JEWISH SCRIPTURES AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS LESSON V

1.

Before class begins, have the following Scripture quote on the board: "Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.  Drill them into your children.  Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.  Bind them at your wrist as a sign as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead"  Deuteronomy 6: 6-8.  Explain to the class that these words were spoken by G-d after He gave the ten commandments.  Ask the class (either as an individual writing task, in small groups, or in a class discussion) to consider the following:

-What role is G-d's Word supposed to have in our lives? -How does G-d want us to treat His Word?

NOTE:

More traditional forms of Judaism interpret Deuteronomy 6 literally, and so men wear tefillin-- little boxes, containing verses of Scripture, tid to the wrist and forehead.

2.

Handout on Jewish Scriptures and Religious Leaders (to either be distributed and read aloud with the class or used as a resource for lecture material)

3.

Tell students the following story, and then have them either discuss or write their answers to the accompanying question.

There once was a famous and holy rabbi called the Baal Shem Tov.  He lived in the Ukraine in the early 1700's, and it was from his teachings that the Chasidic movement began to grow.  One day, the Baal Sem Tov was walking with some of his students, and they came to a synagogue.  When they went in, they found men there praying, and the holy rabbi told his students that they should move on, because that synagogue was alreay filled with prayers.  When they came to the next synagogue, the same thing happened, and the Baal Sem Tov gave the sam reason for moving on.  Finally, they came to a little synagogue with only a handful of people praying.  The rabbi told his students that they should pray there, because this place was not filled up with prayers.  Later that day, his students asked him why they left the first two synagogues and stayed in the last one.  The Baal Shem Tov explained that in the first two synagogues, even though they were large and full of people, the prayers being said were not from the heart, so they stayed there in the synagogues instead of going up to G-d.  In the last synagogue, even though it was small and had only a few people in it, the prayers were sincere and heartfelt, and so they rose up to G-d instead of being weighted down with lack of sincerity. The third synagogue was the best, because the prayers were form the heart, and thus rose up to G-d.

-What important lesson did the Baal Shem Tov teach his students about the sincerity of prayer? -When you pray, do you sometimes just go through the motions instead of praying from your heart to G-d? -Do you think G-d "listens to" prayers that are from the heart more than prayers that are just recited?  Why or why not?

Vocabulary words: Torah, mishnah, gemara, Talmud, midrash, Kabbalah, Zohar, rabbi, rebbi, kohein, tzaddik

Click here for worksheet on Jewish Scriptures and Religious Leaders.