- Movie 1: A SHABBOS MOTHER
- Clip 1: Y-LOVE'S THIS IS UNITY
- Clip 2: DISAGREEMENT FOR THE SAKE OF HEAVEN
- Clip 3: 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY UNITED JEWS
Movie: A Shabbos Mother (2005) – A Film by Inbar Namdar
Synopsis
Three sisters gather at their mother’s house for Shabbat. From their shared childhood they have all gone in different ways; Ella is still religious and is in her ninth month of pregnancy; Yael has left her traditional roots and is a radio broadcaster; and Racheli has become more devout and is struggling to become pregnant. The family gathers around the Shabbat table, which links them to their past and their memories. What will keep them together in the future and how will they connect to each other?
The movie is 32 minutes long.
Find and watch the movie
You can download and watch the movie from the Ma’aleh Film School website. Search for “A Shabbos Mother” in the film catalogue. There is a small fee to watch the movie.
http://www.maale.co.il/default.asp?PageID=73&ItemID=82&ItemName=A%20Shabbos%20Mother
Explanation of Movie
In this movie we see an example of the unifying power of Shabbat to bring together a diverse family. We see the efforts of the mother to prepare the Shabbat food, and the ways that the memories of food connect the sisters to each other and to their father. We see the different ways that the sisters choose to celebrate Shabbat, from resting, to studying Torah to going out with friends. We also see each sister struggling with her own issues, and giving strength to each other.
Questions
Watch the movie (32 minutes) and start with the following questions:
- What are the central dilemmas or conflicts in the movie?
- Do any of those dilemmas/conflicts resonate with you?
- Which characters do you find most interesting or do you have empathy with? Who is/are the hero/es?
Then move onto a discussion focused on one of the core themes:
Core Themes
The Centrality of the Sabbath (Shabbat)
In the famous quote attributed to Ahad Ha’am, this Zionist philosopher claims that “more than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews”. In other words, the power of Shabbat to unite Jews, in their families and communities, has been even more significant than the myriad ways that Jews have developed the laws and customs of Shabbat. This is a Peoplehood approach to Shabbat, rather than a religious approach, and it fits with that of Mordechai Kaplan, who emphasized the power of Jewish customs and folkways for constituting Jewish civilization. For him, and Ahad Ha’am, Shabbat is a key component of Jewish culture, unifying Jews around the notion of rest and family. And as a result all Jews can find a way to appreciate and celebrate Shabbat, even if the religious aspects are not primary. For example, the contemporary Jewish environmental movement has championed Shabbat as the authentic Jewish way of giving rest to the earth, and taking a day to turn off all technology.
- What role does Shabbat play in the life of this family? Where do you see examples of how it brings them together, and divides them?
- What are your family memories of Shabbat or of ways in which your family came together over food and/or rest and recreation?
- What values and traditions of Shabbat resonate with you and how would you want to create your own Shabbat traditions?
- How would you like the family that you build to come together at the Shabbat table?
- In small groups, have learners write a script for their own version of a movie that takes place around a Shabbat table, where the family members relate to Shabbat in different ways.
Diversity in the Family
The family in the movie is typical of many contemporary Jewish families; the children have chosen varied paths for themselves, and have found meaning in places that the parents don’t always anticipate or even like. And even though it is sometimes difficult and tense, they all come together at different occasions, to celebrate, to remember, to support each other and in doing so they continue in the formation of their own family and the broader Jewish family.
- In the movie the mother disagrees with the life choices that Racheli has made. Do you think she has a point? To what extent does Racheli have the right to choose her own path and if you were her mother, what would you say to her?
- What are the advantages of diversity in the Jewish family and what are the challenges? How do families find ways to stay together, even when they differ and what tools does Jewish life give us to do that?
- Watch some of the short video clips from Avraham Infeld’s 5 Legged Table website (see the link in the Additional Resources below). What helps keep us unified, when we are not uniform?
- Do you feel connected to members of the Jewish family who have different customs from you? What are the places of connection and of disconnection?
Additional Resources
Ahad Ha’Am – http://www.myjewishlearning.com/history/Modern_History/1700-1914/Zionism/Ahad_Haam.shtml
Shabbat-related customs of Jews in Eastern Europe – http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Sabbath
Resources for the connections between Shabbat and the Jewish environmental movement – http://www.jewcology.com/resource/Teaching-5-Shabbat-and-Environmental-Awareness
For the Jews as a big family, see Avraham Infeld on family – http://www.5leggedtable.org/en/legpage/family
Clip: Y-Love’s “This is Unity”
Synopsis
Y-Love is an LA-based American hip-hop artist. He converted to Judaism in his early 20s and identifies as an Orthodox Jew. While he was drawn to Jewish life from a young age, his musical style reflects a combination of rap, hip hop and freestyling. He mixes English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, Latin and Aramaic and sees his music as a tool to bring a message of “global unity” to the world. More directly, he says, “Unity builds the world, all divisions destroy the world.”
The song, “This is Unity” is a part of Y-Love’s 2011 CD “See Me.” A campaign was built around the song and music video with Shemspeed.com (an LA-based independent recording label and promotional agency committed to developing multicultural artists) and Be’Chol Lashon (an organization committed to the growth and diversity of the Jewish people) in a hope to highlight Jewish diversity as a way of strengthening Jewish unity and peoplehood.
Watch the Clip
Questions
- What are your reactions to the video? Did anything surprise or challenge you?
- Y-Love encourages us to have an expansive view of “Jewish Peoplehood”. He freestyles – “Open up your third eye every time you listen, it will help you move closer to the new definition… this [Judaism] is not just religion!” Do you agree? Disagree? What do you do in your own life that reflects that Judaism is more than a religion?
- Do you know other Jews who have different racial or ethnic backgrounds from you? What do you know about them? What are you curious to learn about them?
For a more extended activity on the topic go to Y-Love’s “This is Unity”.
Clip: Disagreement for the Sake of Heaven by G-dcast
Synopsis
The Houses of Hillel and Shammai represented two different schools of thinking (and ruling!) They are the archetypal rabbinic “rivals”. But both are respected and chronicled in rabbinic literature because their arguments were for “the sake of heaven”. What are the principles for constructive conflict that we can learn from Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai? And how can we apply them to the Jewish communities we build today?
Watch the Clip
Questions
- Think about a disagreement you recently had (with a friend, family member, co-worker). Which of the four “tips” for constructive conflict do you naturally use? Which one is harder for you?
- Now, think about a disagreement that animates your Jewish community right now (school, synagogue, group of friends, other). How might you use one of the 4 tips mentioned in the clip to move the disagreement toward constructive conflict?
For a more extended activity on the topic go to Disagreement for the Sake of Heaven
Clip: 7 Habits of Highly United Jews
Synopsis
In this 2013 Eli talk, David Bratslavsky presents a program to create a more unified Jewish community: 7 habits that can help Jews thrive as one people despite all of our differences.
Watch the Clip
7 Habits of Highly United Jews
Questions
- Bratslavsky talks about 7 habits of creating a more unified Jewish community. Which ones do you find compelling? Choose one and talk about how you might put it into practice in your life, or the life of your community.
- Do you find any of them challenging? Talk about why. For an extra challenge, try to put into practice precisely one of the habits you find challenging.
For a more extended activity on the topic go to Jewish Unity, What For?
Introduction
Welcome to the Jewish Peoplehood Education Toolkit, a project of the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education, with the support of the UJA Federation of New York.
The Jewish Peoplehood Education Toolkit is a comprehensive resource for Jewish educators and community leaders who are interested in engaging their students and constituents with questions of Jewish collective belonging, global community and mutual responsibility.
We believe that being part of an ancient, global people offers Jews from all backgrounds and of all ages an immeasurable opportunity to experience the richness of Jewish civilization, history and culture.
If you are a teacher or community leader and you want to help your students, campers, colleagues (or even yourself) feel more connected to the Jewish People and motivated to take an active role in shaping its future, you have come to the right place!
In this Toolkit, you will find resources dealing with the following questions:
- WHAT is Jewish Peoplehood?
- WHY is teaching about Jewish Peoplehood important and relevant?
- HOW do I teach my students to feel part of the Jewish People?
- WHAT is included in Jewish Peoplehood Education?
Themes
Because Jewish Peoplehood is a broad concept that includes many different topics, we have divided it into five core themes:
- Collective Belonging
- Mutual Responsibility
- Universal versus Particular
- Israel & Jewish Peoplehood
- Diversity and Pluralism
- Judaism as a Civilization
Each theme includes an introduction, conceptual explanation, related educational questions, enduring understandings, strategies for teaching and more. Each theme also has a section in the Programs, Resources & Materials section. You could build an entire curriculum around the themes, or just focus on the one (or two) that are most interesting to your students.
Programs, Resources & Materials
The Toolkit contains ready-to-use activities, organized by topic, one for each theme:
- Collective Belonging
- Mutual Responsibility
- Universal vs Particular
- Israel & Jewish Peoplehood
- Diversity and Pluralism
- Judaism as a Civilization
For each topic there is at least one introductory activity and at least two text-based activities. There are also media resources and links to other materials that are related. The activities can be used with a range of ages and in different settings. Feel free to build them into a longer curriculum or pick and choose what works best for you.
It’s important to us to allow educators in the field to input their own lesson plans, allowing us to create a user-driven program bank. Click here to submit your own lesson plan.
Peoplehood Practices
The Peoplehood Practices are a series of methodologies that are effective in building a Jewish Peoplehood consciousness.
Whether it is through the use of travel, people-to-people meetings (Mifgashim), focusing on Hebrew language or using social media effectively – all these practices should be part of the toolkit of the Peoplehood educator. In the Peoplehood Practices section of this site, you will find best practices, resources, links to useful ideas and much more.
Digital Library
The Digital Library is an entire online collection of writings about Jewish Peoplehood.
There are articles about all aspects of Jewish Peoplehood, from the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education and other sources. The materials here can enrich any course or activity on the subject, and will offer a multi-vocal approach to Jewish Peoplehood.