- June/Sivan
Speak Volumes Program – 2011/5771 – 2012/5772
Speak Volumes: A Jewish Values Based Family Reading Program
Sivan/June
This is the curriculum for
Turn it and turn it again: The Study of Torah encompasses them all/Talmud Torah k’neged kulam
Pre-K
“A Bible verse can never lose its literal sense, interpret it as you will.” ~Talmud, Shabbat
Naamah and the Ark at Night by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Illustrated by Holly Meade. Candlewick Press, ©2011. Noah’s wife, Naamah, sings the restless animals and her family to sleep during a stormy night aboard the ark. Beautiful collage and watercolor illustrations support the lyrical, rhyming lullaby.
Questions:
1. This story is an example of Talmud Torah K’neged Kulam/The Study of Torah Encompasses Them All. Give some examples of why it was chosen for that reason.
2. What song do you think Naamah is singing?
3. This book uses a special kind of rhyming style called a ghazal (sounds like “guzzle”). Can you find some interesting rhyming words in the text?
4. Can you find: Noah’s toes, tigers’ teeth, a llama with its eyes closed, cuddling zebras, Naamah yawning? What else do you see?
5. Describe your favorite bedtime ritual.
6. Adults: Read the quote associated with this book. How do you think it applies to the book you just read?
Activities:
The story of Noah can be found in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 6: 9-9:17. Read the Noah story and decide which verse might be good for you to read and study together as a family. Perhaps you want to discuss Genesis 8:1 “God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle…” Would God forget? Or Genesis 9:13 “I have set My bow in the clouds, and it shall serve as a sign…” Have you seen a rainbow? There are so many ways to look at each verse in Torah and see it in a new way.
Kindergarten
“A passage from Scripture can yield many meanings, just as a hammer splits one rock into many fragments.” ~ Talmud, Sanhedrin 34a
The Seventh Day by Deborah Bodin Cohen. Illustrated by Melanie Hall. Kar-Ben Publishing, ©2005. Just like an artist, God worked hard molding, painting and singing the world into being until it was exactly as it should be. Then God rested and created Shabbat.
Questions:
1. This story is an example of Talmud Torah K’neged Kulam/The Study of Torah Encompasses Them All. Give some examples of why it was chosen for that reason.
2. What color would you have painted the sky? The panda?
3. What do you do when you are very tired?
4. Close your eyes. Be very quiet. What sounds do you hear?
5. If you have a moment one evening this month, go outside at sunset and look at the sky. Describe what you see.
6. Adults: Read the quote associated with this book. How do you think it applies to the book you just read?
Activities:
The story of Creation can be found in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 1:1 – 2:4. Read the Creation story and decide which verse might be good for you to read and study together as a family. Perhaps you want to discuss how many times “God saw that it was good…” Or Genesis 2:2 “On the seventh day, God ceased the work He was doing…” How do you relax after completing a job? There are so many ways to look at each verse in Torah and see it in a new way.
First Grade
“God is everywhere and everything.” ~ Abraham Dov Lebensohn (1794-1878) Lithuanian Hebrew poet
Abraham’s Search for God by Jacqueline Jules. Illustrated by Natascia Ugliano. Kar-Ben Publishing, © 2007. Abraham is considered the father of three great religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. As a child he questioned the idol worship of his family and searched for the powerful One God.
Questions:
1. This story is an example of Talmud Torah K’neged Kulam/The Study of Torah Encompasses Them All. Give some examples of why it was chosen for that reason.
2. How many birds can you count in the pages of this book?
3. How do you think Abraham’s father felt when Abraham asked questions about the idols?
4. What do you ask questions about?
5. Abraham experiences God in the world around him. How do you experience God
6. Adults: Read the quote associated with this book. How do you think it applies to the book you just read?
Activities:
The story of Abraham begins in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 11: 26-12:9. Read the early part of Abraham’s story and decide which verse might be good for you to read and study together as a family. Perhaps you want to discuss Genesis 12:1 “The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Go forth from your father’s house…’” How do you think Abraham felt? Or Genesis 12:3 …”I will bless those who bless you/And curse those who curse you…” What does that mean? There are so many ways to look at each verse in Torah and see it in a new way.
Second Grade
“A passage from Scripture can yield many meanings, just as a hammer splits one rock into many fragments.” ~ Talmud, Sanhedrin 34a
The Coat of Many Colors by Jenny Koralek. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers., © 2004. The biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors is retold in language for the young.
Questions:
1. This story is an example of Talmud Torah K’neged Kulam/The Study of Torah Encompasses Them All. Give some examples of why it was chosen for that reason.
2. Why were Joseph’s brothers angry with him?
3. Joseph is sometimes called Joseph the Dreamer. Why?
4. Why did Joseph put the silver goblet in Benjamin’s sack?
5. What are the lessons that Joseph and his brothers learned from what they did to one another?
6. Adults: Read the quote associated with this book. How do you think it applies to the book you just read?
Activities:
The story of Joseph is told in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 37: 1-36, 39:1-45:28.. Read Joseph’s story and decide which verse might be good for you to read and study together as a family. Perhaps you want to discuss Genesis 37:3 “Now Israel loved Joseph best…” What do you think of Israel’s (Jacob’s) parenting style? Or Genesis 43:30 “With that, Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome with feeling…” Why was Joseph so emotional? There are so many ways to look at each verse in Torah and see it in a new way.
Third, Fourth & Fifth Grades
“Our Holy Scriptures are not only a religious book, but the foundation of our literature, our language and our history, and the sole source of them.” ~ Rav Tza’ir (aka Chaim Tchernowitz, 1870-1949) Russian-born Talmudic scholar
Green Bible Stories for Children by Tami Lehman Wilzig. Illustrated by Durga Yael Bernard. Kar-Ben Publishing, © 2011. A retelling of well known bible stories with “reuse-renew-recycle” lessons.
Questions:
1. The stories in this book are examples of Talmud Torah K’neged Kulam/The Study of Torah Encompasses Them All. Give some examples of why it was chosen for that reason. 2. Which of the stories contained in this book was your favorite? Why?
2. How has your understanding of Torah and its concern for the earth changed since reading this book?
3. how can you apply what you learned from these Torah stories to taking better care of the earth?
4. Adults: Read the quote associated with this book. How do you think it applies to the book you just read?
Activities:
The stories in this book can be found throughout Hebrew Bible. Noah is Genesis 6: 9-9:17. Moses and the Sweet Water is Exodus 15: 23-25. The Sabbath Year is Leviticus 25: 1-7. Read any of these stories and pick a verse that would be good for you to read and study together as a family. Perhaps you want to discuss Genesis 8:1 “God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle…” Would God forget? Or Exodus 15: 24 “And the people grumbled against Moses…” How could they grumble against someone who had saved them from slavery? There are so many ways to look at each verse in Torah and see it in a new way.
Sixth, Seventh & Eighth Grades
“Judaism is an historical religion.” ~ Moses Hess (1812-1875) Jewish philosopher and socialist
Masada: The Last Fortress by Gloria D. MiklowitzEerdmans Books for Young Readers. © 1998. Simon ben-Eleazar, the 17-year-old son of the leader of the Zealots on top of Masada, records the story of the battle between the Roman Army and a fierce group of Jews determined to live as free people in their homeland.
Questions:
1. This story is an example of Talmud Torah K’neged Kulam/The Study of Torah Encompasses Them All. Give some examples of why it was chosen for that reason.
2. What is a zealot?
3. What did you think reading Flavius Silva’s words: “…recognize the character of this enemy– the stubborn, single-minded passion of this adversary to remain free.”
4. What were you feeling after reading this book?
5. Adults: Read the quote associated with this book. How do you think it applies to the book you just read?
Activities:
Parts of what appear to be 15 biblical scrolls have been found at the location of the Masada ruins in Israel. Some of these scrolls were from the book of Genesis, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Psalms. Imagine the characters in the story you just read studying Torah! One of the fragments discovered on Masada has Deuteronomy 34:1-6 written on it. Read these verses and decide how to study them together as a family. There are so many ways to look at each verse in Torah and see it in a new way.
High School
“There is no single letter in the Scriptures whereon a thousand secrets do not hang.” ~ - Menashe Ben Israel (1604-1657) Portuguese Jewish scholar, writer, diplomat and printer, founded the first Hebrew printing press in Amsterdam
Pharaoh’s Daughter: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Julius Lester. Harcourt, Inc., © 2000. A beautifully told Midrash (story based in Torah) about the life of Moses.
Questions:
1. This story is an example of Talmud Torah K’neged Kulam/The Study of Torah Encompasses Them All. Give some examples of why it was chosen for that reason.
2. What changes Almah’s mind between living with her Habiru family and pharaoh’s family?
3. Describe a time when you have wished you could live somewhere else. Whenand where was that?
4. Much of what happens in this story is based on Exodus 1:1 – 2:15. Read the biblical verses and discuss how similar and different the stories are.
5. Adults: Read the quote associated with this book. How do you think it applies to the book you just read?
Activities:
The story of Moses is told in the Hebrew Bible in Exodus 1:1 – 2:15. Read Moses’ story and decide which verse might be good for you to read and study together as a family. Perhaps you want to discuss Exodus 1:8 ” A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” What do you think that might mean for the Israelites? Or Exodus 2:14 “…’who made you chief and ruler over us?’…” Where have you heard language like that before? There are so many ways to look at each verse in Torah and see it in a new way.
©2012 Kathleen M. Bloomfield, forwordsbooks.com and Speak Volumes all rights reserved.
Supported by a Grant from The Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ Family Connections Newsletter.
Books used in this program came from publishers as review copies, my own collection, or my local public library. I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon, I may receive a very small commission on your purchase. You will incur no additional cost, however.
I appreciate your support.
