The Prophets
Spring 2017, taught by Max DuBoff
max.duboff@templehatikvahnj.org
In this course, students will become familiar with the narratives and themes of the N'vi'im (Prophets) in the eponymous second section of the Tanakh (Bible).
Spring 2017, taught by Max DuBoff
max.duboff@templehatikvahnj.org
In this course, students will become familiar with the narratives and themes of the N'vi'im (Prophets) in the eponymous second section of the Tanakh (Bible).
Week 10--4/15/18: Shifting from the narrative books of N'vi'im (Prophets), we began discussing the more poetic books, beginning with the first one, Isaiah. We focused on three different themes of the Book of Isaiah: good intent over religious practice; utopian visions; and social justice. We looked both at test from Isaiah and at other usages of it, particularly at a popular folk song based on Isaiah 2:4: Lo yisa goy el goy cherev, v'lo yilm'du od milchamah (Nation shall not take up sword against nation; and they shall not learn war anymore.) We also focused on comtemporary social issues relevant to the exhortations of Isaiah, such as those to help the stranger, the orphan, and the powerless.
Make-up Work: Isaiah is a prophet from around 740 BCE. Listen to this song based on Isaiah 2:4 (lyrics below), then answer the following questions in approximately 1-2 sentences apiece:
Lyrics:
Lo yisa goy el goy cherev, v’lo yilm’du od milchamah.
Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow; don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend, and together we will walk in the name of Hashem.
Nation shall not take up sword against nation; they shall never again know war. (Isaiah 2:4)
Week 9--3/18/18: We discussed the prophet Elijah, a key figure in Judaism for both his role in Tanakh and in later tradition. But we began with a video explaining a bit abut Elijah's role in Judaism but also explaining how he is an important character in later Christian and Muslim tradition, even up until today. We then learned more about Elijah's role in Tanakh specifically, dealing with some of the major stories between him and King Ahab, including the notorious duel with the prophets of Baal. We concluded with a Jeopardy game, mostly about Elijah with some review of material from past weeks as well.
Make-up Work: Read this article about the prophet Elijah in Tanakh, then answer the following questions in 2-3 sentences apiece:
Week 8--3/11/18: We had an in-depth discussion about God, approaching the topic from various angles and encouraging students to ask important questions that define Jewish and life practice. We began by assessing responses to various prompts on a spectrum and discussing the responses, and then we did an activity where students "played" God and responded to various questions posed that people might have for God. Finally, we engaged in hitbodedut, a traditional practice in some Chasidic and other circles of secluding oneself and talking to God.
Make-up Work: There is a Jewish practice called hitbodedut, which refers to the process of separating oneself from the world and talking to God. For 10 minutes (you should ideally set a timer so you don’t have to look at a clock), try to engage in hitbodedut, regardless of what you think about God. You can talk about anything, and don’t be discouraged if it’s initially hard to think of thing to say. Here are some questions that might be helpful to ask yourself:
Please have a parent or guardian either sign a slip which you can give to me in class, or email me at max.duboff@templehatikvahnj.org to confirm that you did this activity.
Week 7--3/4/18: We concluded our look at King David by analyzing his most famous discretion, when he marries Bathsheba and has Uriah killed. In particular, we examined the parable that Nathan tells David shortly afterward about a rich man who steals his poor neighbor's treasured sheep, and we applied lessons from ancient and modern notions of justice in order to look at David in a new light. We then moved on to David's son Solomon and his crowning achievement, the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem. Students designed their own Temples from playing cards, deciding what sorts of features to include and how to do justice to the site's majestic goal.
Make-up Work: Read the following passage (1 Kings 6:1-6) about the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem by Solomon:
1In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv—that is, the second month—in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, Solomon began to build the House of the Lord. 2The House which King Solomon built for the Lord was 60 cubits [unit of measurement equal to about 1.5 ft] long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. 3The portico in front of the Great Hall of the House was 20 cubits long—along the width of the House—and 10 cubits deep to the front of the House. 4He made windows for the House, recessed and latticed. 5Against the outside wall of the House—the outside walls of the House enclosing the Great Hall and the Shrine—he built a storied structure; and he made side chambers all around. 6The lowest story was 5 cubits wide, the middle one 6 cubits wide, and the third 7 cubits wide; for he had provided recesses around the outside of the House so as not to penetrate the walls of the House.
Using materials found around the house (e.g. playing cards) or just by drawing, design your own Temple for King Solomon. Bring in your design or send a picture to max.duboff@templehatikvahnj.org.
Questions to ponder as you work on the design:
Week 6--2/25/18: We continued discussing the Book of Samuel, resuming with 2 Samuel and focusing on the reign of King David. Through a Would You Rather-inspired activity, we examined the ethical dimensions of various stories in 2 Samuel, such as those of Amnon, Absalom, Michal, and many with David. We discussed biblical and contemporary reasoning behind phenomena like violence and retributive justice, as well as building familiarity with the biblical stories.
Make-up Work: Read the following three excerpts from 2 Samuel and answer these questions in 2-3 sentences apiece:
2 Samuel 11:2-4: 2Late one afternoon, David rose from his couch and strolled on the roof of the royal palace; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3and the king sent someone to make inquiries about the woman. He reported, “She is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam [and] wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4David sent messengers to fetch her; she came to him…”
2 Samuel 11:14-17: 14In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, which he sent with Uriah. 15He wrote in the letter as follows: “Place Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest; then fall back so that he may be killed.” 16So when Joab was besieging the city, he stationed Uriah at the point where he knew that there were able warriors. 17The men of the city went out and attacked Joab, and some of David’s officers among the troops fell; Uriah the Hittite was among those who died.
2 Samuel 12:1-4: 1But the Lord was displeased with what David had done, and the Lord sent [the prophet] Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich and one poor. 2The rich man had very large flocks and herds, 3but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He tended it and it grew up together with him and his children: it used to share his morsel of bread, drink from his cup, and nestle in his lap; it was like a daughter to him. 4One day, a traveler came to the rich man, but he didn’t want to take anything from his own flocks or herds to prepare a meal for the guest who had come to him; so he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
Week 5--2/11/18: We moved from the beginning of the Book of Samuel to the rest of 1 Samuel, covering the major stories via a fun game of Telestrations/telephone Pictionary. Major highlights included discussion of Samuel's upbringing and role as a prophet, the institution of the kingship among the Israelites, King Saul, and King David (including his encounter with Goliath and part of his reign).
Make-up Work: Read the “Summary” section (stopping before the “Analysis” section) of this article about 1 Samuel (pronounced “First Samuel” because it’s the first of two parts of the Book of Samuel) and answer the questions below in 2-3 sentences apiece.
Week 4--2/4/18: We continued our trajectory through Prophets, reaching the beginning of the Book of Samuel. We focused on the story of Hannah, Samuel's mother, who is granted a son after extraordinary (and unprecedented, at that point in Tanakh) prayer, which has become a model for our prayer today. We then played a fun quiz on Kahoot on Hannah's story as well as other stories from Prophets that we discussed earlier in the semester.
Makeup Work: Watch just the first 3 minutes of this video on the story of Hannah. Answer the following questions in approximately two sentences apiece:
Week 3--1/28/18: We discussed the second book of the Prophets section of the Bible, the Book of Judges. We particularly focused on three of the Judges (Gideon, Deborah, and Samson) through a fun charades game, explaining the significance of various terms after acting them out. There was a also discussion of women in the Book of Judges, namely Deborah and Yael, and their role in the society of the time and in the book.
Make-up Work: Read the first 5 verses of the Song of D’vorah (below) in Judges 5:1-5, which is delivered after a major battle victory against the Phone, and write 5 lines of your own song or poem about something you're thankful for. Think about the themes in the Song of D’vorah and about the literary techniques she uses in her song.
1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang:
2 When locks [of hair] go untrimmed in Israel,
When people dedicate themselves—
Bless the Lord!
3 Hear, O kings! Give ear, O potentates [powerful ones]!
I will sing, will sing to the Lord,
Will hymn the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 O Lord, when You came forth from Seir,
Advanced from the country of Edom,
The earth trembled;
The heavens dripped,
Yea, the clouds dripped water,
5 The mountains quaked—
Before the Lord, Him of Sinai,
Before the Lord, God of Israel.
Week 2--1/21/18: We dove into the N'vi'im (Prophets) section of Tanakh today by beginning with the first book, Joshua. First, for context, we watched a video depicting, on a map of the region, Abraham's family's and then the Israelites' movements up through the beginning of the Book of Joshua. Then we played telephone pictionary with key terms from the Book of Joshua and discussed how the terms relate to the Book. Along the way, we touched on the major themes of Joshua, including: conquest and war; loyalty to God; the unity of the Israelite people; and the division of the land of Canaan.
Make-up Work: Read the first page of this summary of the Book of Joshua. Answer the following discussion questions in 2-3 sentences apiece:
Week 1--1/7/18: We discussed the idea of prophets and prophecy in Jewish tradition, building key concepts that will be employed as we look at specific biblical prophets in future classes. We talked about the division of Tanakh into sections, including the N'vi'im section, and played a fun game about trying to predict the future. We looked at a passage from the Torah outlining prophecy in the era after Moses and mentioned some examples of specific prophets and what they're famous for (all of whom will be discussed in greater detail later).
Make-up Work: Brainstorm what requirements there are for someone to be considered a prophet (aim to come up with at least 5). Then read Deuteronomy 18:15-22 below and compare your list to the requirements presented there in a written response of approximately 2 sentences.
15The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your own people, like myself; him you shall heed. 16This is just what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb, on the day of the Assembly, saying, “Let me not hear the voice of the Lord my God any longer or see this wondrous fire any more, lest I die.” 17Whereupon the Lord said to me, “They have done well in speaking thus. 18I will raise up a prophet for them from among their own people, like yourself: I will put My words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command him; 19and if anybody fails to heed the words he speaks in My name, I myself will call him to account. 20But any prophet who presumes to speak in My name an oracle that I did not command him to utter, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet shall die.” 21And should you ask yourselves, “How can we know that the oracle was not spoken by the Lord?”— 22if the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the oracle does not come true, that oracle was not spoken by the Lord; the prophet has uttered it presumptuously: do not stand in dread of him.