Neglected Characters in Tanach: Mid-Year Unit Project

Neglected Characters in Tanach: Mid-Year Unit Project

Presentations: Friday Dec 4th

• You will have an opportunity to represent your knowledge of a “neglected character” in a variety of different ways. What you choose is entirely up to you!

• Each assignment will have a written and oral component. You can do your assignment individually or in pairs.

• In each case, your goal is to represent your profound understanding of the character and what his/her story in Tanach teaches us today.

• Start with analyzing the “pshat”, the simple text of their story like we do in class. Ask your own questions. Then read a 2-3 articles or commentaries until you find some enriching answers!

Project Options:

1. Missing Storyline: Is there a part of the this character's story untold that you wish had been elaborated? A conversation that never occurred? A relationship that was not developed? This is your chance to write and perform just such a scene.

2. Essay: Write a formal essay (3-4 pages) in which you offer an insightful reading your neglected character. You will present the essence of your argument to the class.

3. Playlist assignment: Create a playlist for your neglected characters. Design an album cover with a unique title and image which represent this character’s internal landscape. Choose one song from the playlist and write an analysis of the lyrics which illustrates how this particular song relates to your chosen character.

4. Wild Card: A super-creative assignment of your own devising that shows your profound understanding of the character and can be shared with the class.

Choosing a Character: Choose one you’re interested in! Feel free to use your own resources. Make sure your content is substantial and interesting. Here are some of my favorite links:

1. Jonathan Sacks http://www.rabbisacks.org/
2. Gush Etzion’s http://etzion.org.il/en/ Check out the Tanach tab!
3. Audio Shiurim YUTorah http://www.yutorah.org/index.cfm

Looking forward to your presentations and good luck!

Test Outline for Nov 11th

Test Outline Nov 11th

1. Neglected Story: Yaakov’s Encounter with Paroah

1. Pshat of Story בְּרֵאשִׁית מז:ז–י
2. Questions and Challenges on Pshat
3. Mepharshim (רש’’י, Rav Munk, רמב’’ן, Rav Hirsch, others answer said in class)
1. Bio’s of Mepharshim(רש’’י, רמב’’ן,, Rav Hirsch - their names and what century and where they lived)
4. Form an opinion answering our initial questions

2. Chosenness

1. Rule of the first born
2. The exceptions / trends in the Torah
3. Avraham as the exception
4. Explanation to non-Jewish friend about what it means to be chosen

3. Of course, included are:

1. Class discussions, (ex: analysis of Yaakov’s life)
2. Answers to questions on sheets
3. Genealogy from Avraham -- Binyamin

Good Luck!!

How much are you "living"? כַּמָּה, יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֶּיךָ.

Due Monday Nov 9th
Rav Hirsch on בראשית מז:ח–ט 

In his reply, Ya’akov differentiates between living and existing: You ask about the days of the years of my life? I have not lived much, but I have sojourned on earth a hundred and thirty years. The days of the years that I can call my life (in which I fully accomplished my mission) were few..." "This is not a complaint about the shortness of his life, but modesty in looking back at the moral worth of the life he experienced."

According to Rav Hirsch, Yaakov's strange reply to Paroah was NOT about his years quantitatively. It was about how his years were qualitatively.

Response Question:
Stepping back, what things do we do where we feel we are truly "living" and not just existing? What actions do you do / what times of life do you feel most alive? What are activities that people do where they are merely existing..and why do people keep doing them if thats how it makes them feel?