Project Parmesan: A Design for Kosher Entrepreneurship
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/2/5/132544608/published/project-parmesan-logo-2.jpg?1612970627)
Date: Trimester 2, 2019-2020
Teachers: Rabbi Tavi Koslowe & Rabbi Zachary Rothblatt
Grade: 10th
Subjects: Beit Midrash
Project Description:
As an integration of learning the many laws of Kashrut together with the business and entrepreneurship skills needed to start a restaurant, 10th grade students embarked on a rich journey of launching a Kosher food truck that would both serve delicious food and be used as a tangible culmination of the Jewish sources that they had explored. Our Beit Midrash learning throughout the semester focused on the following relevant areas: Kashrut (laws of Kosher ingredients and mixtures), Hechsher Keilim (preparing utensils to be used in Kosher food preparation), Hasagat Gevul (Jewish business ethics), and Ma’aser Kesafim (the tithe that is given from profits earned). Alongside that learning, our students were divided into four working groups: Design & Structure, Film & Finance, Legal & Safety, and Food Sourcing & Menu.
Essential Questions:
How would a business built on Jewish values operate?
How can the laws of Kashrut sensitize us to eating more mindfully?
To what extent do the fruits of my labors belong to me?
Content:
Close textual reading of sources from Torah, Navi, Talmud, Rishonim and Achronim [medieval and modern Jewish commentaries] as we learned and discussed topics such as:
Skills:
Values:
Project Deliverables:
As an integration of learning the many laws of Kashrut together with the business and entrepreneurship skills needed to start a restaurant, 10th grade students embarked on a rich journey of launching a Kosher food truck that would both serve delicious food and be used as a tangible culmination of the Jewish sources that they had explored. Our Beit Midrash learning throughout the semester focused on the following relevant areas: Kashrut (laws of Kosher ingredients and mixtures), Hechsher Keilim (preparing utensils to be used in Kosher food preparation), Hasagat Gevul (Jewish business ethics), and Ma’aser Kesafim (the tithe that is given from profits earned). Alongside that learning, our students were divided into four working groups: Design & Structure, Film & Finance, Legal & Safety, and Food Sourcing & Menu.
Essential Questions:
How would a business built on Jewish values operate?
How can the laws of Kashrut sensitize us to eating more mindfully?
To what extent do the fruits of my labors belong to me?
Content:
Close textual reading of sources from Torah, Navi, Talmud, Rishonim and Achronim [medieval and modern Jewish commentaries] as we learned and discussed topics such as:
- Kashrut: Meat and Milk
- Notein Ta’am Lifgam (How a Bad Taste Contributes to a Kosher Mixture)
- Hechsher Keilim (Preparing Utensils for Kosher Use)
- Hasagat Gevul (Fair Competition in Jewish Law)
- Ma’aser Kesafim (The Mitzvah of Giving Charity)
Skills:
- Acclimate to and utilize the Chavruta [learning in partnership] protocol
- Develop collaborative skills as students work together and share responsibility for the content and quality of their presentation
- Develop interdependence skills as the success of the project depended upon the success of each individual group and each person within that group
- Develop comfort in public speaking as each person was responsible to present either at a weekly progress meeting or at a presentation to the school’s Board.
- Depending on the working group, students would:
- Design a professional logo
- Design a professional website
- Create a balanced budget showing expenses and anticipated profits
- Create a crowdfunding campaign
- Complete a food handler’s certificate program
- Write professional emails to experts in the fields of restaurant ownership, menu design, filming, and fundraising
Values:
- Develop an understanding of and appreciation for the historical progression of Torah sources
- Recognize the relevance of Torah sources to complex modern-day situations
- Develop an appreciation of the responsibility to give back a portion of our blessings to others
- Develop an appreciation for the hard work and dedication that is required to start and maintain a business venture
Project Deliverables:
- Design a Motivational Poster for Charity
- Each individual student was responsible for creating a poster that would inform and inspire the observer in the values that underlie the sources on charity
- Food Truck Process Board
- Each working group of students was responsible for creating and presenting a rich process board that demonstrated the progress that was made within their area of responsibility.
- Kashrut One Pager
- Each student was responsible to research one of the Kashrut concepts we studied and create a one-pager that explains its meaning and relevance. Samples can be seen by clicking here.
- Professional Correspondence
- Each student was responsible for emailing (with a follow-up/thank you when appropriate) a professional connected to their area of responsibility and then displaying their correspondence.