Torah Lesson 8 Reform Judaism: Response to Prophecy

Torah Lesson 8 Reform Judaism: Response to Prophecy INTRODUCTION In this lesson the students will continue to make the connection between what the prophets said during their times and how that relates to the students lives now. Up to this point the students have studied particular prophets and their prophecies. In this lesson the students will see how Reform Judaism sees itself as an inheritor of the prophetic ideas. At the beginning of the lesson, students will determine which Jewish values they see as most important for our lives today. Then they will review a famous text from the prophet Isaiah, read on Yom Kippur each year. This text crystallizes the prophetic message of social action, upon which Reform Movement ideology has been based. Students will then compare the most important values they selected with those found in Isaiah s message to see if there are messages that endure from the time of the prophets to our day. A text study on Isaiah s vision of the Jewish people as a light unto the nations is included to demonstrate the Jewish understanding that we are to remind the world of the ethical behavior God expects of all people. A primary goal of this lesson is to help students understand the powerful connection between Reform Judaism s emphasis on social justice and the message of the prophets. Of all the lessons the liberals derived from the prophets, none affected them more profoundly than the principle that ethics are more important than worship in Judaism, observed leading Jewish thinker Dr. Eugene Borowitz. 1 Although later statements and platforms adopted by the Central Conference of American Rabbis indicated a shift toward greater appreciation for the role of ritual observance and worship in Jewish life, the vision of Reform Judaism as the inheritor of the prophetic vision has remained consistent, as was stated clearly in the 1955 UAHC Statement of Basic Principles on the Synagogue and Social Action: We are the heirs of the great Jewish religious tradition which conceives of its ultimate goal as the establishment of God s truth and justice on earth. The God whom we serve is a God of righteousness who would have us be holy as God is holy. The Torah which we cherish is a guide for spiritual living concerned with every aspect of human experience. The prophets of Israel, dedicated to God and the welfare of all people, demanded that we pursue justice, seek peace and establish good relationships among all of God s creatures. 2 1 Eugene B. Borowitz, Liberal Judaism (New York: UAHC Press, 1984), p. 296. 2 In Michael A. Meyer and W. Gunther Plaut, eds., The Reform Judaism Reader: North American Documents (New York: UAHC Press, 2001), p. 147. 99

100 Torah Lesson 8 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Please note that there is a research homework assignment at the end of this lesson. Suggestions are made about how to provide for students who miss Torah Lesson 8 but will be in attendance for Torah Lesson 9. You might be in a school that does not assign or encourage homework. If that is the case, you will need to do your own research for the students prior to this class to give them materials to look at during the final minutes of this session and at the beginning of the next session. You will also need to make some time adjustments to Torah Lesson 9 to allow for reading and research at the beginning of the lesson. However, it is highly recommended that you encourage the students to do the homework for maximum benefit from the lessons. Within the CHAI Jewish Family Education curriculum, you will find three lessons on Reform Judaism. Any of the three would be a good complement to this lesson to enhance the students understanding of Reform Judaism. However, the lesson called The Future of Judaism will give families the best understanding of how Reform Judaism looks at where it is today, and encourages families to think about where they believe Reform Judaism should move in the future. ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS Torah is an ongoing dialogue between the text and its students. Torah is real in our daily lives: It goes with us wherever we are. Developing the skills to study Torah is essential to integrating Torah into our lives. The prophets were focused on reminding the Jewish people how God wants us to live, and their messages are at the heart of Reform Judaism. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS 1. What does the Torah have to say to me and my world? 2. How can Torah study help me in my everyday life? 3. Why is the Torah different from other books? 4. What is prophecy? 5. What is a prophet? 6. In what ways do the prophets and what they said (prophecy) remind us how God wants us to live? 7. How can I as a Reform Jew understand how God wants me to live through the writings of the prophets? QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED 1. What values do we still hold from the time of the prophets? 2. What do we, as Reform Jews and inheritors of prophetic Judaism, need to speak out about?

CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Reform Judaism: Response to Prophecy 101 EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING Students will analyze the importance of a variety of Jewish values in their own eyes and in light of a famous text from the prophet Isaiah. Students will place themselves in the role of a Reform Jewish prophet and will identify important problems that need to be addressed in our world today. LESSON OVERVIEW Set Induction (5 10 minutes) Text Study: What God Wants from Us (10 minutes) Text Study: Light to the Nations (10 minutes) Brainstorming Problems of Our World (20 minutes) Conclusion (15 minutes) MATERIALS NEEDED Pens or pencils Jewish Values for Our Times worksheets (page 104) Chart paper and markers or chalkboard/whiteboard and chalk/markers Paper What God Wants from Us, According to Isaiah (pages 105 106) The Prophets and Social Action (page 107) Homework Instructions sheets (page 108) Letter to parents (pages 109 110) LESSON VOCABULARY o hid rit k Wh T,±bU U-n taticha l or goyim hypocrite salvation This phrase comes from Isaiah 49:6: I will also make you a light to the nations, that My salvation may reach the ends of the earth. Reform Judaism takes this statement as a central focus of who we are and what we need to do. It is our responsibility to be a beacon of light, to show the other people of the world how to behave and how to make the world a better place to live. A person who tells others what to do, but really does the opposite him or herself. Rescue from harm.

102 Torah Lesson 8 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life SET INDUCTION (5 10 MINUTES) LESSON PLAN 1. Pass out to the students the Jewish Values for Our Times worksheet on page 104. Explain to them that all of the values on the Jewish Values for Our Times worksheet are mitzvot/commandments found in our tradition. Ask the students to write their own feelings about each value, as indicated on the chart. The worksheets should be completed individually. 2. Once everyone has completed their sheets, have the students discuss their answers as a class. You might want to record their responses on chart paper or the chalk/whiteboard. LEARNING ACTIVITIES Text Study: What God Wants from Us (10 minutes) 1. Distribute the What God Wants from Us, According to Isaiah text sheet found on page 105 and/or the What God Wants from Us, According to Isaiah adaptation sheet on page 106. If you feel you have time, and if you think your students will understand the former without too much difficulty, read both together as a class. If not, then just read the adapted version, which will be quicker and more accessible for the students. This should be done together as a group. 2. Ask the students to take a few minutes to look over the Jewish Values for Our Times worksheet they completed earlier. In groups of two or three, have them discuss any differences between their answers and the Isaiah text. Text Study: Light to the Nations (10 minutes) 1. On the board or in some other prominent place, write the following quote from the Book of Isaiah: I will also make you a light to the nations, that My salvation may reach the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6) 2. Ask the students what they think this quote from Isaiah means. (Possible answers: Jews are supposed to teach others about what God says; Jews are supposed to show other people how to behave.) 3. Explain to the students that Reform Judaism, as well as other strands of Judaism, teaches that we need to be an example for others in the world, to help them see problems and lead the way to try and fix or repair the world. Ask the students if they can think of any ways in which they have served as a good example, a role model to others. Brainstorming Problems of Our World (20 minutes) 1. Distribute the Prophets and Social Action worksheet on page 107. Complete the worksheet as a class. Read the text to the students, or ask for volunteers to read. Ask the students to pay particular attention to the words in boldface. Explain to the students that this text clearly articulated

CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Reform Judaism: Response to Prophecy 103 the Reform Jewish emphasis on ethics, social justice, and the prophetic vision as central to Reform Jews. Then discuss the questions. 2. Tell the students that they will now need to think like a Reform Jewish prophet for our times by identifying problems God might see in the world that we should fix or make better. Break the students into groups of three or four and ask them to brainstorm what they think God would want them to speak out about and to try and fix or make better. 3. When the groups have completed their lists, make a master class list. You might want to record this list on chart paper so it can be posted in the room for the following week. It might be best if each group takes a turn and gives one item from its list. Continue to go around from group to group until all of the class s ideas are listed. If one group has already read something from the list, another group does not need to share it again, only ideas that have not already been listed. CONCLUSION (15 MINUTES) 1. Ask the students to turn to page 12 in their workbooks. Explain that the paragraph on this page is part of a larger statement written by Reform rabbis describing what Reform Jews stand for. Read the paragraph with the students, then ask them to work in pairs to answer the questions. 2. Say the following to the students: As Reform Jews, we believe that it is our job to follow the example of the prophets and fight for justice in our world. Choose a topic that you feel is a burning issue for our time from the list we generated today. During the next week, please research your issue. This does not have to be a big, long research project. Try to learn why your issue is so important and what will happen if it is not dealt with soon. Feel free to use the Web. A recommended Web site is that of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, otherwise known as the RAC. Their Web site is www.rac.org. At the site, click on Issues in Focus on the left-hand sidebar and then enter whichever issue interests you. Note that there are two types of issues: civil rights and liberties or economic justice and public health. If you don t find what you are looking for in one category, look in the other. Have fun. You might want to have an adult help you when you go to the RAC Web site, as some of the words might be difficult to understand. Bring your results to class next week. 3. Divide students into groups of two or three according to their interest topics. These groups will be the working groups for Torah Lesson 9. If there are students who are absent, you can choose one of the following options: Assign an absent student to a group of two that is already formed. Tell the students in the already existing group that you are adding the missing student to their group. Call home and explain to the student who missed the class what the assignment is and who else is in the group. If you have several students missing you might want to make them a group together. Call home and explain what you discussed in class, what the assignment is, and who else will be in that student s group the following week. You should assign a specific topic to this group. Allow students who missed this class to join a group with a topic they are interested in when they arrive in class the following week. Be sure to have some material for the students to read on the different topics so they can actively participate in the lesson. 4. Be sure to send home the Homework Instructions found on page 108 and the letter to parents on pages 109 110.

104 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Jewish Values for Our Times Very Not Very Not Value Important Important Important Important Not Sure Celebrate Shabbat Give money to the poor Help someone find a job Keep kosher Be nice to other people Go to services Study the Torah Comfort mourners* Respect your parents Fast on Yom Kippur *Mourner someone whose close relative has recently died.

CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life 105 What God Wants from Us, According to Isaiah [God says] They ask of Me the right way, as though delighting in the nearness of God. When we fast, you say, why do You pay no heed? Why, when we afflict ourselves, do You take no notice? Because on your fast day you pursue your own affairs, while you oppress all your workers! Because your fasting leads only to strife and discord, while you strike with cruel fist! Such a way of fasting on this day will not help you to be heard on high. Is this the fast I have chosen? A day of self-affliction? Bowing your head like a reed, and covering yourself with sackcloth and ashes? Is this what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Eternal? Is not this the fast I have chosen: to unlock the shackles of injustice, to loosen the ropes of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to tear every yoke apart? Surely it is to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, never withdrawing yourself from your own kin. Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall quickly blossom; your Righteous One will walk before you, the glory of the Eternal One will be your rearguard. Then, when you call, the Eternal One will answer; when you cry, God will say: Here I am. If you remove lawlessness from your midst, the pointing finger, the malicious word; if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the afflicted; then your light shall shine in the darkness, and your night become bright as noon; the Eternal One will guide you always, filling your throat in parched lands, and renewing your body s strength; you shall be like a garden overflowing with water, like a spring that never fails. Some of you shall rebuild the ancient ruins, rebuilding the foundations of ages past. You shall be called Repairer of the breach, Restorer of streets to dwell in. If you keep from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own affairs on My holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, the Eternal One s holy day honored; if you honor it, abstaining from journeys, from carrying on your own affairs or speaking of them then you shall delight in the Eternal One. I will make you to ride upon the heights of the earth, and I will feed you with the portion of Jacob your father. The Eternal One has spoken. (selections from Isaiah 58:1 14, from Gates of Repentance [New York: CCAR, 1996], pp. 348 349)

106 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life What God Wants from Us, According to Isaiah (Adapted from Isaiah 58:1 14) [God says] What are you thinking? Do you really believe that I care about your phony fasting sure, you don t eat and you come to the Temple praying and asking for forgiveness, but you re really thinking and talking about all the usual stuff in your daily lives. Do you really believe I care about the big show you put on? Don t you think I can tell you re really a hypocrite? Here is what really matters to Me: Do everything you can to help people who are oppressed become free; share the money and the food you have with those who are hungry; take care of people who are homeless and give clothing to those who are so poor they have none. But don t be so concerned only with those less fortunate than you be sure you are there for your own family, too. That s not all! You must become a better person by fighting for justice and by not speaking badly or accusingly of others. Finally, you must observe the Sabbath, you must delight in the Sabbath, and you must honor it. If you do these things, I will be so proud of you and you will love the wonderful relationship we will have.

CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life 107 The Prophets and Social Action 1. Read the following statement, written by members of the Reform Movement in 1955. We are the heirs* of the great Jewish religious tradition which conceives of its ultimate goal as the establishment of God s truth and justice on earth. The God whom we serve is a God of righteousness who would have us be holy as God is holy. The Torah which we cherish is a guide for spiritual living concerned with every aspect of human experience. The prophets of Israel, dedicated to God and the welfare of all people, demanded that we pursue justice, seek peace, and establish good relationships among all of God s creatures.** 2. Look at pages 4, 8, 10, and 11 in your workbook. Based on what you ve learned about the prophets, what is the job of a prophet? What was most important to the prophets? 3. What do we need to do as heirs of the great Jewish religious tradition to play the role of prophets in our world today? *heirs: people who receive something important from their parents, grandparents, or people from past generations. **From The First UAHC Statement of Basis Principles on the Synagogue and Social Action (1955), in The Reform Judaism Reader: North American Documents, eds. Michael A. Meyer and W. Gunther Plaut. (New York: UAHC Press, 2001), p. 147.

108 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life Homework Instructions 1. As Reform Jews, we believe that it is our job to follow the example of the prophets and fight for justice in our world. Choose a topic that you feel is a burning issue for our time from the list we generated today. 2. During the next week, please research your issue. This does not have to be a big, long research project. Try to learn why your issue is so important and what will happen if it is not dealt with soon. Feel free to use the Web. A recommended Web site is that of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, otherwise known as the RAC. Their Web site is www.rac.org. At the site, click on Issues in Focus on the left-hand sidebar and then enter whichever issue interests you. Note that there are two types of issues: civil rights and liberties or economic justice and public health. If you don t find what you are looking for in one category, look in the other. Have fun. You might want to have an adult help you when you go to the RAC Web site, as some of the words might be difficult to understand. 3. Bring your results to class next week.

CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life 109 Dear Parents, Today in class the students had an opportunity to examine a number of Jewish values and to indicate how important they think each one is. The students were then asked to compare their responses with the opinion of the prophet Isaiah by looking at a famous text (Isaiah 58:1 14 ) that is read in our synagogues on Yom Kippur. The class has been given the important homework assignment of doing a bit of research about a problem the students have identified as important and that they feel needs to be solved in our world today. I would very much appreciate your assisting your child with this work. Instructions have been sent home with the students. I am attaching an important Reform Movement document that outlines the vision of our rabbis today regarding some of the Jewish values we studied in class. It might be interesting for you as a family to review and discuss it. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,

110 CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life From A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism (1999) We bring Torah into the world when we strive to fulfill the highest ethical mandates in our relationships with others and with all of God s creation. Partners with God in o kig iue T (tikkun olam), repairing the world, we are called to help bring nearer the messianic age. We seek dialogue and joint action with people of other faiths in the hope that together we can bring peace, freedom and justice to our world. We are obliged to pursue e s m(tzedek), justice and righteousness, and to narrow the gap between the affluent and the poor, to act against discrimination and oppression, to pursue peace, to welcome the stranger, to protect the earth s biodiversity and natural resources, and to redeem those in physical, economic and spiritual bondage. In so doing, we reaffirm social action and social justice as a central prophetic focus of traditional Reform Jewish belief and practice. We affirm the v²u m n (mitzvah) of vë s m(tzedakah), setting aside portions of our earnings and our time to provide for those in need. These acts bring us closer to fulfilling the prophetic call to translate the words of Torah into the works of our hands.* (The complete Statement of Principles is available at www.ccarnet.org/platforms/principles.html.) *In Michael A. Meyer and W. Gunther Plaut, eds., The Reform Judaism Reader (New York: UAHC Press, 2001), pp. 210 211.