Lighting Fires and Letting Go

I stood near the back wall and leaned against the bulletin board as I spoke. I felt awkward standing still – I usually pace back and forth or sit on one of the tables with my feet on a chair as I facilitate discussions – but the moment seemed to warrant stillness.

My sixth grade religious school students and I were talking about sins and sacrifices, the mistakes that define us as humans and the efforts we make to beg forgiveness. It wasn’t a fire and brimstone speech; that’s never been my style, nor is it the usual interpretation of God’s personality at our synagogue. But we did address the ideas of commitment to each other and to a higher authority and the different ways people work to demonstrate their growth and remorse.

The students’ facial expressions ranged from rapt attention to mild disinterest as the lesson went on.

But everyone sat up a bit straighter when I pulled out the box of matches. Continue reading “Lighting Fires and Letting Go”

Religious Education and Spontaneous Combustion

This week I had one of those fantastic moments in class where I blew a student’s mind.

The class was made up of students in sixth and seventh grades. The broader lesson revolved around interfaith relationships and focused particularly on the degree to which we, as Jews, should be educated about other religions. I’m on record with my students as saying that it is not only a good idea to learn about other religions and cultures, it is critical for Judaism’s survival that we learn about the people around us so that we can find ways to coexist peacefully. Judaism has never existed in a vacuum and part of my lesson was imparting the message that we need to understand the beliefs of others in order to maintain healthy relationships with them. It is a matter of keeping the peace and being good neighbors, to be sure; but, for a nation that has been attacked and persecuted as long as it has existed, it is also a matter of survival.  Continue reading “Religious Education and Spontaneous Combustion”

One Day At A Time

Learning has always been enjoyable for me. I like understanding why things are the way they are, although, to be honest, I’ve always been more drawn to the theoretical arguments as opposed to the practical ones. For instance, I don’t care very much about the ways that the hydraulics and various mechanical parts of an airplane work. I’d much rather have a discussion about the ethical uses of airplanes in warfare or why people need to fly in the first place. I generally approach machinery with my grandfather’s attitude: if it works, great. If not, you find someone to fix it.1

I’ve always wondered about deeper questions, though. What are we doing here? Why is there pain? Is there a God? Is there a right or a wrong way to live? Why is it important to treat people with respect? Does anything really matter, one way or the other?  Continue reading “One Day At A Time”

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