Genesis Basics
Click on this word -- GENESIS -- to see what you remember from the first book of Torah!
Exodus Essentials: Test your knowledge of Shemot!
Click on this: EXODUS QUIZ -- to see what you remember about the highlights of The Book of Exodus!
There is another fun quiz if you click: HERE
DEBATE TOPICS: PICK A SIDE!
DEBATE:
The siblings in the Bible are enemies at the end of the day VS.
The siblings in the Bible are kind to each other at end of the day
DEBATE:
God is a forgiving God VS.
God is a punishing God
DEBATE:
Joseph was a selfless leader VS.
Joseph did more for himself than others
DEBATE:
Abraham’s flaws make him the right man for God to choose to father a great nation.
VS.
Abraham’s flaws make him a questionable choice for God’s exemplar.
DEBATE
Abraham is heroic for arguing that God should save the people of Sodom & Gomorrah.
VS
Abraham is cowardly for not arguing with God when God instructs him to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
DEBATE:
Sarah had a right to exile Hagar and Ishmael
VS
Sarah had no right to exile Hagar and Ishmael
DEBATE:
Jacob had no moral compass and was a con artist
VS
Jacob deserved the name Israel
DEBATE:
God seems to grow and mature in the Bible
VS
God seems to richochet between immature and mature behavior in the Bible
DEBATE:
Pharaoh wasn’t responsible for the Israelites continued enslavement because God hardened his heart.
VS.
Pharaoh was entirely responsible for the Israelites’ continued suffering.
DEBATE TOPIC:
Moses wasn’t such an impressive leader because he was reluctant to take the job of leading his people to freedom
VS.
Moses was an incredibly impressive leader precisely because of his reluctance.
DEBATE:
It was unseemly for the Israelites to dance in celebration after crossing the Sea of Reeds and watching the Egyptian army drown behind them .
VS.
It was entirely reasonable for the Israelites to dance after centuries of suffering at the hands of the Egyptian ruler and his armies.
DEBATE:
The Israelites are blameless for doubting God and complaining to Moses after they’d just escaped slavery in Egypt.
VS.
The Israelites were childish and ungrateful and deserved their punishment of being denied Canaan.
DEBATE:
The Jews are no longer metaphorically in Egypt anywhere in the world.
VS.
There are Jews in symbolic Egypts in certain places in the world.
Where does the word "Jew" come from?
Judah, one of Jacob's 12 sons, who include: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Naftali, Issachar, Asher, Dan, Zebulan, Gad, Joseph, Benjamin.
Test yourself on Tanakh
Click on the word, FLASHCARDS,to see what you remember about the Tanakh!
Questions for Class & Family Discussion
*Why do you think it's important that God creates HUMANS in the creation story; not Jews specifically?
*The first commandment of our 613 is "be fruitful and multiply." Why do you think that command comes first?
* The first of the Ten Commandments commands belief. Do you think belief can be commanded? If you were TOLD to believe, would you?
* When the Torah demands we make one day of the week "holy," what does that mean to you? What would you define as "holy" and do you think one day is enough?
* God tells Adam “you shall die” if you eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but then Adam doesn't die. Why do you think God didn’t follow through on his threat?
* Why do you think God gave up on humanity so soon after he had created humanity? (Noah story)
* In Genesis Cain asks, "Am I my brother's keeper?" -- essentially saying he's not responsible for his brother. Then later in Exodus, Judah declares about Benjamin, “I myself will be surety for him," declaring he is responsible for his brother. Talk about this different approach to a sibling and whether you feel responsible for your sibling.
* When do human beings argue with God? Why is that so rare? Do you think it's important to challenge the ultimate authority? Have you ever done so?
* The rabbis seem to agree that Isaac did not resist or protest when his father tied him up on Mount Moriah. How do you explain that?
*Talk about favoritism in the Bible using Cain & Abel, Isaac & ishmael, Jacob & Esau, Rachel & Leah, Joseph & his brothers, Moses, Miriam & Aaron.
*In the Torah scroll, there is a rare musical note under the word "refused" in the portion when Joseph refuses to sleep with Potiifar's wife. It's a marker called a "shalshelet" which signifies that the note lasts 5 seconds and the word should be drawn out -- emphasizing that Joseph struggled against Potiphar's wife for a long time. Why do you think Joseph's refusal is emphasized? (Extra fun exercise: research the other three times a "shalshelet" appears in the Torah.)
*Talk about name changes in the Bible. (Abraham, Sarah, Jacob.)
*People today change their Hebrew names when they're very sick -- to make it harder for the angel of death to find them. Do you understand the idea that when you shed your name, you become a different person?
* Do you believe that Jacob felt guilty for tricking his dad into giving him the birthright? When have you ever tricked your Mom or Dad?
* Jacob demands a blessing from the angel he wrestles with, in exchange for releasing him. Do you think a blessing is still a blessing if it's forced?
* The line you've heard many times, "Man does not live by bread alone," appears in Deuteronomy. What do you think that actually means?
* Give an example -- from the Bible or from modern day news -- of "Pride goes before a fall" from Proverbs 16:18.
_______________
Teach us about Deception in the Torah:
*REBECCA DECEIVES ISAAC
*JACOB DECEIVES ESAU
*LABAN DECEIVES JACOB Gen 29:20-26
*JOSEPH’S BROTHERS DECEIVE JACOB – Gen 37:31-35
*JOSEPH DECEIVES HIS BROTHERS
*TAMAR DECEIVES JUDAH
___________________________________
* What are some of the times that God punishes in the Bible? What are some of the times God forgives?
* It appears that the Jewish people need to see a miracle to believe in God. They believe after the plagues, after the Red Sea parts, after they get manna in the dessert, after the lightning comes down on Mount Sinai. What does it say about faith if it requires miracles?
*God waited to part the Red Sea untill one man -- Nachshon -- showed a sign of faith and entered the raging waters. Why did God need to see a sign of faith first?
*When do you think you've been a Nachshon -- you've taken a leap of faith?
*Discuss the idea of breakage in the Jewish tradition: the breaking of the Afikomen, the breaking of the Tablets, the breaking of the glass during a wedding.
*Why do you think Moses isn't allowed to enter The Promised Land?
*Discuss the reluctance to lead: Moses, Aaron, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jonah all show hesitation when they're asked to lead. Is that a good trait in our leaders?
*Talk about remorse in the Bible: Does God regret the Flood? Does Abraham regret how close he came to killing his son? Does Jacob regret stealing the birthright from his twin? Do Joseph's brothers regret throwing Joseph in a pit? Does Joseph regret framing Benjamin? Does David regret killing Bathsheba's husband?
* The rabbis say that God grows up over the course of the Bible -- that God makes mistakes, learns, and matures. Where are examples of God evolving?
* Why do you think the giving of the Torah is known as "Revelation"?
* Talk about infertility in the Bible: Sarah, Rachel, Hannah....
* Why do you think the attack of Amalek is considered the worst evil in the Torah -- worse than slavery in Egypt? (Remember Amalek's army attacked the Israelites at the rear when they walking in the desert, which meant killed predominantly the women and children.)
* A rabbinic commentary says that when God asked the Israelites who will guard the Torah, the Israelites offered three possibilities: their children, the patriarchs, and the prophets. God chose the children. Why are children the best guardians of Torah?
* Why do you think it might be intentional that no one knows where Mount Sinai is?
The children of Israel stood at Mount Sinai and declared na’aseh v’nishma, “we will do and we will listen.” Why do you think the doing comes before the listening? Explore the idea that maybe you act before you understand. The Israelites entered the covenant BEFORE they knew what it meant.
* One rabbinic reading suggests that at Sinai God held the mountain over the people and threatened that if they did not accept the covenant, God would drop the mountain on them. Does that tell you that the covenant was forced as opposed to chosen? Does it make it less valid if we were threatened with being flattened?
* Rabbi Irwin Kula said “It was easier to take the people out of Egypt, than to take Egypt out of the people.” What do you think he meant by that?
* The rabbis say that God didn't want people with a slave mentality to start the new nation which is why God didn't let any of those who escaped Egypt to get to The Promised Land. Does this reasoning make sense to you?
* The Bible doesn't portray peaceful methods of resolving conflicts. How does that square with our idea of what Judaism stands for?
* How would you explain why Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, were killed by God so quickly? What did they do wrong? (Lev: 10:1)
* Why do you think Elijah is the one figure in the Bible who never dies?
* After the Second Temple was destroyed, Judaism could no longer took place in one location. The Rabbis had to sustain Judaism wherever Jews happened to be. Do you think Judaism needs a place (a temple), or it can live wherever Jews are?
* Joseph weeps when his brother, Judah, takes the fall for their brother, Benjamin and after he reveals himself to the siblings who don't recognize him. King David weeps when his first son dies. Who besides Joseph and King David's cries in the Hebrew Bible and why is weeping so rare?
* Why do you think David forgives Absalom, despite his son's betrayal?
* Why is David's son, Solomon, considered by Jewish tradition to be the wisest man in the Bible?
* The Hebrew meaning of "prophet" ("Navi") is "spokesman for God." Do you think anyone today "speaks for God"?
* How do you reconcile the verses in Joshua that command us to total war with the verses commanding us to love the stranger.
* The burial site Abraham chose for Sarah in Hebron – called the Cave of the Patriarchs – is today one of the most fought-over spots in the West Bank. Discuss why it remains so controversial. (Jews consider it the second-holiest place on Earth, but Hebron is an Arab town. Ultra-religious settlers and thousands of Palestinians live squeezed side by side. In 1929, Arabs killed 67 Jews in Hebron. In 1994, a Jewish settler killed 29 Palestinians at the Cave of the Patriarchs.)
Tanakh has three main elements
1. TORAH/The Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy
2. NEVI'IM/Prophets: including Joshua, Deborah, King David story, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Jonah and the Whale, Micah
3. KETUVIM/Writings: Psalms, Job, Ruth & Naomi, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel
Know the names of the Five Books
Genesis = B'reishit = "In the beginning"
Exodus = Sh'mot = "The Names"
Leviticus = Vayikra = "And he called"
Numbers = B'midbar = "In the wilderness"
Deuteronomy = D'varim = "The words"