Rabbi Jonat han Mishkin and Max Stern are the editors of shavuot-to-go. This is a project of www.yutorah.org, yeshiva university's online home for recorded shiurim and Torah materials. Rps is designed for the individual, studying alone, but perhaps even more for a pair studying together.
Rabbi Jonat han Mishkin and Max Stern are the editors of shavuot-to-go. This is a project of www.yutorah.org, yeshiva university's online home for recorded shiurim and Torah materials. Rps is designed for the individual, studying alone, but perhaps even more for a pair studying together.
Rabbi Jonat han Mishkin and Max Stern are the editors of shavuot-to-go. This is a project of www.yutorah.org, yeshiva university's online home for recorded shiurim and Torah materials. Rps is designed for the individual, studying alone, but perhaps even more for a pair studying together.
Rabbi Jonat han Mishkin and Max Stern are the editors of shavuot-to-go. This is a project of www.yutorah.org, yeshiva university's online home for recorded shiurim and Torah materials. Rps is designed for the individual, studying alone, but perhaps even more for a pair studying together.
Copyright:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1/ 40
SHAVUOT-TO-GO
5766 Compiled and edited by
Rabbi Jonathan Mishkin
BIBLE HUNT Learning to Use a Tanach
TIME TO PICK TEAMS
An Exercise in Mitzvah Categorization A PROJECT OF WWW.YUTORAH.ORG Yeshiva University’s online home for recorded shiurim and Torah materials
א ל ח נ ן י צ ח ק ר ב נ ו י ש י ב ת R a b b i I s a a c E l c h a n a n T h e o l o g i c a l S e m i n a r y
Max Stern Division of Communal Services
Center for the Jewish Future YESHIVA UNIVERSITY From the Desk of Rabbi Kenneth Brander Dean, Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future
Dear Friends,
It is my sincere hope that the Torah found in this virtual ספרmay
serve to enhance your ( יום טובholiday) and your ( לימודstudy).
We have designed this project not only for the individual, studying alone, but perhaps even more for a ( חברותאa pair studying together) that wish to work through the study matter together, or a group engaged in facilitated study.
With this material, we invite you to join our Beit Midrash, wherever you may be, ( להגדיל תורה ולהאדירהto enjoy the splendor of Torah) and to engage in discussing a matter that touches on a most contemporary matter, and which is rooted in the timeless arguments of our great sages from throughout the generations.
בברכת חג שמח, Rabbi Kenneth Brander
Special thanks to the following people for their contribution to this project: Yehuda Chanales, Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, Rabbi Daniel Hermann, Jeremy Joszef, Menachem Lazar, Rabbi Levi Mostofsky, Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman, Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, Shalom Silbermintz, Aaron Srolowitz, Rabbi Yaakov Werblowsky and Penina Flug.
Please direct questions and comments to lectures@yu.edu
Educational Goal: to teach or reinforce the ability to find references in Tanakh.
Introduction: In our education of children we sometimes overlook the obvious.
We teach our students the stories of and but don’t emphasize that they live generations apart and that they appear in different books in the Torah. Bible Hunt is a fun and active game which simultaneously forces children to find their way around the Tanakh – a fitting exercise for when we celebrate receiving the first part of Tanakh.
The game is a straightforward treasure hunt using your shul as the playing board. This game is best played when services are not taking place, since some of the locations require use of the sanctuary. If you will be running this program during davening time, you can leave out some of the clues that will interfere with the adults, or rework the game to fit your site. For example, the most intrusive clue sends the kids to the – the table that’s used to read the Torah. If you are unable to hide a clue there, you might be able to use a similar structure in the building’s Beit Midrash, or even a plain old table that stands somewhere in the shul.
How to play: Below you will find two sets of 12 clues. Print up the two sets of clues - one set for each team (when it comes time to play – you will divide your kids into two teams). The clues are the same in each set, but they are presented in reverse order so that the two teams don’t follow each other around – each team is working on a different clue at any given time. Color code the clues by rolling up set # 1 and making a blue mark on the backs of the rolls; roll up set # 2 and color code it by making a red mark. Half an hour before the program is set to begin hide the clues around the shul. Teams should only touch clues that are marked with their color. If they find the other team’s clue they must leave it in place. Don’t hide Clue # 1 – it will be given to the two teams to start them off (each team getting a different clue). Once they solve it, Clue # 1 will lead the team to location # 1 where Clue # 2 is hidden. The kids find Clue # 2, solve the riddle and head off to location # 2. At location # 2, they will find Clue # 3 which leads them to location # 3 where they find # 4 and so on. To help avoid confusion, there’s a list following the actual clues telling you where to put each one.
www.yutorah.org 2 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
Each clue has three parts:
a. a Biblical citation. b. a riddle. c. a Hebrew letter.
The goal is to find the verse in the Tanakh and use the information in the pasuk to solve the riddle. The solution to each riddle is a spot in the shul, and each clue leads to another spot. Because you give the first clue to the kids, there are eleven hiding places altogether. In addition, each clue has a Hebrew letter on it. When all twelve clues are collected, the letters will spell out a message. Feel free to give hints or help the kids out if they have difficulty. The first team to solve all the riddles and piece the message together wins.
Preparation: You will need to prepare the clues by printing them up and marking them with a color. Roll the clues but do not tape them since you don’t want the kids tearing the paper on . Instead, use a paper clip to keep the clue folded. Gather Tanakhs for the kids to use. It’s not necessary for each child to have their own book, but the team should have several so one or two kids don’t dominate the game. It will be helpful to have at least one Tanakh with English translation. Hide the clues before the game starts but not that far in advance – you don’t want curious shul members finding them and removing them from their spots. Having a prize ready for the winning team is always appreciated, but it is inadvisable to hand out cheese blintzes to the children without plates.
In addition to helping the kids learn their way around Tanakh, this game will help newcomers to your group become familiar with the shul itself – an added bonus!
www.yutorah.org 3 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
Blue Team Clues
"
www.yutorah.org 4 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
& ' ( !
$ %
www.yutorah.org 5 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
" (
! ( $ * + !
, (* (* -
www.yutorah.org 6 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
For the Blue Team
Don’t Hide Clue # 1. Give that to the kids to start the game.
Hide Clue # 2 in the coat room.
Hide Clue # 3 on the (table) used to read the Torah.
Hide Clue # 4 in the back bench or row of the men’s section.
Hide Clue # 5 on the somewhere.
Hide Clue # 6 on you. You’re the teacher. If you can get the shul rabbi to participate, give him the clue to hold.
Hide Clue # 7 on a window.
Hide Clue # 8 in the sixth stair from the bottom.
Hide Clue # 9 in the bathroom, or near the door.
Hide Clue # 10 on the front door of the shul.
Hide Clue # 11 on the bookcase.
Hide Clue # 12 in the social hall or kiddush room.
www.yutorah.org 7 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
Red Team Clues
( $ * + !
" (
www.yutorah.org 8 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
$ %
& ' ( !
"
www.yutorah.org 9 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
, (* (* -
www.yutorah.org 10 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
For the Red Team
Don’t Hide Clue # 1. Give that to the kids to start the game.
Hide Clue # 2 in the social hall or kiddush room.
Hide Clue # 3 on the bookcase.
Hide Clue # 4 on the front door of the shul.
Hide Clue # 5 in the bathroom, or near the door.
Hide Clue # 6 in the sixth stair from the top.
Hide Clue # 7 on a window.
Hide Clue # 8 on you. You’re the teacher. If you can get the shul rabbi to participate, give him the clue to hold.
Hide Clue # 9 the somewhere.
Hide Clue # 10 in the back bench or row of the men’s section.
Hide Clue # 11 on the (table) used to read the Torah.
Educational Goal: to examine a range of Mitzvot and to consider how they are similar and different from other Mitzvot.
Introduction: Shavuot is the holiday of Revelation. On this date, over 3000
years ago, God declared the Ten Commandments to the nation of Israel. But what's so special about the Aseret Ha'dibrot? Certainly the importance of these commandments lies in the fact that they comprise God's communication to the Children of Israel, but that's only begging the question: why did God choose these statements when addressing the nation at Sinai? Are the 13 verses in question holier than other parts of the Torah? Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel (15th century) explains that the Ten Statements were singled out for such special treatment because they include the 613 Mitzvot that God commanded His nation. Because God wanted Israel to recognize that He was the author of the entire gamut of Jewish law, He Himself introduced the Ten Statements which represent the rest of the Torah.
This idea that the Aseret Ha'Dibrot contain all the Torah's commandments is a fairly old one, finding expression in the midrashim. For example, Bamidbar Rabbah 13:16 states: "The 620 letters from 'Anochi' (Shmot 20:2) to 'kol asher le'rayecha' (20:14) are parallel to the 613 Mitzvot. The seven extra letters represent the seven days of creation, teaching that the world only exists for the fulfillment of the Torah." By linking the 10 Statements to the 613 commandments, the midrash explains why the Aseret Ha'Dibrot were given special treatment by God- their importance is concealed in their depth of meaning. In what way do the Aseret Ha'Dibrot contain the range of God's message?
Some scholars are quite specific in attributing the 613 Mitzvot to the 10 Statements. Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman 13th century) wrote an essay called Taryag Mitzvot Ha'Yotzim Mi'Aseret Ha'Dibrot. This commentator moves Dibrah by Dibrah showing how the philosophy of each statement finds expression in numerous individual precepts. For example, Shabbat (Dibrah # 4) represents concepts of holiness and rest expressed in the holidays prescribed by the Torah which are also deemed holy. Also included within the general command of Shabbat are Shmita and the laws associated with it such as the release of the Jewish slave, as well as observance of the Jubilee year and its restructuring of land ownership. The reminder that "in six days the Lord made
www.yutorah.org 2 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
heaven and earth" serves as a warning not to mess with God's creations through the hybridization of plants or animals. "You shall not do any work... your ox or your ass or any of your cattle" (Devarim 5:14) hints at the prohibition of plowing with an ox and and a donkey together (ibid. 22:10).
What the Ramban has introduced here is the intellectual exercise of categorizing Mitzvot, a task undertaken by any scholar who makes lists of the 613 Jewish commandments. The challenge of dividing anything into groups is to find a common denominator where one might not be immediately apparent. For example- what do Ner Chanukah and Mezuzah have in common? They are both Mitzvot done in the doorway. Why put ‘Reading Megillat Esther’ with ‘planting trees’ and ‘eating Matzah’ in one category? They are all done on the fifteenth of the month. In the exercise provided here, participants are invited to examine a large set of Jewish customs ranging from Torah commandments to popular folk behaviour. They are then assigned the following task: divide the ideas into groups based on original rules of classification. Singing HaTikvah might be grouped with Planting trees in Israel because they both are connected to the land; or it might go with Saying Tehilim for a sick person because they are both activities of speech. The value of this exercise lies in asking students to examine different aspects of familiar practices. Note: some of the concepts presented here might be too obscure for the childern in your group. Feel free to cater the set for your charges. Alternatively, you might take this opportunity to teach the kids about some Mitzvot they never knew.
www.yutorah.org 3 Shavuot-To-Go 5766 / 2006
Time to Pick Teams
An Exercise in Mitzvah Categorization
In this document you will find 45 boxes each one containing a picture and a title of a Mitzvah or Jewish practice. In preparation for your activity, print up several sets of these pictures and cut them into individual cards. If you have time and want to make them more durable, paste them onto cardboard. The number of sets you make is determined by how many groups you will divide your kids into. Explain the basic premise of the game to the children: in the time allotted they need to put the cards into categories that they make up. You might have to explain to younger kids what a “category” is. (You can do this with the kids themselves – divide them into groups based on hair color, shirt color, height.) Encourage the kids to be creative but they can use traditional groupings as well (things having to do with eating, holidays, positive vs. negative commandments). Tell the kids that they are allowed to have one “miscellaneous group” but it can contain no more than five items in it. After a period of time, have each group of children present and explain their choices.
For an alternative game, ask the children to rank the Mitzvot in terms of how important the activity is (stealing is worse than sleeping in shul), or perhaps based on frequency (washing Netilat yadayim comes along more often than shooing away a mother bird), or even level of difficulty (dipping apples in honey is easier than respecting parents).
Lastly, you can also discuss with your students which of the items are Mitzvot- commandments, which are Minhagim, and which are customs.
PDF (Ebook) The Happiness Hack: Take Charge of Your Brain and Create More Happiness in Your Life by Ellen Petry Leanse ISBN 9781492679516, 1492679518 download
Every Child Has a Thinking Style: A Guide to Recognizing and Fostering Each Child's Natural Gifts and Preferences- - to Help Them Learn, Thrive, and Achieve
(Cognition and Poetics) Burke, Michael - Troscianko, Emily - Cognitive Literary Science - Dialogues Between Literature and Cognition-Oxford University Press (2017) PDF
PDF (Ebook) The Happiness Hack: Take Charge of Your Brain and Create More Happiness in Your Life by Ellen Petry Leanse ISBN 9781492679516, 1492679518 download
Every Child Has a Thinking Style: A Guide to Recognizing and Fostering Each Child's Natural Gifts and Preferences- - to Help Them Learn, Thrive, and Achieve
(Cognition and Poetics) Burke, Michael - Troscianko, Emily - Cognitive Literary Science - Dialogues Between Literature and Cognition-Oxford University Press (2017) PDF
