Parashat Yitro Part 1: Helping Hands

Transcription

1 Torah Lesson 7 Parashat Yitro Part 1: Helping Hands This lesson, based on Exodus 18:13 22, seeks to impart the understanding that even great people like Moses need help and that there are more and less effective ways of offering it. Students will examine the ways in which Jethro, Moses s father-in-law, was able to help Moses. Through this story and a collaborative activity, students will reflect upon and draw conclusions about what makes a good helper. Finally, by remembering a situation in which they have needed help and thinking about what kind of help could have been useful at the time students will bring into their own lives what they have just learned in this lesson. ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS Torah is an ongoing dialogue between the text and its students. Torah is real in our daily lives; it is with us wherever we are. Developing the skills to study Torah is essential to integrating Torah into our lives. The Torah teaches me how to be part of the Jewish people. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS 1. What does the Torah have to say to me and my world? 2. Why is the Torah different from other books? 3. How can Torah study help me in my everyday life? QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED 1. Why does Moses need help? 2. What are the characteristics of a good helper? 3. How can I be a good helper? 55

2 56 Torah Lesson 7 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING Based on Moses s and their own experiences, students explain how they can be a good helper in different situations. Students will identify the teaching on the Some Things Jews Do and Believe poster that relates to what they have learned today and will explain how it relates. LESSON OVERVIEW Set Induction (20 minutes) Moses Has a Problem (20 minutes) How Can I Help? (10 minutes) Conclusion (5 minutes) MATERIALS NEEDED Some Things Jews Do and Believe poster Yitro Part 1 poster from the Sh mot/exodus Journey posters Letter to parents (page 59) SET INDUCTION (20 MINUTES) LESSON PLAN In this set induction, students share something that they do very well. They explore that even for things that we do very well, we sometimes need help. 1. Sing or recite together the blessing for Torah study: /v ri, h r c s C eix g k Ub ²U m±u,i m n C uh Ub J S e r J t 'o kig v Q k n Ubh vo t ²h±h ' v T t QUr C Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, asher kid shanu b mitzvotav v tzivanu laasok b divrei Torah. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has sanctified us through Your commandments and commanded us to engage in the words of Torah. 2. Point to the previous Sh mot/exodus Journey posters and ask students to explain where we left off in the story. (The Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds and rejoiced in song.) 3. Ask the students to think of something that they do very well. Ask students to turn to page 30 of their workbooks and draw themselves doing this thing that they do very well. Ideas could be playing a

3 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Parashat Yitro Part 1: Helping Hands 57 sport, playing a musical instrument, a subject in school, or drawing. Ask students to wait to complete the sentence on the bottom of the page, since you will doing it together as a class. 4. When all of the students have completed their pictures, ask the students to share their pictures with the class and to explain what they do well. 5. Explain to the students that even when we do something very well, we sometimes still need help. Share an example from your own life to help make this point (for example, even though I am a very good and creative teacher, I still sometimes need some help from the educator to come up with ideas for the class). Elicit some examples from the students as to when one might need help with something one does well. (Possible answers: a team member to pass the ball to you in soccer; a teacher to teach you how to play the piano; a friend to give you an idea for a story.) 6. Ask students to complete the following sentence on the bottom of the workbook page. Even though I am very good at, I sometimes need some help from to. 7. Hang up the Sh mot/exodus Journey poster, Yitro Part 1. Explain to the students that Moses was a very good leader for the Israelite people. However, even though he was a very good leader, he still sometimes needed some help. In today s class, the students are going to learn about a time when Moses needed some help. They will see if they can figure out how to help him. LEARNING ACTIVITIES Moses Has a Problem (20 minutes) In this activity students learn about Moses s problem and explore what kind of help he needs. 1. Explain to the students that they are now going to hear a problem that Moses has. They are going to try and figure out what kind of help Moses needs. 2. Explain to the students that after the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds, they had to live together in the desert. Moses is still their leader, but they have different problems than those they had when they were slaves. 3. Ask students to turn to page 31 of their workbooks and follow along as you read Our Story: Moses Has a Problem, Part When you have finished reading the text, ask students, What is Moses s problem? Why does Moses need help? (Possible answers: He doesn t have time to hear all of the complaints; he may not always know what to do for each situation.) 5. After a short discussion, ask students, How do you think we could help Moses solve his problem? What could he do differently? Write the students answers on the board or flip chart. 6. Students can then discuss the pros and cons of the ideas posted on the board and try to agree on which solutions would be most effective.

4 58 Torah Lesson 7 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life 7. Once students agree on an idea, ask them to turn their workbooks to page 32, Our Story: Moses Has a Problem, Part 2, to read about the help that Moses received. 8. Ask students the following questions: Who helps Moses solve his problem? What does Moses s father-in-law, Jethro, suggest? In what way is this similar to or different from our class s suggestion? Which solution do you prefer? Why? 9. Tell the students, We know that Moses was a great leader. Imagine that you are creating a page for him like you did for yourself earlier in this lesson. Finish this sentence: Moses was a great leader. However, sometimes he needed help from to. (Possible answers: from his father-in-law to remind him that he can t do everything; from the other Israelites to help make decisions.) How Can I Help? (10 minutes) In this activity students reflect on how they can be a good helper to other people. 1. Ask students to turn to How Can I Help? on page 33 in their workbooks. 2. Read the following directions to the students: Today in class we thought about when people we know need help. Now, we are going to think about being the helper. Often what makes a good helper depends on the situation. Below are three different situations where you could be a helper. After each situation, draw or write how you could be a good helper. The three situations are (1) when building a toy with friends; (2) when your parents are cleaning the house; and (3) when a friend is upset. 3. Give the students about 10 minutes to complete this activity. CONCLUSION (5 MINUTES) 1. Point to or bring out the Some Things Jews Do and Believe poster. Read out loud the different items to the students, and ask the students, Which item do you think we learned about today? (We try to help other people when they are in need.) 2. Thank students for all of their hard work today. Tell students, Make sure to tune in next week when we find out the next problem that happens in the desert! 3. Hand out the letter to parents (page 59).

5 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Dear Parents, This week our class continued their study of the Book of Sh mot/exodus. Our story continues with the Israelites living in the desert, waiting to enter the Land of Israel. Their problems are very different now that they are a free people, and Moses must settle all disuputes. Our text tells us: Next day, Moses sat as magistrate among the people, while the people stood about Moses from morning until evening. But when Moses s father-in-law saw how much he had to do for the people, he said, What is this thing that you are doing to the people? Why do you act alone, while all the people stand about you from morning until evening? Moses replied to his father-in-law, It is because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, it comes before me, and I decide between one person and another, and I make known the laws and teachings of God (Exodus 18:13 16). Moses s father-in-law, Jethro, works with Moses to create a plan to lighten his burden. In class today your child explored the qualities of a good helper. The students looked at Moses s problem and thought about how they would help him solve it. Finally, the students compared their ideas to Jethro s idea. From the list of Some Things Jews Do and Believe, the students learned We try and help other people when they are in need. If you would like to learn more about Jethro and Moses s relationship and how Moses dealt with the great responsibility of the Jewish people, visit and choose the Book of Sh mot/exodus and the portion Yitro. Sincerely, Copyright 2009 URJ Press

6