Circle 1: Me/The Self (Shleimut)
1. Standing Together
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Establish guidelines for themselves to make the space a place for honest conversation
- Feel more connected and comfortable with the rest of the group
- Describe what to expect from these curricular sessions
- Describe more than one aspect of their identities
Jewish Text: Torah
2. A Listening Heart
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Identify the difference between empathy and sympathy
- Identify where empathy is reflected in Jewish values
- Practice reframing sympathetic situations they might encounter with an empathetic response
- Articulate where and why it is important to practice empathy
Jewish Text: Kings
3. Stressed Out? Tune In!
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Learn more about the body’s physical response to stress and brainstorm some de-stressing techniques.
- Discuss how their physical response to stress and stress relief techniques might be informed by gender and gender stereotypes.
- Use Jewish wisdom to help remind them that they can take action to reduce their stress levels.
- Reflect on how they responded to the prolonged stress and uncertainty of the pandemic.
Jewish Text: Jewish Folklore
4. Jewish Identity
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will…
- Explore the personal experiences and emotions that are connected to Jewish identity.
- Reflect on the relationship between their Jewish identity and their other identities.
- Support their peers in connecting to Jewish identity.
5. Self-Care Does a Body Good
Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will…
- Deepen their understanding about the many dimensions of self-care
- Read and reflect on Jewish texts/wisdom to explore the meaning of self-care and its relationship with their body and their community
- Nurture empathy and self-awareness by identifying obstacles to practicing self-care, by sharing self-care strategies they use, and by learning new strategies from their peers
Jewish Text: Pirke Avot & Rav Kook
6. Happy Self, Happy Brain
Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will…
- Create their own definition of happiness and consider why happiness matters
- Explore what Jewish wisdom has to say about happiness and the self
- Develop an understanding of the neuroscience behind leading fulfilling and joyful lives
Jewish Text: Rabbinic Thought
7. The Limits of Ability
Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will…
- Better understand people with different abilities than their own
- Consider what it takes to be a good friend, sibling, family member or community member to a person with disabilities
- Examine how communities have changed to be more accessible and inclusive of people with disabilities as well as what work still needs to be done
Jewish Text: Torah, Talmud
8. Saving the World Without Losing Your Mind – coming soon
Circle 2: Relationships/Family (Hesed)
1. Risk Taking & Courage
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will…
- Explore the messages that teenagers receive about risks and courage from media, society, and Judaism, including messages about gender norms and risk/courage
- Reflect on their personal relationship with risks
- Reflect on their personal “fallback setting” and how to check in with themselves in a new or stressful social situation in order to make thoughtful, healthy, and safe decisions
Jewish Text: Talmud
2. FOMO & Filters & Facetime, Oh My!
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Inquire into the role that social media plays in students’ own lives
- Understand the pressures that they and their peers feel related to using social media.
- Reflect on ancient Jewish wisdom, and consider how it may speak to the adolescent challenges and experiences related to social media use.
- Create a resource of Jewish wisdom, for self and/or fellow-students, to draw on when considering social media use
Jewish Text: Proverbs
3. Friendship: “I’ll be there for you!”
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Identify the characteristics of healthy and supportive friendships
- Describe what they value most in friends
- Apply Jewish wisdom to the participants’ understanding of their own friendships
Jewish Text: Torah
4. Conflict Resolution
Objectives : By the end of the session, participants will …
- Reflect on the ways they feel about conflict.
- Identify their personal style when addressing moments of conflict.
- Practice ways to work through conflict in order to create positive relationships.
Jewish Text: Talmud
5. Boundaries
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Practice how to set boundaries and communicate their needs.
- Understand why setting physical, emotional, material, and time boundaries -is important to their well-being.
- Identify the importance of boundaries in Judaism.
Jewish Text: Talmud
6. Disagreement For the Sake of Heaven
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Develop familiarity and fluency in the skills of “disagreement for the sake of Heaven”
- Practice engaging in dialogue with others whose beliefs differ from their own
- Develop a plan for talking with members of their community about a topic of personal importance
Jewish Text: Torah, Hillel & Shammai
7. Reinventing Family
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Reflect on the traditions, values, and cultures that are core to their family experience
- Contemplate where their family fits within the spectrum of Jewish families?
- Dream about their future family
Jewish Text: Torah
8. When Friendship Isn’t Forever – coming soon
Circle 3: Community/World (Tzedek)
1. Jewish Peoplehood
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Reflect on their own sense of belonging and connection to the Jewish people.
- Explore the plurality of ways that Jews around the world connect to Jewish identity.
- Feel inspired to connect to Jewish peoplehood/Judaism in at least one new way.
2. Understanding Racial Bias
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Be able to define “learned implicit bias”
- Make connections between historical and current systems of oppression that impact their learned implicit biases
- Begin to explore ways they can address racial bias and think about their responsibility
Jewish Text: Pirke Avot
3. Antisemitism
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Explore the personal experiences and emotions connected to antisemitism.
- Describe what antisemitism is and how it manifests in the wider world along with the Jewish world.
- Reflect about their role in responding to anti-Jewish hatred.
4. Home/Land: Exploring Israel Through the Theme of Home
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Explore the idea of home: Where is home for you? What or who connects you to home? .
- Reflect on what it means to call America home, and like other Jews from all over the world, what it means to have a “home” in Israel.
- Describe the concepts of am, eretz and medinat Israel.
5. Gender Inclusivity and Transphobia
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Reflect on the Jewish value of Kavod Ha-Briyot, honoring the inherent worth and dignity of every living being, including trans, non-binary, and gender expansive folks.
- Begin to form an understanding of the differences between sex, gender, and sexual orientation.
- Reflect on the fact that a multitude of genders and sexes have existed throughout history, including during the time of the Mishnah.
- Experience a heightened awareness of some of the everyday issues trans and gender non-binary people may encounter.
- Become aware of how they can show up as allies.
Jewish Text: Torah
6. Media Bias – coming soon
7. How to Change the World: A Jewish Activist’s Guide – coming soon
8. Tools For Designing the Future – coming soon
9. Closing Session: The In-Between
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will …
- Reflect on the past year including what they’ve learned and how they’ve changed
- Consider the challenges they have faced over the past year individually and as a group
- Explore the concept of liminal spaces using the Israelites as an example
Jewish Text: Torah