3+-+Spiritual


 * __ S __PIRITUAL**

**We do the things commanded in** ** וְאָהַבְתָּ so that we may be “holy to God.”**
 * ACTIVITY IDEAS: **

The last paragraph of those that follow //Sh’ma// concludes with the last two verses of Numbers 15:40-41. Note that in Hebrew, the words “you” and “your” are provided in the plural – these words refer to us as a People, rather than to our actions as individuals. אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים: אֲנִי, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם //I am Adonai your (////pl.) God that brought you out of the land of Egypt to be to you (////pl.), God. I am Adonai your (////pl.) God.// || This juxtaposition of the action (wearing //tzitzit//, mentioned just above this in Numbers 15:39) and idea (that we shall be holy to God) provides an extricable link between us and our relationship with God. Liberal //siddurim// that omit the paragraph on //tzitzit// still conclude the recitation of וְאָהַבְתָּ with these two verses. 1) What does it mean to be holy? Tell students that today you are going to explore a very important word for the Jewish people. It’s one that they may have looked at and thought about before, but in today’s lesson you’ll look at it in relation to the ending of the וְאָהַבְתָּ . Post on the board the two words on **SPIRITUAL: RESOURCE SHEET F**: קְדשִׁים and קָדוֹשׁ . Tell students that both mean “holy” – one is written in the singular (as for one person) and one is written in the plural (for many). Using a copy of the וְאָהַבְתָּ (preferably in an actual //siddur//), ask students to look at the last few lines and find one of these words. When everyone has their finger on it, tell students that the word “holy” is hard to understand in English – we don’t usually talk about being holy on a regular basis, though our prayers do.
 * =  לְמַעַן תִּזְכְּרוּ, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֶת-כָּל-מִצְו ‍ ֹתָי; וִהְיִיתֶם קְדשִׁים לֵאלֹהֵיכֶם   //That you (pl.) may remember and do all of my commandments, so that you (pl.) shall be holy to your (pl.) God//

Tell students that a siddur is called a סֵפֶר קָדוֹש, a holy book, just as a Torah and other books that have God’s name in it are called a סֵפֶר קָדוֹש. Many of our Jewish holidays are called a זְמַן קָדוֹש a holy time.
 * Ask: What else might make a //siddur// holy besides that it has God’s name? Based on this, what might “holy” mean?
 * Ask: Why would we call //Shabbat//, or //Rosh Hashanah// or //Pesa__h__//: holy? Based on this, what might “holy” mean?

Here in וְאָהַבְתָּ __we__ are asked to be קָדוֹש, and it says that the way we do it is by remembering God’s //mitzvot//. OPTION ONE: Ask students to think for a minute about what it might mean for us to be קָדוֹש by offering an open-ended sentence for students to fill in: When the וְאָהַבְתָּ says that we should be holy to God, it might mean that _ When you have given some thinking time, ask students to share their thoughts with you and the class. Write each idea on the board, including students’ names next to the ideas they contribute (this addition of their name helps show respect for each person’s thinking).

OPTION TWO: Send students in groups to ask adults in your building what they think “holy” might mean in this last part of וְאָהַבְתָּ. Send them with a slip of paper that has the words to V’ahavta and the sentence prompt: When the וְאָהַבְתָּ says that we should be holy to God, it might mean that _ [See **SPIRITUAL:** **RESOURCE SHEET** **G**; more than one person’s response can be recorded here.] When the groups return, ask them to share the thoughts they gathered. As with Option One, summarize the responses on the board in the name of the person who offered them.

Based on the ideas gathered, ask students to offer their own ideas of what they understand about us being קָדוֹש. [Note: You may add a technological component to this activity by having students film people’s responses to what it means to be “holy to God” (see OPTION TWO). Or, you could have students create a personal response to this question by creating a Voki that they post. See [|http://voki.com]]

Conclude this section by bringing students to sit in a circle so that you can recite וְאָהַבְתָּ for them in English. But when you get to the end, substitute the gathered thoughts for the word “holy.” In what ways does this help them understand the prayer?

**Question exploration:**

2) The וְאָהַבְתָּ commands us to love God. Ask students: The וְאָהַבְתָּ commands us to “ love //Adonai// your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might .” Earlier, in the story-section above, students learned that Moses said these words when talking to the Jews with him in the desert. Moses also listed the things the Israelites need to do. Read through a translation of the prayer again with students - there are lots of actions listed in the וְאָהַבְתָּ, things that we are supposed to do with all our heart, soul and might.
 * “You Shall Love” - Can love really be commanded?**
 * Do you think love can be commanded, that someone can say “you should love X person” and that the love can be real? [Thumbs up – yes, thumbs down – no, and thumb in the middle – maybe or don’t know.] Open the floor to some discussion about this.
 * How about your parents telling you that no matter what, you have to love your brother or sister? Do you feel it is okay for them to command you to do that? [Thumbs up – yes, thumbs down – no, and thumb in the middle – maybe or don’t know.] Open the floor to some discussion about this.
 * How does doing these things show we love God?
 * How easy are these things to do?
 * Even though they might not always be easy, why might it be important to try?


 * With all our heart, soul and might: How do we show our love of God?**

The וְאָהַבְתָּ says we are supposed to love God: בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ, וּבכָל-נַפשְׁךָ, וּבכָל-מְאֹדֶךָ
 * לְבָבְךָ ( לֵב ) translates to “heart” but means our intellects. It means our thoughts and the way we think about things.


 * נַפשְׁךָ ( נֶפֶשׁ ) translates to something like “soul” but really means our very life – as in our breath. When we say נֶפֶשׁ today we think of our feelings. Our emotions and feelings make up our נֶפֶשׁ.

The first line of the וְאָהַבְתָּ is saying that we are supposed to love God with absolutely everything we have, both inside ourselves and things external to our thoughts and feelings.
 * מְאֹדֶךָ ( מְאֹד ) means something like “strength,” “might,” or even everything that we acquire in life through our hard work – so our belongings. מְאֹד is basically everything that לֵב and נֶפֶשׁ do not include.

How do we achieve this sort of love? The וְאָהַבְתָּ explains that we achieve this love through doing God’s //mitzvot//.

3) Go to a place where you have room to spread out. Tell students to form a circle and explain that you are going to be doing an activity with the ideas of וְאָהַבְתָּ where they will think about different ways we can show that we love God. Recite the first part of this prayer saying וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ then add in English “and I love God with all my __.” [//Add in// //something// //with which you can show your love of God. It might be: my artistic talent, my courage, my energy, my baseball skills, the hugs I give my family, the care I show to my younger sister, my hard work at school… Almost anything would be acceptable here, even beloved objects since one way of viewing// // מְאֹדֶךָ //// (with all your might) is with all of our belongings. // ] It could be helpful here to stop a moment and help students consider ways we think about God by saying something like: Jews think about God in lots of different ways, which is why showing that we love God can happen in different ways. God is not an old man in the sky. But other ways we think about God include:
 * As the __creator__ of the universe – and so when we love God, we can pull on our creative energies and do amazing things
 * As how we know what’s right and wrong (a “__moral compass__” or our __conscience__) – and so when we love God, we can make decisions to do the right thing when in tough situations
 * As the __good__ in the universe – and so when we love God, we can do good for others including //g’milut hasadim// (acts of loving kindness) and //tz’dakah//

Give students a moment to think about a way that they can show that they love God. Then repeat what you said above so they remember the activity’s focus: וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ then add in English “and I love God with all my __.” Toss a ball or soft object to one of them, as a class recite the first line of the__ וְאָהַבְתָּ __ and then have the student who has the ball say, “and I can love God with all my ____.”Continue until every student has had a chance to share one way he or she shows (or can show) love of God.

Afterward, reinforce the idea that the וְאָהַבְתָּ tells us we are supposed to love God in many different ways: that includes all of our thoughts, all of our feelings, and everything else that doesn’t fit into either of those two categories (that’s the מְאֹדֶךָ part).

Vocabulary: אַהֲבָה //[These activities repeat from the Story section,// וְאָהַבְתָ //page 40 above ]//

4) Often, the name given to a prayer gives us a clue as to its main idea. This prayer is called, וְאָהַבְתָּ, meaning “you shall love God.” Give each student a 3x5 card and ask them, without thinking about God, to brainstorm the many ways we can show our love for someone. After they’ve had a chance to make a list, go around the classroom, asking each person to share just one idea (and if possible, an idea not shared by anyone else, yet.] Then, ask students what is similar about “loving God” and “loving people.” What is different? If doing this in a family education setting, consider having parents help students offer their answers via [|www.polleverywhere.com]. Feel free to ask the JECC’s Teacher Center for help in using this technology.

5) Offer a variety of art materials, including magazines they may cut up for pictures, and have students illustrate what it means to “love God” (the ideas can be taken from the specific of וְאָהַבְתָּ or may be their own ideas about loving God. Offer the Hebrew to the word וְאָהַבְתָּ (see **RESOURCE SHEET X**) for students to paste somewhere on their sheet. [This activity could also be done on edu.glogster.com individually or in small groups.]

6) Ask students to take photos that would illustrate וְאָהַבְתָּ . You could get a few digital cameras and have students (with a teacher or //madrich/ah//) walk around the building looking for examples – both as found in the words of וְאָהַבְתָּ, and their own sense of what it means to love … and love God. You could also ask them to keep an eye out for examples in the coming week and use a camera at home (including the possibility of a camera on a parent’s phone); any photos taken this way could be sent to your email account. Put the photos into a slide show and project them while the class says or recites וְאָהַבְתָּ . Or, have them projected during an all-school //t’fillah// during this prayer.