8th Grade Comparative Religion Draft 2010-11 Enduring Understandings -Learning about other religions can improve our

understanding of Judaism. -Living in diversity forces us to examine, understand and sometimes defend our own religion while remaining respectful of others. Goals -For students to begin to explore world religions in a respectful way -To encourage students to think about different ways of being Jewish -To give students a space to examine relationships between Judaism and other religions as well as Jews and believers of other religions Objectives By the end of this unit, students will be able to -identify some distinguishing characteristics of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism -explain some of the different beliefs of Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist Jews -hypothesize possible causes and solutions for religious tensions -properly use key religious terms Unit Overview Lesson 1 (2/9)-Introduction/Religion at the Core prep Lesson 2 (2/23)-What is religion? What is Judaism? Lesson 3 (3/9)-God Lesson 4 (3/23)-Prayer Lesson 5 (4/13)-Comparative Judaism Lesson 6 (4/27)-Conclusion I- Sacred Text Conclusion II (5/11)

Lesson 1: Introduction/Religion at the Core Preparation Goals: To introduce students to the idea of learning about Judaism through learning about other religions To prepare students to ask thoughtful and respectful questions about other religions Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to State three questions they have about Judaism State three questions they have about other religions Explain why they think it is important to learn about other religions Essential Questions: Why is there more than one kind of Judaism? Why are there different religions? Is one religion better than another? Activities (10 min) Create a bubble map with religion in the center: What are the different categories that need to be included in a religion? This can be done individually or as a class. (20 min) Divide into four small groups. Each group will focus on one religion (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hindu) and will be given some information about that religion. Each group will be asked to consider their information and the different categories and write down all the questions that they have. (10 min) Each group can share some or all of their questions (depending on time). Discuss as a class- How similar or different are the different groups questions? Why do you think that is? (15 min) As a class, go through the same activity with Judaism, writing down all of the classs questions about Judaism related to each category. Discuss: Do we have more questions about Judaism or about the other religions? Why do you think that is? Is it important to try to get answers to our questions? Why or why not? Remind students to keep these questions in mind as you head into the Sanctuary for Religion at the Core.

Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recounted in the New Testament. As of the early 21st century, it has between 1.5 billion and 2.1 billion adherents, more than any other religion, and representing about a quarter of the world's population. It is the state religion of at least sixteen countries. Its followers, known as Christians, believe Jesus to have been the Son of God and the Messiah (or Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament, the part of their scriptures they have in common with Judaism. To Christians, Jesus Christ is a teacher, the model of a pious life, the revealer of God, the mediator of salvation and the savior who suffered, died and was resurrected in order to bring about salvation from sin for all. Christians maintain that Jesus ascended into heaven and most denominations teach that Jesus will judge the living and the dead, granting everlasting life to his followers. The "good news" of Jesus' ministry is called the Gospel. The Trinity is often regarded as an essential doctrine of mainstream Christianity. It is a complex topic and there are varying interpretations. The most common understanding of the Holy Trinity, as espoused in the Nicene Creed, is one God that exists as three Persons Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" represents both the immanence and transcendence of God. God is believed to be infinite and God's presence may be perceived through the actions of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Like Judaism and Islam, Christianity is classified as an Abrahamic religion. Through missionary work and colonization, Christianity spread firstly in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and parts of India and subsequently throughout the entire world.

Islam Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. The word Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of oneself to God. An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim, meaning "one who submits (to God)". There are between 1.1 billion and 1.8 billion Muslims, making Islam the second-largest religion in the world, after Christianity. Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, God's final prophet, and regard the Qur'an and the Sunnah (words and deeds of Muhammad) as the fundamental sources of Islam. They do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. Islamic tradition holds that Jews and Christians distorted the revelations God gave to these prophets by either altering the text, introducing a false interpretation, or both. Islam includes many religious practices. Adherents are generally required to observe the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five duties that unite Muslims into a community. In addition to the Five Pillars, Islamic law (sharia) has developed a tradition of rulings that touch on virtually all aspects of life and society. This tradition encompasses everything from practical matters like dietary laws and banking to warfare. Almost all Muslims belong to one of two major denominations, the Sunni and Shi'a. The schism developed in the late 7th century following disagreements over the religious and political leadership of the Muslim community. Roughly 85 percent of Muslims are Sunni and 15 percent are Shi'a. Islam is the predominant religion throughout the Middle East, as well as in parts of Africa and Asia. Large communities are also found in China, the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe and Russia. There are also large Muslim immigrant communities in other parts of the world such as Western Europe. About 20 percent of Muslims live in Arab countries.

Hinduism Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as Santana Dharma by its practitioners, a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal path" or "the eternal law". Hinduism is the world's oldest major religion that is still practiced. Its earliest origins can be traced to the ancient Vedic civilization. A conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions, Hinduism has no single founder. It is the world's third largest religion following Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India and Nepal. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and Canada. Hinduism contains a vast body of scriptures. Divided as ruti (revealed) and Smriti (remembered) and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound on theology, philosophy and mythology, and provide spiritual insights and guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). In the orthodox view, among such texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Tantras, the sectarian Agamas, the Puras and the epics Mahbhrata and Rmyaa. The Bhagavad Gt, a treatise excerpted from the Mahbhrata, is sometimes called a summary of the spiritual teachings of the Vedas. Hinduism is an extremely diverse religion. Although some tenets of the faith are accepted by most Hindus, scholars have found it difficult to identify any doctrines with universal acceptance among all denominations. Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsra (The continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara), and the various Yogas (paths or practices). Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism and atheism. It is sometimes referred to as henotheistic (devotion to a single God while accepting the existence of other gods), but any such term is an oversimplification of the complexities and variations of belief.

Buddhism Buddhism is a set of teachings described as a religion or way of life. One point of view says it is a body of philosophies influenced by the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha. Another point of view says it is teachings to guide one to directly experiencing reality. Many scholars regard it as a plurality rather than a single entity. Buddhism is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means roughly the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and Pali, languages of ancient Buddhist texts. Buddhism began around the 5th century BCE with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, hereafter referred to as "the Buddha". Buddhism had become virtually extinct in India, and although it continued to exist in surrounding countries, its influence was no longer expanding. It is now again gaining strength. While estimates of the number of Buddhist followers range from 230 to 500 million worldwide, most estimates are between 310 million, and 350 million. In addition, most scholars classify similar numbers of people under a category they call variously Chinese (folk/traditional) religion, which is an amalgam of various traditions, including Buddhism. According to one analysis, Buddhism is the fourth-largest religion in the world behind Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. The monks' order (Sangha), which began during the lifetime of the Buddha in India, is among the oldest organizations on earth. At the present time, the teachings of all three branches of Buddhism have spread throughout the world, and Buddhist texts are increasingly translated into local languages. While, in the West, Buddhism is often seen as exotic and progressive, in the East, Buddhism is regarded as familiar and part of the establishment. Buddhists in Asia are frequently well organized and well funded. In a number of countries, it is recognized as an official religion and receives state support. In the West, Buddhism is recognized as one of the growing spiritual influences.

Lesson 2: What is Religion? Goals To attempt to come up with a definition of what religion is To examine how Judaism fits into that definition To introduce students to the topic of this unit Objectives By the end of this lesson, students will be able to Name characteristics shared by all religions Identify how Judaism understands these characteristics Essential Questions What are the commonplaces of religion? How does Judaism relate to these commonplaces? Activities (15 min) Put quotes about religion around the room. Ask students to choose one that particularly speaks to them and stand by it. Give students a few minutes to discuss with the people standing near them why they chose that quote. One student from each group should share their quote and reason with the class. (5 min) Brainstorm on the board: What are the characteristics that make up a religion? Answers may include things like belief in a higher power, ceremonies, special text, shared language (10 min) Watch selection from Trekkies (Scenes 4, 8, 12, 16, 22), looking for these characteristics (one student may be assigned to watch for each characteristic, or all of the students may look for all of them.) Students may be given paper and pens to write down things they notice. (15 min) Discuss what was seen: Is Trekkie a religion? Why or why not? (10 min) Explain to students that in this semester, they are going to be learning about a few of the major world religions and their similarities to and differences from Judaism. Establish some ground rules for these classes- an expectation that each of the religions will be respected, everyone will attempt to avoid stereotyping as much as possible, etc. Also remind students that everyone is going to have different amounts of knowledge about these religions and no question is a bad or stupid one. Materials Needed: Quotes about religion on big paper Paper Pens White board and markers Laptop computer

The problem to be faced is: how to combine loyalty to one's own tradition with reverence for different traditions.
-Abraham Joshua Heschel

When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow.
-Anais Nin

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.
-Blaise Pascal

Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much, whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much. You must lead a good life.
-the Dalai Lama

Doubt is part of all religion. All the religious thinkers were doubters.
-Isaac Bashevis Singer

I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line.
-Lucille Ball

In the faces of men and women I see God.

-Walt Whitman

Lesson 3: God Goals: To explore what different religions believe about God To think about why so many religions include a god-idea To examine our own beliefs about God and their relationships to the Jewish Godidea Objectives By the end of this lesson, students will be able to Describe the basic characteristics of the god-idea in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam Hypothesize about why these ideas might be different Explain how their own beliefs about God are related to the Jewish God-idea Essential Questions If there is only one God, why are there so many different religions with different god-ideas? What do other religions believe about God? What do I believe about God? What if my beliefs about God are different from Judaisms? Activities (20 min) Brainstorm with the students some words that they think describe God. Do not censor these ideas, but write them all on the board. Explain that God can mean different things to different people at different times in their lives, but that most religions have a basic God-idea that impacts how the religion is practiced. Bring out the box with the stuffed animal inside. There are 4 holes around the outside of the box. Ask one student to put their hand into the box and touch what is there. Each of them should describe what they feel. Is it soft or hard? Fuzzy or smooth? Small or big? Etc. Open up the box and show students the stuffed animal. Were any of the students completely right? Were any of the students wrong? This example is sometimes used to explain why so many different religions have different ideas of God- they are all touching different parts of the God stuffed animal. Ask students what they think- are the different religions relating to different parts of the same God? Why or why not? What if you dont believe there is a God at all? (10 min) Have a student read aloud each of the short statements about how God is viewed in different religions. If possible relate back to the words written on the white board. **If there isnt enough time to do the rest of the lesson in small groups, you can discuss the scenarios in class, choosing one scenario and discussing how people of each of the religions might respond. (10 min) Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a religion and a scenario. These can be picked out of a hat. There may need to be more than one group for each scenario. Ask the group to discuss their scenario and come up with two responses- how

they think people of the religion they were given would respond, and how they think modern liberal Jews would respond. (10 min) Present responses: these can be shared orally or acted out, depending on timing and class comfort. After each groups presentation, ask for feedback from the class: Why do you think they responded in the way they did? Do you think it was accurate? Why or why not? (5 min) As a class discuss: How did it feel to be doing this activity? Was it easier to think of the responses of people of other religions or of Jews? Why? Is there anything you think is unique about the Jewish God-idea? Do you agree with the Jewish God-idea? Why or why not? Religions: Judaism Christianity Islam Hindu

Ideas About God Judaism- There is one God. God is involved in the world. God desires ethical behavior. Human beings and God can be in dialogue. God has a special relationship with the people Israel. While faith, love, and obedience are part of the relationship between Israel and God, Jews have an extra charge to wrestle with God. Jews are not expected to accept belief in God blindly. Christianity- There is only one God. Jesus was the son of God. Jesus was God. Just as a flame contains different colors of light, so does God contain different faces. God is One, but that One is made up of three equal partners, three divine beings- the Spirit, the Father, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus represents all of Gods love embodied in human form. Belief is an emotional attachment to God. Christian devotion is a rich experience of personal love of the believer toward Jesus and the self-sacrificing love of God toward humankind. Islam- God is ultimately formless. Devotion involves submission rather than love. The God of Islam is presumably the same as the God of the Jews. Islam takes a firm and unwavering position regarding the oneness of God and extends the biblical prohibition against likenesses to creating any representational art. Muslim law forbids speculation about God and making analogy between Gods attributes and those of humans. Submission to God means recognizing Gods absolute authority, that God alone possesses all power, and that no person or entity possesses any power that is independent of God. Hindu- There are many different gods. Some forms of Hinduism pray to or study many gods, while others strive for a personal loving relationship with a particular god. The Hindu word for god is deva. They generally are thought of as looking like humans, although sometimes larger, with differently colored skin, and/or additional limbs or eyes or other body parts. They are usually immortal. Sometimes they are in the form of animals. Hinduism sometimes expressing monism the idea that all things can be reduced to a singularity (all of these gods can be reduced to one).

Situations:

-Someone you love is diagnosed with a serious illness. What is your response in relation to your god?

-You are a starter on a school sports team in the city championships. What role does your god play in your performance?

-You are in a serious car accident but no one involved is more injured than cuts and bruises. What is your response in relation to your god?

-You are marrying someone you think is your soul mate. What role did your god play in your relationship?

Lesson 4: Prayer Goals: To explore different ways that religions pray To think about why so many religions have a prayer element To examine our own beliefs about prayer and our relationships to Jewish prayer Objectives By the end of this lesson, students will be able to Describe the basic characteristics of prayers in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam Hypothesize about why these characteristics might be different Explain how they feel about Jewish prayer Essential Questions Why do we pray? How is prayer different in different religions? Is prayer connected to God? How do I feel when I pray? Activities (10 min) As a class, brainstorm on the white board: What is a prayer? If students have trouble coming up with responses, you can guide them with questions like- Is it aloud or silent? Who says it? Who hears it? What is it for? Is it individual or communal? Is it planned or spontaneous? What language is it in? (15 min) Pass out handout with examples of Christian prayer, Hindu prayer, and Islamic prayer. In small groups, ask students to write down the similarities and differences they notice between these prayers. Share these findings with the class. (10 min) Discuss as a class: What do you think you can learn about a religion from its prayers? Ask students to support their answers with examples from the handout when possible. What do you think Jewish prayers tell us about Judaism? If you had to pick one prayer to teach non-Jews about Jewish prayer, which one would you pick? Why? (10 min) Ask students to reflect on and write a few sentences about what makes them feel most prayerful: A certain setting? A particular mood? A certain situation? What do they think is most important to pray about and why? (10 min) Ask any students who feel comfortable to share their answers to some of those questions with the class. What similarities and differences are there? What does that say about whether prayer is communal or individual? (5 min) Explain to students that Jewish prayer is often thought of as a balance between keva and kavannah, the words that are written on the page (like the Vahavta or the Avot vImahot) and the words that are in our hearts. Ask students if they think this kind of balance is important and why or why not? Remind students that this is something they can think about the next time they are in tefillah.

Islam Al-Adhan (The Call to Prayers) Allah is Greatest! Allah is Greatest! Allah is Greatest! Allah is Greatest! I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship but Allah. I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Hasten to Prayer! Hasten to Prayer! Hasten to real success! Hasten to real success! Allah is Greatest! Allah is Greatest! There is nothing worthy of worship but Allah. Hinduism Morning Invocations May there be peace on mortal, immortal, and divine planes. I meditate upon the most brilliant splendor of the Sun God. May he stimulate our intellect so that we are inspired to take the right action at the right time. You are my mother and father. You are my relative and friend. You are my learning and wealth and you are my all- My Lord of Lords. May good befall all, may there be peace for all, may all be fit for perfection, and may all experience that which is auspicious. May all be happy. May all be healthy. May all experience what is good and let no one suffer. May the lord protect us together. May he nourish us together. May our learning be luminous and purposeful. May we never hate one another. May there be peace, peace, and perfect peace. O Lord, please lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness to light, ignorance to knowledge. Lead me from death to immortality. May there be peace, peace, and perfect peace. Christianity Oratio Dominica (Lords Prayer) Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.

Lesson 5: Comparative Judaism Goals: To explore the different branches of Judaism To think about God Torah and Israel as formats for comparison To examine our own beliefs about God Torah and Israel and how that is expressed in our practice as Reform Jews Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to Describe the basic characteristics of God Torah Israel for the main sects of Judaism Articulate differences between movements that are not only based in practice, but that are related to belief Dismiss stereotypes of certain sects of Judaism Explain how their own beliefs fit into the continuum of Judaism Essential Questions: What are the main sects of Judaism? How do these sects compare and contrast? Where do I fit in as a Jew? What if my individual beliefs are different than what Reform Judaism has to say? Activities: (15 min) In small groups students will receive one piece of paper labeled Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, or Orthodox. They will be asked to write down characteristics and stereotypes of people who they see representing those sects. (15 min) Debriefing the stereotypes- As a class, discuss: What were most of the stereotypes about? What do the students feel they know the most or least about? If most of the stereotypes are about how the people act as opposed to what they believe what is the relationship between belief and action? (15 min) Utilize the chart from Elliot Dorff book on Conservative Judaism. Compare and contrast 4 major segments of Jewish population What surprises them, what concerns them, what seems right on? How do God Torah and Israel help to define Jewish beliefs? (15 min) Who am I? writing exercise Students will reflect on their own beliefs in a writing exercise- Who am I? based on the concepts of God Torah and Israel.

Lesson 6- Who am I? What do I believe? Goals: For students to review their year of learning To encourage students to reflect on their own beliefs To share their beliefs with each other Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to State their current beliefs about Judaism Recognize the learning that they and their classmates have done over the year Show respect for their classmates beliefs Activities: (10 min) This is our last class before our final special last day event so lets do a quick year in review. We started off with Social Justice, talking about sweatshops/how our clothes are made, homelessness, Darfur, tzedakah and the environment. Then we moved on to Comparative Religion and looked at what religion is, ideas of God, our questions about other religions, prayer, and different kinds of Judaism. (You can ask students to remind you about what happened in each class or tell them.) (10 min) Journal prompts We are going to start a project now that we will finish on the last day. We are going to be creating journals that feature our classs thought and feelings about some of these topics. Each of you is going to get a page with a series of prompts that you should complete in a few sentences. Take your time on this- dont necessarily go with your first thought, but really think about your responses. Please write as neatly as you can. (15 min) In small groups or pairs ask students to share what theyve written with each other. After each student reads, their group members can respectfully comment on what they liked and any questions or suggestions they have. Students can then revise what theyve written. Each student should then pick 3 answers that he or she think best describes him or her and mark them. Collect the papers. (10 min) Tell students to pretend that they have each been chosen to represent Judaism on a panel of students of different religions at their school. Each student is going to have three minutes to tell the school about their religion and their personal religious identity. In small groups or by themselves, ask students to write a statement that includes what Judaism is as well as what they believe and their own relationship to Judaism. (10 min) Have students share their statements with the class. (5 min) Discuss with the class: Did anything someone wrote surprise you? Were there ideas that kept coming up? Was this a hard or easy thing to do? Why?

Journal Prompts 1. The one problem in our country that really makes me mad is ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ________________________ 2. One way I think I can change the world is by ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ________________________ 3. It is important to learn about the problems facing our world because ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ________________________ 4. I believe that God is ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ _______________________ 5. It is important to learn about both Judaism and other religions because ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ________________________ 6. I am proud to be Jewish when ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ________________________ 7. I believe that ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ 8. Random Tikkun Olam/Jewish/World Religion quote from me:__________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Conclusion Goals: -to wrap up and review the year -to get students excited for next year -to evaluate the program Activities: (10 min) Talk with students briefly about the tradition of words in Judaism. You can explain about the Mikraot Gdolot and/or the Talmud, and how there is a central text that then gets commented on by generations of other scholars. (Ive personally always found it fascinating that Rashi is always printed on the part of the page closest to the binding because this would be the safest from animals and damage.) Explain that each student is going to get to make their own journal using the words of their classmates to inspire them. (15 min) Hand out writings of the students from the last session printed on labels. Students create their journals, cutting and sticking in their words and the words of their classmates. (5 min) Explain a little bit about the 9th Grade program and get students excited to continue. (15 min) Students are given time to write the first entry in their journals, writing about their beliefs about Judaism and who they are. (15 min) Fill out evaluations. Let students know that these will be read and taken seriously into account as we plan next year. We hope that the students will also take them seriously and really think about what they are writing. (1 hour) Banquet dinner with 8th-12th Graders

Name:________________________ Grade:__________________ 8th Grade Evaluation 2008-2009

1. What did you like best about our 8th grade program this year?

2. What would you like to see changed in order to improve our program for next year?

3. What did you think about the core class topics? Were they interesting?

4. What did you think about the elective topics?

5. What topics do you think should be addressed in 8th grade next

year?

6. What is one thing that you learned this year?