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1. PRESENT THE ORDER OF YOUR 20 MITZVOT
2. EXPLAIN WHY YOU CHOSE THE TOP 5 AS THE MOST IMPORTANT
3. RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING:  שו”ת רדב”ז חלק ד’ סימן יג אלף פז
4. Reuven was imprisoned in jail and was unable to get
   out in order to daven in a minyan or perform mitzvot. He pleaded
   before the officer … who was unwilling to make any allowances
   other than to allow him one day of the year of his choice to be
   able to get a furlough from the prison. May the guide please
   teach me which day of all the days of the year should Reuven
   choose in order to be able to leave jail to go to the synagogue?
5. Essentially, as the Radvaz explained, the Torah goes out of its way to show that all mitzvot are significant. We cannot treat one mitzva as being more important than another. We shouldn’t choose favorites, as they are all favorites.   Explain your answer to question 4.
6. Using Sefaria explain the following 2 Mitzvot and if you feel it contradicts question 4  דברים פרק ה פסוק טז     and דברים פרק כב פסוק ז    Use commentary like Rashi to explain the 2 Mitzvot
7.  Define מצווה  please explain the שורש
8. Why do you think we are told to perform Mitzvot?
9. Just as looking at each mitzvah independently shows us how important each one is, the same idea emerges when we look at all the mitzvot together. Hashem commanded us to do many mitzvot. What do you think that means about each one? Think about the following examples and decide if you think all mitzvot play a unique role within the whole large system of Torah.    The Torah makes it clear that the system of mitzvot is perfect and that we shouldn’t add or subtract from it.
10. Is the number of mitzvot in the Torah random?  Use Sefaria to help with your answer. תלמוד בבלי מסכת מכות דף כג עמוד ב- כד עמוד א

 

11. In order to fulfill the entire Torah from A-Z we need the entire Jewish people. Each Jew has his or her own unique role to play in the fulfillment of the Torah. To keep all the mitzvot means to have the entire Jewish people observing Hashem’s Torah and mitzvot. In a way, each Jew is like another mitzva. Just like each mitzva represents another part of the body, so too each Jew represents another limb. Together, a full body is formed.  The mitzvot were given to the Jewish people as a whole. The more unified we are, the more our individual fulfillment of mitzvot can be viewed as one big body, our whole people, keeping all the mitzvot together.
What do you think is the message that Hashem is sending us about the Torah?

Another Parsha Rap from DJ Toe-Rah

Each student had to write why or why not they thought Mitzvot were important and if any Mitzvah is greater than any other Mitzvah.  Their responses were as good as if I was visiting a Rabbinical School in Israel. Almost every student expressed that Mitzvot create a personal relationship and should be relevant to the person performing Mitzvot. Recognizing there are Mitzvot we understand and don’t understand, the students were able to comprehend Miztvot is a mechanism to become closer to God.

The students continue to work on their Talmud (law) assignment. With great enthusiasm, they wrote to local Rabbis to discuss their personal case studies. All the Rabbis of the community welcomed the student’s questions.  Grade 8 students are now starting to understand Jewish law continues to evolve.

Starting the second term with enthusiasm, the students are ready to be challenged. With the success of group projects, many students have decided to elevate their learning. Students who are working on the Parshat Hashavua are including Hebrew and Torah Text and some are even connecting the Haftarah.

This term part of our focus is learning the skills of how to learn Torah.

Shabbat Shalom

What can rabbinic arguments teach us about complicated contemporary issues like War or Gender issues? By applying these established arguments to a modern scenario, you will gain a deeper understanding of the issue at hand as well as the applicable rabbinic arguments.

 

Once you have gathered all the information you must present on Dec. 16 and 18 your findings.

Presentation Options: Slides, Video, Lecture, Paper:

Rubric:

Content: 40 Points (Include minimally the examples we went through one on one)

Organization: 20 Points (Students present information in a logical fashion)

Delivery: 10 Points (Students used clear voice and appropriate pronunciation)

Visuals: 10 Points (Students used visuals as a reinforcement)

 

Include the following:

Please use the guidelines in your content folder.  On the day of the presentation, you will pose your questions, explain where in the Torah it is mentioned, interpret the Taanim (Talmud), Rishonim (Maimonadies) and Achronim (Contemporary Rabbis) responsa.

You must also present the other side of the argument if you agree, share the argument of individuals who disagree.

Examples of Presentations:  https://prizmah.org/2018-moot-beit-din-digital-presentations-and-results

After all the presentations we will vote which 1 or 2 we will have the local Rabbis Debate.

Toldot

This week’s parashah is Toldot. In this parashah, Isaac, and Rebbeca express their frustration as they have been trying to have children for twenty years. Finally, G-d answers Isaac and Rebecca’s prayers by enabling Rebecca to be pregnant. As Rebbeca suffers through a difficult pregnancy, G-d tells her that, “There are two nations in your whom, and the younger one will look up to the older one.” The firstborn son was named Esau and the second son was named Jacob.

Esau was a hunter and Jacob had a love for learning and was a shepherd. One day when Esau comes home from hunting Jacob was making a batch of Esau’s favourite lentil soup. Jacob proposes a trade one bowl of soup for Esau’s blessing of the firstborn. Due to Esau’s hunger, he accepted the deal not thinking what would happen next. Isaac was blind therefore; he wouldn’t be able to tell that it wasn’t the right son. Esau had much more hair so Jacob added hair to his body and wore Esau’s clothes prior to receiving the blessing. Immediately after Jacob gets the blessing Rebecca tells Jacob to flee the town and to create a family before Esau realizes what he did.

Presented by Ava G and Maytal M

Another Musical Rap from DJ Toe-Rah – Parshat Vayeitzei

In class, the students are focusing on Taryag (613) Mitzvot.  They were given the assignment to choose what they believe are the most important Mitzvot and to discuss why they feel that way.  Next week we will be introducing the Talmud’s view of Mitzvot.
Stay Tuned

This week we started to work on our independent responsa projects. Each student chose a topic which they feel is important to them. Some focused on health, body issues, social justice, ethics and the military. The goal of this long-term project is for the students to be able to understand how law which was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai by God can be relevant in the 21^st Century. The students started the process of extrapolating verses from the Torah and how it connects to their topic.

Grade 7

1. You should have chosen your 20-30 mitzvot
2. Why did you choose these mitzvot over the other mitzvot?
3. Categorize your mitzvot by Shabbat/Kashrut/Kindness, etc (possible no category)
4. Put in order most important to least important Mitzvah. 1 being the most important.
5. Find in the Torah, which Parsha, Perek and Pasuk each mitzvah is derived from.

Example: Mitzvah – Observe the Shabbat: Parshat Yitro: Perek 20 Pasuk 8

זכור את יום השבת  פרשת יתרו פרק כ פסוק ח

You can find the answers either using Sefaria.org or Google search the Mitzvot

 

Due: The end of class today. Please emails all of your group’s responses in one email to me. Make sure you list the members of your group.  I suggest splitting up the responsibilities.