Rabbi Sacks Memorial Project
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/2/5/132544608/published/screen-shot-2021-07-04-at-1-35-11-pm_1.png)
Date: Semester 2, 2020-2021
Teachers: Rabbi Tavi Koslowe & Rabbi Zachary Rothblatt
Grade: 10th/11th
Subjects: Beit Midrash
Project Description:
Shortly following the passing of Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l, we decided to anchor our spring semester’s learning in Rabbi Sacks’ book, A Letter in the Scroll. Each week, we would read selections from a chapter of the book and then engage in thoughtful discussions, pursue historical and/or textual references, and compose journal entries that were meant to connect the text with each student’s life and family.
Beyond our daily engagement with the text, our students worked in breakout groups to contribute to our culminating project, a website intended to familiarize and engage other high school students with Rabbi Sacks’ teachings. Within these groups, students worked on summative animations of the book, Sefaria source sheets to accompany each chapter, a discussion guide that connects selections of the book to New York City landmarks, as well as animations of articles that Rabbi Sacks has published on the weekly Torah portion or Jewish holidays. The products of these breakout groups along with selected journal entries and other creative connections to the text were all uploaded to our website, rabbisacksproject.weebly.com/, as a way of exhibiting our work and, hopefully, engaging more students with Rabbi Sacks’ immeasurable legacy.
Essential Questions:
How can we create an engaging resource for high school students to familiarize themselves with the teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l?
What does being Jewish mean to me?
Content:
Close textual reading of Rabbi Sacks' book, A Letter in the Scroll, with a focus on textual/historical references that he makes as well as opportunities to relate his book to our personal lives.
For example:
Skills:
Depending on the working group that a student was assigned to, they worked on skills such as:
Values:
Project Deliverables:
Shortly following the passing of Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l, we decided to anchor our spring semester’s learning in Rabbi Sacks’ book, A Letter in the Scroll. Each week, we would read selections from a chapter of the book and then engage in thoughtful discussions, pursue historical and/or textual references, and compose journal entries that were meant to connect the text with each student’s life and family.
Beyond our daily engagement with the text, our students worked in breakout groups to contribute to our culminating project, a website intended to familiarize and engage other high school students with Rabbi Sacks’ teachings. Within these groups, students worked on summative animations of the book, Sefaria source sheets to accompany each chapter, a discussion guide that connects selections of the book to New York City landmarks, as well as animations of articles that Rabbi Sacks has published on the weekly Torah portion or Jewish holidays. The products of these breakout groups along with selected journal entries and other creative connections to the text were all uploaded to our website, rabbisacksproject.weebly.com/, as a way of exhibiting our work and, hopefully, engaging more students with Rabbi Sacks’ immeasurable legacy.
Essential Questions:
How can we create an engaging resource for high school students to familiarize themselves with the teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l?
What does being Jewish mean to me?
Content:
Close textual reading of Rabbi Sacks' book, A Letter in the Scroll, with a focus on textual/historical references that he makes as well as opportunities to relate his book to our personal lives.
For example:
- Our reading of ch. 1 led us to study the reference Rabbi Sacks makes to the conversos, understand the historical context of the Inquisition and the writings of Maimonides from that time.
- After reading in ch. 3, “I belonged to a people. And being part of a people, I belonged” we paused for students to share if or when they have felt a personal sense of Jewish belonging.
- Upon reading ch. 5, our students wrote a journal response to the quote: "When God speaks and human beings refuse to listen, even God is helpless in that situation."
Skills:
Depending on the working group that a student was assigned to, they worked on skills such as:
- Journal writing
- Video animation
- Design of Sefaria source sheets
- Design of discussion guides
- Website design
Values:
- Develop an appreciation for the many sacrifices that earlier generations made for their Judaism so that we could freely experience our Judaism today.
- Develop a connection with your own sense of Jewish belonging and meaningfulness
- Perpetuate the legacy of a remarkable human being
Project Deliverables:
- An engaging website that will hopefully share some of the words and teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks with the world. It will be populated with:
- Journal entries that connect each chapter to personal experience
- Animated summaries of each section of A Letter in the Scroll, as well as select writings from Rabbi Sacks' teachings on the Torah portion and Jewish holidays
- Sefaria source sheets to accompany each chapter of A Letter in the Scroll
- A discussion guide to facilitate thoughtful connection between A Letter in the Scroll and NYC landmarks