Lesson plans for Tu Bishvat

2010

Trees!

Bu

reau of

Jewish

Edu

cation,

Bay A

rea,

California.

Lesson plans for Tu Bishvat

2010

Trees!

Bu

reau of

Jewish

Edu

cation,

Bay A

rea,

California.

2

Shalom!

The booklet which you are now holding has been created to cater to the needs of Bay area

Judaic and Israel-studies teachers. Tu Bishvat is a wonderful opportunity to get your students

involved with Israel issues and instill in them a love for the land of Israel, its trees and its fruit.

The nine lesson plans in this booklet are geared towards that purpose.

Throughout Jewish history Tu Bishvat has known many transformations, from a minor

agricultural holiday in Talmudic times, to a holiday of longing for the sunny land of Israel in

wintery Europe hundreds of years ago. In the sixteenth century it was transformed into a

mystical holiday celebrated with symbolic Tu Bishvat ‗Seders‘, and much later it received the

added meaning of a Zionist ―Arbor day‖ where Israeli nature is celebrated by planting new trees,

as part of the Zionist ideology of foresting the land of Israel and beautifying it. Recently, Tu

Bishvat is also celebrated as ―Jewish Earth day‖. Thus do ideological issues affect our relations

to trees, marking Tu Bishvat with ongoing relevance and obliging us to revisit time and again the

question of what this holiday means for our students and us. This is why new educational

materials are so pertinent for Tu Bishvat, and it is this rationale that guided our choice of updated

and topics in this booklet. We address several of the Tu Bishvat traditions in the following pages

but concentrate on love of the land of Israel, its plants and its fruit, a value which is really at the

bottom of many of the different manifestations of Tu Bishvat.

For this reason, the theme ―Trees in Israel‖ was chosen for this booklet. Trees tell many

stories: Some are joyous, such as the story of the almond tree which blooms earlier than all other

fruit trees in winter, festive as a bride in white and pink. Others are sad, such as the struggle over

Palestinian olive harvesting or the tragedy of the forest fire in the Carmel hills, but all are

meaningful to us humans no less than to the trees themselves.

The lessons in this booklet are organized by age-groups in three categories: Grades 1-4,

grades 5-8 and grades 9-12. Obviously, a fifth grader and an eighth grader are not at the same

level and in any case each class has its own level of Hebrew knowledge. For this reason most

lesson plans contain more materials than are necessary for one 40-minute class, enabling you to

pick and choose from the sources and methods, and adjust them to the needs of your class.

We welcome your comments and suggestions for future editions of these lesson plans.

Enjoy reading and using the materials and have a wonderful Tu Bishvat!

Avi and Nurit Novis Deutsch

Lesson Overview:

Learning objectives

Materials needed

Some background

The almond is a winter tree with serrated and elongated leaves. The almond flowers precede the foliage which comes with the end of the flowering. Almond fruit is placed inside a hard shell and has great nutritional value, containing about

60% oil. The almond takes an important place in early and current culture although it is not among the seven species for which the Land of Israel is known. In the Bible it is first mentioned in conversation between Jacob and his sons before their second visit to buy food in Egypt. "Take of the best fruits in the land …a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds." (Genesis 43:11) The almond tree is also mentioned in the book of Jeremiah as a symbol for the God‘s industriousness. This is because of how the almond tree hurries to bloom and because the word ―Shaked‖ in Hebrew sounds like the word ―Shoked‖ which means ―works hard‖. Almond trees are special to people in Israel as they are the first to bloom there, long before other tree begin to bud. As this happens during the season of Tu Bishvat, almond trees in blossom are one of the most beautiful and prominent symbols of the holiday. Although the famous children‘s song is about a ―Shkedia‖, the real name of the tree is ―Shaked‖ …so the song in this sense is misleading!

Lesson 1: The almond tree is blossoming!

In this lesson the class will take a look at one of Israel‘s favorite Tu Bishvat trees, the almond tree, which blooms in pink and white in winter, through art, Midrash, song and photos. Mix and match the parts of this lesson to adapt it to the age group you work with.

The almond tree will be recognized as a symbol of Tu Bishvat, and the tree parts will be learnt in English and in Hebrew.

The students will learn an adapted Midrash about the almond tree. Students will be able to sing the Israeli children‘s song: "Hashkedia‖

(The almond tree‖) and understand it.

The ―almond tree‖ PowerPoint presentation (attached). Copies of the source sheet – one per student. Cotton wool balls – white and pink (or white cotton balls + pink

water color or red food coloring). Crepe paper – brown, green, white and pink. Crayons or markers for all the students. White glue, sticky tape. A bag of almonds (make sure no one is allergic to them).

1-4

Getting started

Exploration

Wrapping it up

:

If you can screen a PowerPoint slideshow in class, present to the class the slideshow of almond trees and their parts. If you can‘t, print out some of the almond pictures from the file and pass them around. As you show it, ask the students: Does anyone know what tree this is? What does this tree remind you of? How would you describe it? Tell the kids that in Israel, just before the holiday of Tu Bishvat, the birthday of the trees, all the almond trees all begin to bloom. People say they look like brides getting ready for a wedding or like children getting all dressed up for their birthday party. Ask the kids what they do to get ready for a festive event.

Remind the children that in winter, many trees lose their leaves and stand bare. In spring, trees begin to grow leaves and blossoms again, but the Almond tree is unique: It blossoms early, at the end of winter. Read the adapted Midrash about almond trees. Ask the students: Why is God likened to an almond tree? Why is it sometimes important to hurry and work extra hard? Have you

ever worked really hard on something? How did you feel? Are there times when it‘s good to slow down? (The example of Shabbat

can be given and discussed). For an arts and crafts project, give each student a copy of the bare almond tree and help them dress it up with colorful crepe papers crunched into little balls and with cotton balls; make sure they understand where each color goes. If you have some almonds, they can glue those on too. Tell the kids that flowers and fruit don‘t really grow on the tree at the same time, as the flowers eventually turn into the fruit. This can be a good riddle for the parents: ―What‘s wrong with this picture?‖ When the pictures are done, discuss the parts of the almond tree. Depending on the group‘s Hebrew proficiency, you could introduce some of these terms in Hebrew. You will find them at the bottom of the source-sheet. The children can draw connecting lines between them and the parts in the picture.

Teach the children how to sing the song ―the almond tree blossoms‖. If you‘re unfamiliar with the tune, you will find it at the following link: http://www.zemereshet.co.il/song.asp?id=244. You may also find the musical notes, translation and transliteration on the source sheet. To sum up, ask the children if they understand why a song about Tu Bishvat tells about the almond tree and not about other trees. The class can end by everyone tasting some almonds. Yum!

5

השקדיה

קדיה פורחת ,הש

שמש פז זורחת .ורים מראש כל גג צפ

רות את בוא החג בש :מ

בט הגיע "ט !האילנות חג –ו בש

בט הגיע "ט .חג האילנות –ו בש

Hashkediya

Hashkediya porachat

V'shemesh paz zorachat;

Tziporim merosh kol gag,

M'vasrot et bo hechag.

Tu bishevat higiya

Chag ha'ilanot (2x)

The almond tree is growing,

A golden sun is glowing;

Birds sing out in joyous glee

From every roof

and every tree.

Tu Bishevat is here,

The Jewish Arbor Day

Hail the trees' New Year,

Happy holiday!

The almond tree source-sheet

Our Sages wondered: What is unique about

the almond tree? What is most special

about it? This was a difficult question to

answer.

Then they noticed that of all the trees, the

almond tree is the first to bloom, and they

said: ―The almond tree is the most hard-

working of all trees! It doesn‘t waste any

time in getting its job done‖.

In this, the almond tree is comparable to

God. When God spoke to the prophet

Jeremiah he showed him an almond branch

and said: ―like the almond, I work hard to

fulfill my promises‖ (Jeremiah 1:12).

In Hebrew the word for Almond is

Shaked, and the word for working hard is

Shoked. Can you see how similar they are?

6

Help the almond tree prepare for Tu Bishvat!

ענףbranch עלה

leaf פרח

flower

שורשroot

גזעtrunk

פריfruit

7

Lesson Overview:

Learning objectives

Essential questions

Materials needed

Some background

We will be looking at what an oasis is in this lesson, so here is some geographic and biological background on what an oasis is and how it is formed:

An oasis is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a water source. Oases also provide habitat for animals and even humans if it is big enough. The location of oases has been of critical importance for trade and transportation routes in desert areas. Groups of travelers had to travel via oases so that supplies of water and food could be replenished. Thus, political or military control of an oasis has in many cases meant control of trade on a particular route. Oases are formed from underground rivers or aquifers, where water can reach the surface naturally by pressure or by man-made wells.

Lesson 2: Tree, how shall I bless you?

In this Lesson we will look at the bi-directional relations between trees and humans, focusing on hot climates and desert oases where trees can truly be life-savers. Students will imagine themselves in the position of a weary traveler chancing upon a tree in a desert, then they will read a Midrash telling of the blessing a traveler once gave such a tree and finally they will reflect upon the importance and meaning of trees to people, so much so that the Torah itself was likened to a tree.

Students will learn and discuss a Talmudic Midrash (or two) Students will get to design their own commentary as an alternative

ending to a Midrash. Students will be introduced to the natural phenomenon of oases and

reflect upon the importance of trees to human beings.

The source sheet ―Oh, tree, how can I bless you?‖ – One copy per student.

The attached PowerPoint presentation ―Oases‖ or a print-out of its slides.

Paper and drawing materials.

1-4

Can trees and people be have a relationship? How can we bless trees? How can we make these blessings come true?

8

Getting started

Exploration

Begin this class with a fun guided-imagery exercise: Ask all the kids to close their eyes for a moment, to inhale and exhale deeply, to relax. Now they‘ll be going on a journey of the imagination. First, ask them to imagine they‘re in a dessert. Ask kids to share what

they see. They‘ve been walking in this dessert for many hours. It is hot, dusty. How do they feel? The view is very monotonous, it seems like the sandy hills will never end. Then, all of a sudden they see a tree. What do they feel? They approach the tree. It is tall and leafy – a palm tree. It has some sweet dates on it. There is a water spring at its roots. They rest in its shade. Now they want to say something to the tree. Ask the kids what they‘d say. How would they thank the tree? How would they bless it?

There is a touching Midrash (a legend in the Talmudic sources), that tells about a person in just such a situation. Distribute the source sheets to the class and study the Midrash with them. If the level of Hebrew in the class is proficient, have the kids read the lines in

Hebrew and then in English (the text is organized in parallel form). Ask them to recognize words and explain them. Otherwise, study the Midrash directly in the English translation. Here are some questions to guide your discussion:

In what ways was the tree good to the traveler? When do we bless others? Does it make sense to bless a tree? Why didn‘t the traveler just bless the tree with more fruit or more shade than he already

had? What‘s special about blessing future generations? If the traveler‘s blessing were to come true and he were to visit that tree 30 years later,

what do you think he‘s see? What do we call a tree and a river in the desert? Why is this a very special place?

9

Wrapping it up

Explain to the children that in climates with hot weather and uncertain rainfall, there are desserts. Deserts have few plants and animals who can survive the harsh conditions. For humans, crossing a dessert can be extremely difficult. Once in a while in a desert one can find places called oases. An oasis can save the life of a weary traveler or a tribe of nomads. In fact, when the people of Israel left Egypt, they moved from one oasis to another in order to traverse the Sinai desert and reach the land of Israel. To show the children what an oasis looks like, use the attached PowerPoint presentation ―Oases‖ which has pictures of some of Israel‘s most beautiful oases and some of others throughout the world. If you can‘t screen the slideshow in class, print the pictures out beforehand and show them.

Trees were so valued in ancient Israel, that the Torah itself was compared to a tree. This is the second source which you can study, on the source sheet. Here are some study questions to guide your study of this source:

Why did the sages think the Torah is likened to a tree in the first place? How did one of the sages explain the similarity between the Torah and a tree? What can teachers learn from students? Why does the verse say that the teacher learnt

more from his students than from all of his own teachers? How convincing did you find the explanation that Torah and trees are similar because

both enable the older to be influenced by the younger? The children may find that although the comparison of a tree and the Torah is meaningful to them, the reason the sage offered for this (the way a small tree kindles a larger one) is not convincing enough. Invite them to become commentators of their own and to write their own explanation: “The Torah is like a tree because….”

To wrap up the lesson, you can ask the children to draw an oasis and in it a person facing a tree. Have a speech bubble come out of each. What does the person say? What does the tree reply?

10

,אדם היה מהלך במדבר . והיה רעב ועייף וצמא

, ומצא אילן שפרותיו מתוקין וצלו נאה

. ואמת המים עוברת תחתיו אכל מפרותיו ושתה מימיו

. וישב בצלו : וכשביקש לילך אמר

? במה אברכך, אילן, אילן –אם אומר לך שיהיו פירותיך מתוקין

–שיהא צלך נאה , הרי פירותיך מתוקין

שתהא אמת המים , נאההרי צלך

הרי אמת המים - עוברת תחתיך

אלא יהי רצון שכל . עוברת תחתיך

.נטיעות שנוטעין ממך יהיו כמותך (ב:ה, תענית, בבלי ברכות)

A man went into the desert, and he was hungry, tired and thirsty. He found a tree bearing sweet fruit good shade, and underneath which there was a spring of water. He ate of the fruit, drank of the water, and rested beneath the shade. When about to leave he said: 'Tree, tree, how can I bless you? That your fruit may be sweet- it is already sweet; that you should offer good shade –your shade is good; that a spring may be near you--even that you have. I will wish for you that all trees planted from your seed may be as fruitful as you are.' (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Taanit, page 5b)

כעץלמה נמשלו דברי תורה עץ חיים היא "שנאמר

?"למחזיקים בה מה עץ קטן : לומר לך

מדליק את הגדול חדדים את אף תלמידי חכמים קטנים מ

:חנינא' והיינו דאמר ר. הגדולים הרבה למדתי מרבותי

ומחבירי יותר מרבותי ומתלמידי יותר מכולן

(א:בבלי תענית ז)

Why are the words of the Torah compared to a tree, as it is written "A tree of life is it to those that lay hold on her‖? To teach that just as a small piece of wood kindles a larger one, so a beginning scholar sharpens the wits of the greater by his queries, as Rabbi Hanina has said: "I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and most of all from my students." (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Taanit, page 7a)

Tree, How shall I bless you?

11

Lesson Overview:

Learning objectives

Essential questions

Materials needed

Some background

As we will be considering fruit in terms of their nutritional value, here is some information on this topic: Fruit have many nutritional advantages: They contain on average 80%

water, which hydrates us. Fruit have vitamin C which helps our body heal cuts and bruises and fight infections, vitamin A, which helps see in the dark and keeps our skin healthy, a lot of fiber which helps us digest our food, and anti-oxidants which protect us from diseases. Fruit are cholesterol-free, additive free (and organic ones are also pesticide-free!) and are very easily absorbed by our bodies. The sugar energy fruit contains (called fructose) is digested in 30 minutes and produces no toxic waste products that are difficult to remove from the body. This is a very different situation form consuming candy! In short – fruit are really a wonderful group of foods. It is no wonder we are recommended to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day! And if you‘re wondering which fruit is the most nutritious, the answer is: Guava. More info on the five-a-day concept at the following site: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/pages/5adayhome.aspx/

Lesson 3: Fun with fruit and the seven species

One of the most important ways in which trees impact human lives is through their fruit, which we eat. In this lesson we‘ll consider the nutritious value of fruit, take a look at the fruit with which the land of Israel is blessed, think of how they were particularly important in ancient times, and then either take a trip to a fruit market or use pre-brought fruit to create edible art.

Students will learn about the seven species, focusing on the five fruit among them: dates, figs, grapes, pomegranates and olives.

Students will get to express their creativity through making edible art.

Students will learn about the nutritional value of fruits.

The source sheet ―Land of many fruit‖ – One copy per student. Tooth-picks, cotton wool, crepe paper and popsicle sticks. Safe knives and scissors. Plates, forks and spoons.

1-4

Fruit and candy are both sweet and yummy – why are the former so much better for us then the latter?

Why were fruit so important for people many years ago? How are they still important for us today?

12

Getting started

Begin with a game: Divide the class into small groups. Each group has five minutes to come up in writing with a list of fruit for each letter of the alphabet. (e.g.: Apple, Banana, Clementine, Dates…). Then hold a competition: The first group names a fruit beginning with A, the next

one continues with one beginning with B, and so on. If a group can‘t think of a fruit they are out of the game. It gets very difficult by the time you reach Xigua (a melon), Yellow watermelon and Zucchini! Keep these lists for later use. Now, tell the children that two kids, Danielle and Josh, were having an argument at recess: Who has the better snack? Josh had a box of fruit-gums, Danielle had a ripe pear. Ask the kids what they think and why. Why are fruit better for us than candy? Have the class list some nutritious advantages of fruit over other kinds of food. Ask the kids which is their favorite fruit and in what form they enjoy eating it. Make sure they end up with a wide variety of forms for eating fruit that are both healthy and fun (whole, cut up, grated, squeezed, frozen and crushed…these are the best. Cooking, steaming, or turning them into desserts makes them lose some nutritious value but is still better than store-bought desserts). Ask the kids how long they think fruit have been around (For longer than humans have…). Do they know what role fruit played in ancient times? As an example we will look at the fruit of the land of Israel. Ancient Israel was famous for its luscious fruit and therefore is known as the land of the seven species. Five of these are fruit. Have the class read source 1 from the source sheet and discuss why it was so important for God and Moses to tell the children of Israel about the fruit of the land and not, say, about the animals that roam the land or the flowers that grow in it. Fruit trees fulfilled many of the needs the people in ancient times had. Read source 2 with the class. It tells of the many functions of a date tree, likening it to the people of Israel in that every part, every person, has a role in the community. Ask the children to try to imagine what it was like living in a time when nothing was wasted: From top to bottom the date tree provided people with housing, clothing, material for dishes, religious artifacts and food. People not only ate the dates fresh, they also dried them, turned them into honey and even turned them into drinks. Ask the students: How are fruit important to us today? Are they as important as in ancient times? For the next part of this lesson (or it can also be split into two sessions at this point) you will be using fruit in creative ways. If possible, organize a trip to one of the lovely fruit markets in the area. For example, the ―Berkeley Bowl‖ or ―Monterey market‖ have a wonderful selection of fruit. The children will shop for fruit to use in creative ways such as making sculptures or dried fruit pictures, and

13

Wrapping it up

making fruit salad and carved fruit (instructions for all these projects follow). In the store, have the children team up and shop for as many different fruit as can be purchased for a particular sum, or find fruit by the letters of the Alphabet (use the lists the class generated earlier for this), have them find samples of fruit in as many colors as they can or fruit in a variety of sizes and textures. Make sure you have some dried fruit among them and try to find the five species of fruit (of the seven species) that Israel is blessed with! If a trip to the market is not possible, ask each student to bring a few pieces of fruit to class. Distribute requests for different kinds of fruit to students in advance. With the fruit you have, you can either organize all of the children to make one sort of project or have them move from station to station and complete four different projects. There are two important rules to be followed in all of these activities:

1. Safety first! No raised knives, no hurting each other with utensils or fruit and no fruit to which anyone in class is allergic.

2. Think green! We do not want to waste fruit so at the end of the class, in the following class or at home, the creations will be eaten. The children have to make sure that their art projects are edible and that no fruit are destroyed in the process.

Here are four projects you can make with fruit, but by all means use your creativity and invent some of your own as well! Sculpting with fruit – using toothpicks to hold fruit together and cotton wool, crepe paper and Popsicle sticks as props while ensuring that the fruit are not damaged in the process, students can try to put fruit together to make sculptures of people, animals, and objects. Dried fruit can furnish small details such as eyes. Creating dried-fruit pictures – Supply each student with a piece of heavy foam cardboard. Have them plan a three dimensional picture made entirely of dried fruit. The pieces can be connected to the backing with halves of toothpicks. Carving peels – Watermelon shells are especially good for carving, but you can also use orange peels or melon peels too. Carefully, using knives or scissor blades, carve the top layer of the peel off to reveal the white underlayer. You can carve geometric shapes, animals, and even plants. If a group of children each work on one watermelon half, it can be used for the next activity as a fruit salad container. Making a creative fruit salad – have a cooking competition: Each group must make the most delicious and creative fruit salad. Think of different sizes or shapes of fruit pieces, of unusual combinations of fruit, of containers made of fruit peels or of yummy dressings (bring some lemons and honey to class for this).

There‘s only one way to wrap up an activity like this: Sit down with plates and spoons and have a feast!

14

ה ע ר ארץ חטה ושה וגפן ותאנ זית ורמ ון ארץ־שמן ודבש׃

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land,

a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing

forth in valleys and hills;

a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which

you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron,

and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you

have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD

your God for the good land which He has given you.

(Deuteronomy 8, verses 7-10)

אלא תמריה , מה תמרה זו אין בה פסולת"סיבים , חריות לסכוך, ולולבים להלל, לאכילהשפעת קורות , סנסינים לכברה, לחבלים

כך ישראל אין בהם -לקרות בהן בתים מהם בעלי , אלא מהם בעלי מקרא, פסולת, מהם בעלי מצוות, מהם בעלי אגדה, משנה

מדרש בראשית רבה . )מהם בעלי צדקות (א"פרשה מ

Israel is like the date palm, of which none is

wasted; its dates are for eating, its lulavim are for

blessing (We shake a lulav on Sukkot); its fronds

(dry leaves) are for thatching (making a roof of a

home); its fibers are for ropes; its webbing for

sieves; its thick trunks for building - so it is with

Israel, which contains no waste: Some know the

Bible, some know the Mishna, some know

legends, others fulfill commandments, and others

do good deeds. (Genesis Raba 41)

)Bereshit Rabbah 41(

The seven species - source sheet

15

Lesson Overview:

Materials needed

Some background

Essential questions

Learning objectives

Israel's Mediterranean climate is typified by warm, dry, rainless summers. When temperatures are high and hot, dry winds blow, and when wildflowers have dried up and the hills are covered with yellow dry grasses, fires start easily

and are hard to extinguish. In Israel these fires usually result from arson or negligence. When a forest fire breaks out, fire trucks and helicopters are sent to put

it out, but they cannot always help quickly enough, and so the most important weapon against forest fires is prevention: building forest roads and firebreaks, removing pruned foliage, organizing educational campaigns to avoid lighting fires in forests and fire spotting. Once a wildfire spreads, it can destroy thousands of acres of forests and woodlands. Rehabilitating the burnt areas is a complex, extended process – even after the trees grow back, it can take many more years for the ecosystem to recuperate and return to its former state. When trees burn, entire ecosystems are destroyed. Plants and the animals that feed on the trees, small wildlife that burrows under leaf litter, birds that nest on trees, rodents in the ground – the list goes on and on. (Based on JNF material).

Lesson 2: Danger, Forest Fires!

How can people act responsibly towards trees and forests? How can wildfires be prevented, contained or limited?

Students will learn about what took place at the Carmel Fire in Israel and about the large forest fires in Oakland in 1991.

They will learn about various causes, man-made and natural, for forest fires and about the dangers and preventative measures of forest fires.

Source sheets – two different ones per student. PowerPoint slides or printed out photos on the Carmel fire.

This lesson is the first out of two pertaining to the tragic Carmel Fire in Israel. In this lesson the students will learn what exactly happened during this fire, and then they will learn about the terrible fire that took place in Oakland and Berkeley in 1991. Through these examples they will discuss the danger of forest fires, and create a list of rules or laws which could help Israel ensure that such tragedies at the Carmel fire will not be repeated. The class can choose to send this list by e-mail to the JNF (Jewish National Fund - Israel‘s forestation agency).

6-8

16

Getting started

Exploration

Wrapping it up

Have the class read the attached article about the Carmel fire. You can invite them to read it silently, take turns reading it aloud in paragraphs, or have each pair prepare part of the article and tell/act out what it says. Have them share their feelings upon reading it with the class. What were the

worst parts of the tragedy in their eyes? An important question being raised is: Whose fault was this? It seems the fire began from a 14 year old boy who smoked a pipe and didn‘t properly put out the embers. Ask the students if the world ―fault‖ is appropriate here. Can a thousand-acre fire be one boy‘s ―fault‖? Would the word ―responsibility‖ be better? Who are those responsible for the tragedy? Try to list multiple responsible groups. Now, in some ways closer to home, have the class read the article about the 1991 Oakland fire. Ask the students if they see any parallels in the way the fire began and developed. Were there some differences too? (e.g., the Oakland firestorm was more of a naturally-initiated disaster) Have the students make a chart: On one side list all the risk factors for wild-fires and on the other list what can be done about them. Have them mark separately the natural and human causes of large fires. Can people do anything about natural fire causes? (Yes; limit their damage) Ask students to consider the forest as an eco-system: Who gets hurt directly by the fire? (Plants, animals, people) Who get hurt on a secondary basis (animal and human homes in forest and around damaged area, food supplies lost, damage to plant through smoke, loss of oxygen-wielding trees, loss of recreational trails and forests). Finally, prompt students for ideas about how to avoid wildfires or limit their damage in future. One way to do this would be to write a suggested legislation for how to combat the danger of forest fires. For example – How near forests may people be allowed to light bonfires? You may want to end on this positive note:

In response to issues about firefighting equipment during the disaster, Oakland city firefighters now carry more extensive wild-land firefighting gear and fire shelters. Water cisterns and a new hills fire station were added, and radio communications were improved. On June 12, 2008, a brush fire ignited in almost the exact location of the starting point of the 1991 fire, but owing to a rapid response as well as the preventative measures implemented after the 1991 disaster and the lack of significant winds, the fire was confined to 2 acres with no damage to any structures, and was extinguished within 90 minutes.

Show the class the pictures on the attached PowerPoint file ―Carmel fire‖, or print out the pictures and pass them around. Ask them if they know what these slides depict. What recent tragedy happened in Israel that is concerned with trees? How do they feel about this?

Tell the class about the Jewish National Fund which is in charge among other things of Israel‘s forest and of planting trees. Consider either organizing a fund-raiser to raise money to help Israel recover from the devastating Carmel fire, or writing e-mails to the JNF and sending them your list of class suggestions for how to avoid wildfires in Israel in the future. You can share with them some of Oakland‘s fire lessons too. The e-mail JNF branch of in Northern California is: hellis@jnf.org

17

Read the following NY Times articles:

Facing Fires, Israel Appeals for Help By ETHAN BRONNER Published: December 3, 2010

JERUSALEM — A fire that killed 41 people in the parched north of Israel continued to rage on Friday, turning into the worst natural disaster in the country‘s history with thousands of acres burned, thousands of residents evacuated and a dozen countries rushing planes, helicopters and personnel to offer aid. The Carmel Forest around the port city of Haifa, normally rolling hills carpeted in pine, was an apocalyptic scene, with rows of blazing trees, the sky crimson from flames soaring dozens of feet, and embers flying for miles, smacking the car windshields on nearby roads. Relief workers, overcome by smoke, lay sprawled on the ground. ―We are in a very harsh event,‖ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at an emergency cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv. ―We have more than 40 dead. People are missing. People are injured. Many perished in admirable courage and sacrificed themselves in order to save others.‖

Israel, which often provides doctors and aid workers for disasters abroad, had never before solicited such international help. Aid arrived from across the region on Friday, and may have even led to a slight opening in the diplomatic standoff between Turkey and Israel. Turkey was not alone in pitching in despite diplomatic difficulties with Israel. The Palestinian

Authority, which cut off American-sponsored direct peace talks with the Netanyahu government two months ago, sent fire trucks.

In addition, Bulgaria sent about 100 firefighters, and Egypt, Jordan, Spain, Russia, Romania and Azerbaijan sent equipment. The United States made available 20,000 liters of fire suppressant chemical, its embassy announced. President Obama offered condolences and more help, saying, ―That‘s what friends do for each other.‖

As night fell, pilots had to interrupt their missions of dumping water and fire retardants until daybreak, said Mickey Rosenfeld, a police spokesman. He said 17,000 people had been evacuated and 7,000 acres destroyed. The blaze, whose cause remained unclear, broke out at midday Thursday and spread with an unpredictable and ferocious speed, witnesses said, fed by strong winds and the driest conditions in years. It quickly overwhelmed Israel‘s 1,400-member firefighting force and raised difficult questions about preparedness in a country that likes to think it is ready for anything.

An official called the blaze the biggest and deadliest in Israel’s history

18

15th Anniversary of the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire October 10, 2006

On the morning of October 20, 1991, what became the costliest wildfire in U.S. history ignited in the hills outside Oakland, CA. Before it was finally extinguished, the Oakland Hills fire burned 1,600 acres, destroyed 2,900 structures, displaced 10,000 people, and killed 25. The fire caused more than $1.5 billion in insured losses.

The fire started in the wildland-urban interface of Temescal Canyon, near the western entrance to the Caldecott Tunnel. Oakland fire department personnel were actually on the scene dealing with hot spots left from a small grass fire that had ignited the previous day. Eyewitness accounts testify that while the firefighters were working the wind rose, sending sparks into an area of dry brush outside the burn area. The brush burst into flames, and the resulting fire spread quickly, fanned by increasingly strong winds.

By noon (about an hour after the fire started), fully forty percent of the area eventually affected by the fire had burned. In that short time, the fire consumed 790 structures, igniting a home every few seconds. Within two hours, it was burning out of control on five fronts. Finally, at around 5:00 P.M. the winds died down, giving firefighters a chance to get a handle on the blaze, though full containment was not achieved until October 22.

According to after-action report written by FEMA, years of drought had desiccated underbrush and groves of Monterey pine and eucalyptus-neither of which are native to the region, but which are very effective fire fuels. Weather conditions were also prime for fire spread: hot, dry Diablo winds (the Northern

Aircraft dropping retardant

(Source: San Francisco Chronicle)

California-equivalent of the Santa Ana winds) were blowing downhill from the east with gusts up to 65 mph, and temperatures were unusually high, reaching into the nineties. Perhaps the single most important contributor to the disaster were the acres of parched, cedar-shake roofs in close proximity to each other and to highly combustible vegetation. Previous attempts at banning wood shingles-the earliest in 1923 following a similar fire-were never passed into law.

Four hundred engine companies and over 1,500 personnel from 250 agencies were called in to fight the Oakland Hills fire. Steep local terrain complicated fire suppression efforts, as did the winding, congested local roads, the presence of numerous switchbacks, communications difficulties, and problems with water supply. The rate of fire spread and the difficult access to the fire area meant that firefighters arriving to combat it were largely ineffective and in extreme danger.

19

Lesson Overview:

Learning objectives

Essential questions

Materials needed

Some background

In this lesson we will talk both about the Halachic concept of ―Bal Tashchit and the environmental concept of sustainability, so here are definitions and some information about each:

Bal Tashchit is an ethical Jewish principle which forbids wastefulness and destruction. Maimonides summed it up clearly, and here is what he says: “It is forbidden to cut down fruit-bearing trees outside a besieged city, nor may a water channel be deflected from them so that they wither. Whoever cuts down a fruit-bearing tree is flogged. This penalty is imposed not only for cutting it down during a siege; whenever a fruit-yielding tree is cut down with destructive intent, flogging is incurred. It may be cut down, however, if it causes damage to other trees or to a field belonging to another man or if its value for other

Lesson 5: Bal Tashchit: Do not destroy!

Are trees to be used by human, protected by them, or both? How are ―Bal Tashchit‖ and sustainable living connected? Does the Torah have anything to tell us about tragedies such as the

Carmel fire?

Students will practice reading Biblical and Talmudic passages and learn about the commandment of ―Bal Tashchit‖

Students will understand what the concept of sustainability is. Students will translate both concepts into practical changes in their

daily lives. The ―Bal Tashchit‖ source sheets – one per student. Optional: The Carmel fire PPT slides or pictures printed from it. Recommended: A setup to view a short internet video-clip on ―Bal

Tashchit‖.

5-8

This lesson is the second of two pertaining to the terrible human and ecological tragedy that hit Israel at the beginning of December: The Carmel Fire. In this lesson the students will learn about the fragility of trees where humans are involved, they will become acquainted with the Halachic principle of ―Bal Tashchit‖ (Do not destroy) and its connection to sustainable living, and consider ways in which they can transform their own daily behavior to emulate the principle of ―Bal Tashchit‖.

20

Getting started

purposes is greater. The Law forbids only wanton destruction... Not only one who cuts down trees, but also one who smashes household goods, tears clothes, demolishes a building, stops up a spring, or destroys articles of food with destructive intent transgresses the command "you must not destroy." (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings and Wars 6:8,10) A good definition of Sustainable development is one that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs. Living in a sustainable manner means using environmental resources in a way which will not cause them to deplete irrevocably. For example, if too many members of a species are killed, there may not be enough to reproduce and the species may become extinct. Various contemporary Jewish thinkers have made the connection between Bal Tashchit and sustainability. Consider for example Rabbi Dobb‘s words: “Bal Tashchit […] suggests that all needless waste is an affront to God. In a 13th century text (Sefer Hahinukh 529), righteous people grieve when even a mustard seed is wasted. Does our waste -- greenhouse gas emissions, non-composted garbage, vacuous TV programs -- pass "the mustard seed test?"

If you haven‘t taught lesson 4 on the Carmel forest fire, you may want to begin by passing around the pictures on the PowerPoint file attached to lesson 4, or showing the slides to the class. Ask them if they know what these slides depict. What recent tragedy happened in Israel that is concerned

with trees? How do they feel about this? If you‘ve covered lesson 4 already, begin with the following grabber, by telling them this story: Jacob Levin and his family moved into a new house in Jerusalem. This house had an old and leafy fig tree in the back yard, full of sweet figs. Jacob loved it more than anything else in the house. Unfortunately, about a month after moving in, Jacob‘s parents felt the house was too small and decided to cut down the fig tree to make space for another room. Jacob was terribly upset and tried to think of every reason to convince his parents not to cut down the tree. Divide the class into two. One half represents Jacob and has to make as many claims as possible to save the tree. The other half represents Jacob‘s parents and has to come up with as many counter arguments as possible. After five minutes have the students vote on what they would do if they were the parents. (By the way, the Halachic answer may be found in Maimonide‘s summary in the Background‖ section of this lesson).

21

Exploring the texts

Read Source 1 (Deuteronomy) with the kids: the Biblical commandment in Deuteronomy. Ask students to try to explain what the rationale might be. Try to think of some ways in which this commandment might

impact the lives of people who observe it. (Would it influence Jacob‘s parents in the fig tree story?) Next, explain that the Rabbis in the Talmudic period expanded this commandment to include many kind of destruction. In the Middle Ages one Rabbi included the destruction of a single mustard seed in this category! Read the sources 2 and 3 with the students to understand this. Note that the Bible could have mentioned any kind of destruction but it chose to speak specifically of trees. Why the focus on trees? Here are some questions to discuss about this: Are trees more susceptible to human damage than other forms of life? (They can‘t run

away, cry out in pain or attack back if people decide to cut them down or burn them. Also, a single match can cause an entire forest to be consumed by fire). Source 4 demonstrates this movingly.

Do we have any particular duty towards trees? (They give us so much, perhaps we owe them something in return; If we don‘t care for them future generations won‘t have them). Read source 5 to help drive home this point.

Are trees given to us to protect or to use for our needs? What do we do when our rights and duties to trees conflict, as in when we need timber to build or heat our homes? At this point, introduce the concept of Sustainability: One way of using plants as well as preserving them is adhering to the principles of sustainable development: We may use trees and plants as long as we make sure we don‘t overuse them to the degree that they cannot regenerate. Sustainability also means we are responsible to future generations – they too have the right to enjoy trees.

22

Wrapping it up

Would we like our grandchildren to have to go to a tree-zoo to see what a tree looks like? Now, ask the class how sustainability and ―Bal Tashchit‖ are connected. Some say that ―Bal Tashchit‖ is actually Judaism‘s way of teaching sustainability. There are other ways that Judaism preaches sustainability too, such as the law of Shmita – letting the earth rest every seventh year, so it can regain its productive powers. Source 6 is another interesting example of sustainable thinking in our sources. If you have the technical ability to screen a short animated film in class, please follow this link to

the ―Bal Tashchit‖ clip on MyJewish Learning.com and show it to your class, as it is a great review of the material: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Issues/Nature_and_the_Envir

onment/Traditional_Teachings/Bal_Tashit/going-green.shtml Watch it before to make sure that it‘s suitable for your class. (It‘s funny and informative but flippant…). You may end by having the class make some personal resolutions about adding ―Bal Tashchit‖ to their lives. Specifically, ask them how thinking about trees has been transformed by the fire and by the sources we read. They can turn their personal resolutions into cartoon strips and hang them in class as a reminder to themselves.

23

1. Deuteronomy 20:19-20 "When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding an ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? Only the trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siege works against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced."

2. Maimonides, Mishna Torah, Hilchot Melachim 6:10 Not only the trees, rather whoever breaks vessels and rents garments, destroys a building and obstructs a wellspring, or wastes food in a destructive way transgresses the mitzvah of ―Bal Tashchit‖ (―don‘t destroy‖).

3. Rabbi Aaron Halevi, Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzvah 529: This is the way of people of good deeds who love peace, rejoice in the good of creation and bring everyone close to the Torah. They do not destroy anything—even a mustard seed—and it troubles them to encounter any destruction or harm. If they can act to save anything from destruction, they use their entire strength to do so.

4. Pirkei D'Rabbi Elazar, 34: When a fruit-bearing tree is chopped down, a voice is heard from one end of the world to the other but it is not audible.

5. Kohelet Rabba, 7:19: When God created the first man he took him and showed him all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him, 'See my works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are. And everything that I created, I created it for you. Be careful not to spoil or destroy my world--for if you do, there will be nobody after you to repair it.'

6. Rashi, commenting on Genesis ch. 2: Originally, the sources tell us, trees were meant to be entirely edible, with the trunk and branches tasting like fruit. Since trees were meant to be the main source of food for man, the entire tree could be consumed for immediate benefit. Consuming the entire tree, however, would destroy its productive capacity. Alternatively, the tree could be left intact to produce edible fruits which could be continuously consumed without destroying the tree itself.

“Bal Tashchit” source sheet

24

Lesson Overview:

Learning objectives

Essential questions

Some background

Materials needed

The book of legends is a collection of Midrashic (homiletic) materials edited and organized by topic, which was compiled by Chayim

Nachman Bialik and Yehoshua Ravnitzky at the beginning of the 20th century. The Talmud and Midrash contain a lot of different kinds of materials:

Laws, discussions, and legends too. The work of Bialik and Ravnitzki was one of extraction and organization: Using the book of legends you can look up stories about Moses, for example, and find at once stories from many different sources. It is likely that Bialik and Ravnitzki chose to create this book at the beginning of the 20th century (1903) as a Zionist act. They wanted to say

that Jews should make room for their ancient tradition as part of the revival of coming to Israel. This identifies them as part of the school of cultural Zionism led by Ahad Ha'am.

Lesson 6: The tree of knowledge

This lesson will discuss the story in Genesis about the tree of knowledge and its companion, the tree of life. Different Rabbinic traditions will be used to interpret this story. In the first stage students will explore the Biblical text about the tree of knowledge. Next, they will study in pairs (― Hevruta‖) and read different Midrashim as they are presented in the Book of Legends. In the summary the teacher will present the book of Legends and its Zionist concept. What does the ability to distinguish good from evil mean? When do people tell legends and create myths and for what purpose?

Students will be able to recount the Biblical story of the Adam, Eve, and the tree of knowledge, along with some of its commentaries

Students will get to know the important ―Book of legends" ( ספר .by Bialik and Ravnitzki (האגדה

Students will consider various answers to the question: What tree was the tree of knowledge?

Source-sheet and work-sheet – one of each per student. If you could get a copy of the Book of legends either in English or in

Hebrew that would be good. Also, try to obtain a copy of Midrash Bereshit Rabbah.

6-8

25

Getting started

Exploration

You can begin the lesson by asking the class to do a simple task: Draw the tree of knowledge. Give the students five minutes for this and then ask them to identify the tree they drew. It is likely that many drew an apple tree. However, as this lesson will show, there is little reason to think that this is what was meant in the Bible. Equating the tree of knowledge with an apple tree is a late Christian idea, and it results perhaps from the fact that a red apple was seen as a symbol of desire. Read the section form Genesis about the trees of life and knowledge (source 1), and ask students to write on the board questions that the text brings to mind. One of the questions should be: What kind of trees were these two?

Divide the class into pairs and explain about the method of studying in ―Hevruta‖ (reading out loud, asking the text questions, raising difficulties with explanations the partner suggests and entering into dialogue). The students will explore part of a page from "the Book of Legend" (a scan of it appears as source-sheet 2): They will be studying sections 90 and 91 which pertain to the tree of life and to the tree of knowledge. They should then fill in the work sheet which will help them go through these sources. The text presents two Midrashim from the early Midrash Bereshit Rabbah (4th century). Midrash 90 offers an explanation of what is the tree of life and explains that is extremely large, so large that it would take 500 years to circle it. It sounds like it is a tree with a lot of life to it. The second Midrash (91) offers five suggestions of what the tree of knowledge may be: some say it is wheat, others – a vine, an etrog or a fig tree. Each of the Rabbis explains his opinion: wheat is because man needs bread for knowledge. Grapes are because it is tree that caused bitterness just like wine, an etrog because it is the only tree whose bark as well as fruit are fit to be eaten, and fig because it was used to cover Adam and Eve‘s nakedness. Each of the Rabbis relied on a different part of the Biblical text to justify his choice. For example, it says Adam and Eve used fig leave for cloths, or it is intimated that the whole tree of knowledge was fit for consumption and not only the fruit. The fifth explanation is that we should not try to guess the identity of the tree. This tree might exist among us today and God spares its dignity and keeps its identity hidden. Emphasize the fact that the Rabbis in all their speculations suggest that this was a known tree and not a magic tree.

26

Wrapping it up

Towards the end of the lesson you may want to dwell for a moment on the Book of Legends from which you have been studying. You could point out footnotes 6 on page 21 and 2 of page 22 showing that this book is actually a collection of different ancient Jewish text arranged according to topics. You could discuss the Zionist context of this book and speak of its importance. An interesting question to ponder is: What is the importance of such collections in a period where so much can be found on the internet? (Well, for one, the internet doesn‘t organize all the material by content). Back to the three of knowledge you could also end by having the students fill in their answer to the following two sentences and then sharing them with the class: ―If I could obtain knowledge from the tree of knowledge what I would most like to know is…‖ ―If I could live eternally with the help of the tree of life, I would use all the extra time to…‖

Bialik and Ravnitzky preparing the Book of Legends

Cover of the Book of Legends in Hebrew

27

Genesis 2,8-9 ט-ח, בראשית פרק ב

קדם וישם שם את האדם אשר יצר' ויטע ה עדן מ ים גן ב מד ' ויצמח ה: אלה ן האדמה כל עץ נח ים מ אלה

תוך הגן ועץ הדעת טוב ור מאכל ועץ החיים ב אה וטוב ל מר :על

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3, 1-8 ח-א, בראשית פרק ג

כל חית השדה אשר עשה ה ים לא תאכלו ' והמחש היה ערום מ שה אף כי אמר אלה ים ויאמר אל הא אלה

כל עץ הגן י עץ הגן נאכל :מ ר פ שה אל המחש מ ים לא : ותאמר הא תוך הגן אמר אלה י העץ אשר ב ר פ ומ

מתון געו בו פן ת םמו ולא ת מתון: תאכלו מ שה לא מות ת ים כי: ויאמר המחש אל הא יום כי ידע אלה ב

עי טוב ורע ים יד ייתם כאלה חו עיניכם וה ק םמו ונפ כם מ מאכל וכי תאוה : אכל שה כי טוב העץ ל ותרא הא

ישה ע א תן גם ל יו ותאכל ות ר פ קח מ כיל ות הש מד העץ ל ם ונח ניהם : םה ויאכלהוא לעיני נה עיני ש פקח ות

אנה ויעשו להם חגרת רו עלה ת פ ם הם וית עו כי עירם עו את קול ה: ויד מ רוח ' ויש הלך בגן ל ת ים מ אלה

ני ה פ תו מ ש חבא האדם וא תוך עץ הגןאל' היום וית ים ב :ה

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, „You must not eat from any tree in the garden‟?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, „You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.‟” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

The tree of knowledge source-sheet

28

The tree of knowledge - Work sheet

Read sources 90 and 91 about the tree of life and the tree of knowledge.

What does source 90 tell us about the tree of life?

__________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Can the fruit of the tree of life be eaten, according to this Midrash? How do you

think this Midrash understands the expression ―tree of life‖?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Look at the first paragraph of source 91.

What kind of tree was the tree of knowledge according to Rabbi Meir?

_________________________________________________________________

What is the problem with that explanation?

_________________________________________________________________

Why did Rabbi Meir think that the tree of knowledge is wheat?

_________________________________________________________________

The second paragraph describes R Judah Bar Ilai‘s opinion on what kind of tree the

tree of knowledge was. What did he think? _____________________________

Why?___________________________________________________________

Who is the Rabbi in the third paragraph? _______________________________

What is his opinion? _______________________________________________

Why?___________________________________________________________

What is the fourth opinion?__________________________________________

29

What part of the Biblical text does it relate to?____________________________

_________________________________________________________________

What is the fifth opinion? ___________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

According to the fifth opinion, can the tree of knowledge be wheat, an etrog,

grapes or a fig tree?_________________________________________________

Why?

_________________________________________________________________

Fill in this table (each line should reflect one paragraph):

Rabbi What kind of tree

Why

R. Meir Wheat Because bread is needed for understanding

R. Judah Ben Ilai

30

Lesson Overview:

Learning objectives

Essential question

Materials needed

Some background

During economic depressions, especially in national-socialist countries, governments sometimes initiated employment for large segments of the unemployed population by offering low-paid menial work such as

foresting, road-building or rail-line laying. This is sometimes referred to as ―make-work jobs‖ or ―pump priming‖. Israel in the 1950‘s was in such a situation with a substantial immigration from Islamic countries and very little employment to offer them. Thus, initiated foresting was conceived and this is how much of the JNF forests in Israel were planted. Today, this practice is not common in Western countries, although India has an entire bureau devoted to such projects. In Western countries, ―workfare‖ is used - an alternative model to conventional social welfare systems. Under workfare, recipients have to meet certain

Lesson 7: Salach Shabati - workfare forestation

―Salach Shabati‖ is an iconic Israeli film about the Aliya (immigration) from North Africa to Israel. The following two lessons focus on an episode in which the new immigrant Salach, while working as a government-initiating planter in the forest, is exposed to the complex relationship between Israelis and American Jews, who are asked to donate money for forests in Israel. Forestation and fundraising for Israel are discussed.

What is society‘s obligation toward immigrants regarding employment?

Students will learn about the time in Israeli history when new immigrants in the fifties and sixties were employed in government initiated work ( עבודות יזומות) and workfare (עבודות דחק) .

Students will learn about the seeding of JNF forests in Israel. The issue of treating the other with compassion and taking care of

the need for jobs will be discussed . Students will learn about Jewish immigration from North Africa to

Israel

The film Salach Shabati (Attached to the lesson plan materials – Use the VLC media player to play it on a computer, or borrow a DVD copy from a video store).

The handout – one per student.

9-12

31

Getting started

Exploration

Wrapping it up

participation requirements to continue to receive their welfare benefits. These requirements are often a combination of training, rehabilitation and work experience and unpaid or low-paid work.

Begin the lesson by introducing the students to the importance of work and to the obligation to find work. Raise the question: Is work and the ability to support oneself a right or a duty? Can a person morally choose not to work and to be supported by welfare? What part of finding work is the responsibility of the state? Should the state be required to offer enough jobs for all its citizens? You can use the quote from the Talmud and / or Maimonides (sources 1 and 2 on the source sheet) to make it clear how imperative the right to work was seen to be, and how the sages stressed the duty of those more fortunate to provide working opportunities. Now, present the film you will be watching, as focusing on the immigration to Israel in the 1950 and introduce the scene that deals with the need for employment of the new immigrants. (More information on this in the attached PPT presentation on immigration to Israel in the 50‘s). Salach Shabati was produced and directed by Ephraim Kishon in 1963. It was the first Israeli film nominated for an Oscar, but it was also very controversial and remains so today. Some say it depicts the plight of Eastern Jewry‘s Aliya to Israel with compassion. Others say it is bigoted and Europo-centric. After watching parts of it, students may want to join in the controversy.

Have the class watch some of the opening scenes of the movie to introduce them to the main protagonist, Salach. Now, fast-forward to minute 25, and watch the next four minutes of the film (25 to 29) In this scene we see Salach going to the employment agency and being sent to work in foresting. He is guided (quite patronistically) on how to plant trees and begins to work, reluctantly. Facilitate a discussion (or give out a hand-out with these questions) around the following:

Why were the new immigrants sent to work in foresting? Why do you think Salach does not work enthusiastically? What do you think about this kind of initiated labor? See if the class can list as

many negative and positive sides to initiated labor as possible. Do you justify the choice to put the immigrants to work in foresting? Why do

you think foresting was so important to the young state? Why might it have been a problematic decision despite this?

regarding the good and bad sides of pump priming and he should emphasize the fact that this method was used to planet forests when the country was in need for forests.

The students should end the lesson with two main conclusions: the importance of making sure all those who are able to work have options to do so, and the difficulties involved in making such a system work. They should also be able to tell the story of the Israeli forests, their importance and their problems. To sum up, read source 3 about the massive effort to fill the land of Israel with trees and ask the students how they feel about this. Mentioning the Carmel forest fire tragedy in this context might be a good idea too.

32

Source 1: Babylonian Talmud, Baba Metzia 112a The verse (in Deuteronomy 24) states, ―And for it, he risks his life‖ Why did this worker climb a high ramp to work or suspend himself on the tree to collect its fruits, placing himself in mortal danger? Was it not for his wage? Another explanation translates the verse as follows: ―On it he stakes his life.‖ Whoever withholds the wages of an employee is considered as if he took his life from him.

זה בכבש ונתלה באילן מפני מה עלה, ואליו הוא נשא את נפשו, (ד"דברים כ)ואידך ההוא מיבעי ליה לכדתניא נוטל כל הכובש שכר שכיר כאילו -נפשו ואליו הוא נשא את: דבר אחר? לא על שכרו -ומסר את עצמו למיתה

.נפשו ממנו

Source 2: Maimonidies, Hilchot Matnot Aniyiim, 10,7 The highest form of charity is to help sustain a person before they become impoverished by offering a substantial gift in a dignified manner, or by extending a suitable loan, or by helping them find employment or establish themselves in business so as to make it unnecessary for them to become dependent on others.

מעלה גדולה שאין למעלה ממנה זה המחזיק ביד ישראל שמך ונותן לו מתנה או הלואה או עושה עמו שותפות .יצטרך לבריות לשאול ו עד שלאאו ממציא לו מלאכה כדי לחזק את יד

Source 3: Why Forestation? From the Website of the JNF (Jewish National Fund)

Israel is one of only two countries in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees. But Israel was not blessed with natural forests; its forests are all hand-planted. When the pioneers of the State arrived, they were greeted by barren land. To claim the land that had been purchased with the coins collected in JNF blue and white pushkes, the next order of business was to plant trees among the rocky hillsides and sandy soil. Since it was established in 1901, JNF has planted more than 240 million trees all over the State of Israel, providing luscious belts of green covering more than 250,000 acres. JNF national forest development work creates ―green lungs‖ around congested towns and cities, and provides recreation and respite for all Israelis. While the forests of Israel belong to the people, JNF ensures their environmental soundness and is focusing on diversification, planting trees indigenous to the Middle East such as native oaks, carob, redbud, almond, pear, and others.

Salach Shabati – source sheet

33

Lesson Overview:

Learning objectives

Essential questions

Materials needed

Some background

The first twenty years in the history of the state of Israel were a period of foundation-laying. The population of Israel doubled itself within a mere three years. Refugees from Holocaust-stricken Europe and from

Islamic countries came with almost nothing and the fledgling state could not support them. Understanding their crucial role in the survival of the state, Jews of the world put massive efforts into supporting Israel. The United Jewish appeal in the U.S. raised billions of dollars and ―Bonds‖ of the state of Israel were sold, raising more than 25 billion dollars. Supporting the survival of Israel became part of the lives of Jews everywhere, often a source of pride and belonging. In the ‗50s and ‗60s many Jewish homes had a ―blue box‖ – the JNF collection box – almost a ritual object. One of the most beloved projects in which Diaspora Jews were involved was tree planting: They would donate money to have a certain number of trees planted in their name. When they visited Israel they got to plant their own trees or visit the ones they planted. This contributed greatly to the forestation of the land (although it was sometimes

This second lesson around the film ―Salach Shabati‖, begins with an introduction of the issue of Tzedakka and the relations between Diaspora Jews and Israeli ones. The students then watch a segment of the film which deals with the ―American-Israeli‖ relations, through donating money for planting trees. The lesson ends by focusing on what is ideal charity and what constitutes suitable behavior on terms of the receiver.

What is the appropriate relationship between donor and receiver? When you donate to an organization, what should you expect of the

organization? How should donors be involved in the cause to which they are giving?

Students will learn about one of important sources of the seeding of JNF forests – Diaspora Jewry and the ―Blue box‖ donations.

Students will learn about Israel in its first years, and of the urgent need for money in Israel in the fifties.

The film Salach Shabati, minutes 29 – 32 (see attached).

Class source-sheet and class work sheet – one per student.

For teacher: PPT presentation about life in Israel in the 50‘s.

Lesson 7: Salach Shabati – The overseas donors 9-12

34

Getting started

Exploration

Wrapping it up

taken advantage of, as you can see in the film). Despite the cooperation, there were ideological disagreements, especially about how involved American Jewry should be in the allocation of their funding. Thus, from the 1990‘s onwards, new models of giving were formed, focusing on cooperation and partnership, in which there was more direct involvement. Organizations such the New Israeli Fund, initiatives such as ―partnership 2000‖ and programs for American youth such as ―Taglit‖ and ―Masa‖ embody this new style of relationship: reciprocal, egalitarian and less traditionally philanthropic. If you‘d like to read more (in Hebrew) turn to the following link: http://lib.cet.ac.il/pages/item.asp?item=19200

You can begin by introducing the students to the importance of Tzedaka (charity giving) in Judaism. Tzedaka comes from the word ―Tzedek‖ – justice. Giving is seen more as a duty than as a right. Then raise the question:

When you or your family gives money to an organization what are your expectations? For example when your parents donate to their synagogue, the federation, etc. what do they expect from these organizations?

Tell the students that in this lesson you will be thinking about a time in Israeli history where assistance from world Jewry was urgently needed. Give the students some background about life in Israel in the 1950s (you can use the attached PPT presentation to enrich your own understanding of this period). Emphasize the challenges Israel faced during the ‗50s and its dire financial situation. Most of the immigrants to Israel came with no resources and the country needed huge amounts of money in order to build its infra-structure.

Screen the film between minute 29 and 32 (assuming you already watched minutes 25-29 in the previous lesson. If this is your only lesson using Salach Shabati, show the first few scenes of the movie to increase

identification with the characters, and then screen minutes 25-32). Now, divide the class into two groups: One group will support the Israeli behavior in this scene and the other will condemn it. To do this, the students may use the texts on the source sheets. Some of the texts support this sort of behavior and others condemn it. Hold a debate on the issue of lying for some greater good. Take a vote: Can this behavior be understood? Condoned? Facilitate a discussion on the role of American Jewry towards the state of Israel. Try to present it is a multi-perspective issue, and to discuss the problems it raises as well as the great good that comes of it.

Remind the student that this is a film and that we don't know if this actually happened. We should also assume that the money was given for foresting but that the actual forest was not there at the time. On the other

hand the scene can teach us that a better relation between a donor and an institution is an ongoing reciprocal relation when the donor can trust the organization and the organization need not put a show up for the donor.

35

Answer these questions after watching the movie clip: What is this scene about? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What do you think about the behavior of the donor? can you recall one of his acts? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What do you feel about the behavior of the Israeli host? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What is Salach Shabati‘s argument? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Can you justify the decision to change the plaques? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Salach Shabati work sheet: Donating to plant trees

36

Maimonides, Mishne Torah, Matnot Aniyiim 9,7: The inhabitants of a city have permission to give the donations given to the kupah (the charity box) to the tamchui (the soup kitchen) and those given for the tamchui to the kupah. Similarly, they may exchange [these donations] for any communal purpose that they desire even though a stipulation to that effect was not made when they were collected. If there is a great sage in that city dependent on whose judgment all collections are made and he is the one who allocates the funds to the poor according to his assessment, he is permitted to use these funds for any communal purpose he sees fit.

Babylonian Talmud, tractate Pesahim 113b The Holy One, blessed be He, hates a person which says one thing with his mouth and another in his heart. Mishnah, Bava Metzia 4:10 As there is wronging in buying and selling, there is wronging with words. A man must not ask: ‗How much is this thing?‖ if he has no intention of buying it. Genesis 11,10-13 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ―I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‗This is his wife.‘ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.‖ Radak (R. David Kimhi, 12th- 13th centuries, Provence) accepts this as a request to lie, not for material benefit, but to save his life. He understands the statement "that it may be well with me" to mean that Abraham would be left alive. Based on the concept that one is not permitted to rely on a miracle in order to save his life, and Radak's opinion that preservation of life prevails over the competing moral imperative of not lying, Abraham was permitted, perhaps even required, to lie in order to save his life. Babylonian Talmud, tractate Yevamot 65b: It was said in the name of Rabbi Eleazar ben Simeon that "one may deviate from the truth for the sake of peace".

Source-sheet: philanthropy and lying