not murder. 7 Do not commit adultery. 8 Do not steal. 9 Do not tell lies about anyone 10 Do not be envious of other people s belongings. Visit a synagogue or watch a video about the Torah scroll or synagogue. Paint a sheet of card to look like a tablet of stone Cut it into shape and write down your own 10 important rules. Remember that some might be about God, some might be about our behaviour towards other people. the names of the 5 books of the Torah Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Research a Torah story e.g. Rebecca at the well (Genesis 24:10-20). The importance of the Torah That God guides his people through the Commandments. The Torah is important for Jewish people. 6 Three B: Other faiths: Judaism
JUDAISM Three (b) Lesson 3 Key words: Bar and Bat Mitzvah, tallit, responsibility We need guidance Recall the children s experiences of belonging to a group e.g. joining the brownies or cubs and the special ceremony which took place to signify belonging. What changes might happen when you move from your primary school to your secondary school? Will you have more responsibility? The guidance God gives his people. God uses Moses to care for his people. The Torah. Bar Mitzvah When a Jewish boy is 13, or girl is 12, he/she undergoes a special ceremony during which they become full members of the Jewish people. This is called the Bar/Bat Mitzvah or son/daughter of the commandments. Children who do not go to a Jewish school will attend lessons at the synagogue, where they study Hebrew with the rabbi. This is not an easy language. It has its own letters and does not have any vowels when it is written down. When the great day comes the boy or girl are dressed in their best clothes and go to the synagogue with their family and friends. Usually the only the boys will wear a tallit or prayer shawl. During the ceremony he/she reads or sings a portion of the Torah scroll in Hebrew, translates it into English and often says what the text means. There is a special blessing from the rabbi. Bar or Bat Mitzvah is a joyous time, marking the beginning of a new stage in life. A party is usually held and gifts and cards are received. From now on the Jewish girl or boy is considered to be responsible for his or her own actions and for keeping the commandments. Find out about Bar and Bat Mitzvah, from a Jewish person or from a video or a book. How do you think you would feel if it was your Bar and Bat Mitzvah? Design a Bar and Bat Mitzvah card to send to a Jewish friend The importance of the Torah Understand that when a boy is bar mitzvah or a girl bat mitzvah it is a very special occasion and a boy or girl belongs to the Jewish community in a new way. Three B: Other faiths: Judaism 7