Showing posts with label sensitivity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sensitivity. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Temple Minded

Believe it or not, a great many of Jewish rituals were designed to transmit the rules and habits of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, to those that never lived to see its glory.  For example, the custom of washing hands before eating bread (or even wet fruit) was established to recall the behavior of the priests in the times of the Temple.  When you preform this act do you think of the Beit HaMikdash?


During an impromptu discussion with a colleague today about the intensified mourning during the 9 days of Av, I asked this same question. He replied, "No, do you think most people when they say, 'Baruch Atah Hashem...' they often think of Hashem?"  


This cynical response - and perhaps accurate - reminds us that to teach davening is to teach sensitivity and awareness to time, space, and people.  In my early Jewish education, I often heard the word "holy" bounced around but never really understood what the word meant.  One good translation is to define it in terms of being separate, apart.  I think it is appropriate to translate the word kedusha as intimacy, a sense of unique closeness that is somewhat private and distinct to specific time, places, and people.  When teaching (or preaching) the importance of tefilla one must be conscious of the many layers of educational, ideological, and historical that are packed into each individual act - and many are actually routed in the service from the Temple.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Guest Post: Asking the Basic Questions


The following suggestion was made on the Lookjed List a few weeks ago and, with the author's permission, I am sharing it with the readers of this blog. I think this is a great trigger exercise to experiment to see where your students are at with regards to tefilla, regardless of their age:  

I've been doing this for several years; it does wonders towards sensitizing our talmidim towards the importance and beauty of tefilla.

1.  Each student writes on a piece of paper their answers to the following two questions:
a. What does tefilla do for and/or mean to me?
b. What is my favorite tefilla and why?

2.  I then collect and read the responses to the entire class (I do it anonymously as to not emabarass anyone).  The kids always listen eagerly to what their classmates write and feel.

3.  I then type all of this up, with a cover letter, for each student and parent to keep as their own.  My method: I write the first question followed by all of the responses, and then the same for the second question.

May we all be inspired by our talmidim!

Avi Herzog
Moriah School, Englewood, NJ