Aryeh Ben David, Becoming a Soulful Educator p.85
We are not just about doing, and we are not just about being; we are about becoming...I am a product of my future. I am not lost and I am not stuck. Jewish wisdom and the voice of my soul dare me to live my authentic life.
We are not just about doing, and we are not just about being; we are about becoming...I am a product of my future. I am not lost and I am not stuck. Jewish wisdom and the voice of my soul dare me to live my authentic life.
Select a text to read and discuss. Then consider: what reflection questions would you ask if using this text in the classroom? Aryeh ben David suggests having students reflect on: the present, the future, the gap, and the plan.As always: Choose any text to begin with, and sit with it for as long as you'd like. You are under no obligation to get through everything.
Questions to create personal meaning and connection with the text:
Learning that Lasts
אַרְבַּע מִדּוֹת בְּיוֹשְׁבִים לִפְנֵי חֲכָמִים. סְפוֹג, וּמַשְׁפֵּךְ, מְשַׁמֶּרֶת, וְנָפָה.
סְפוֹג, שֶׁהוּא סוֹפֵג אֶת הַכֹּל. מַשְׁפֵּךְ, שֶׁמַּכְנִיס בְּזוֹ וּמוֹצִיא בְזוֹ. מְשַׁמֶּרֶת, שֶׁמּוֹצִיאָה אֶת הַיַּיִן וְקוֹלֶטֶת אֶת הַשְּׁמָרִים. וְנָפָה, שֶׁמּוֹצִיאָה אֶת הַקֶּמַח וְקוֹלֶטֶת אֶת הַסֹּלֶת:
סְפוֹג, שֶׁהוּא סוֹפֵג אֶת הַכֹּל. מַשְׁפֵּךְ, שֶׁמַּכְנִיס בְּזוֹ וּמוֹצִיא בְזוֹ. מְשַׁמֶּרֶת, שֶׁמּוֹצִיאָה אֶת הַיַּיִן וְקוֹלֶטֶת אֶת הַשְּׁמָרִים. וְנָפָה, שֶׁמּוֹצִיאָה אֶת הַקֶּמַח וְקוֹלֶטֶת אֶת הַסֹּלֶת:
There are four types among those who sit before the sages: a sponge, a funnel, a strainer and a sieve.
A sponge, soaks up everything; A funnel, takes in at one end and lets out at the other; A strainer, which lets out the wine and retains the lees; A sieve, which lets out the coarse meal and retains the choice flour.
A sponge, soaks up everything; A funnel, takes in at one end and lets out at the other; A strainer, which lets out the wine and retains the lees; A sieve, which lets out the coarse meal and retains the choice flour.
Escorting Students beyond the Classroom
What makes escorting someone such a great mitzvah?How does your relationship with someone impact the way you escort them beyond the classroom?
שְׂכַר הַלְּוָיָה מְרֻבֶּה מִן הַכּל. וְהוּא הַחֹק שֶׁחֲקָקוֹ אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ וְדֶרֶךְ הַחֶסֶד שֶׁנָּהַג בָּהּ. מַאֲכִיל עוֹבְרֵי דְּרָכִים וּמַשְׁקֶה אוֹתָן וּמְלַוֶּה אוֹתָן. וּגְדוֹלָה הַכְנָסַת אוֹרְחִים מֵהַקְבָּלַת פְּנֵי שְׁכִינָה. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית יח ב) "וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים". וְלִוּוּיָם יוֹתֵר מֵהַכְנָסָתָן. אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים כָּל שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְלַוֶּה כְּאִלּוּ שׁוֹפֵךְ דָּמִים:
The reward for escorting a stranger is greater than any reward. It is a practice introduced by our father Abraham, a way of kindness which was habitual with him. He served food and drink to wayfarers and escorted them. Hospitality to wayfarers is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence, as it is written: "He saw three men … he ran to meet them" (Genesis 18:2). Escorting them is even greater than receiving them. The sages have declared: "Anyone who does not escort his guests is almost guilty of bloodshed" (Sotah 46b).
ת"ר הרב לתלמיד עד עיבורה של עיר חבר לחבר עד תחום שבת תלמיד לרב אין לו שיעור וכמה א"ר ששת עד פרסה ולא אמרן אלא רבו שאינו מובהק אבל רבו מובהק שלשה פרסאות
The Sages taught: A teacher accompanies a student until the outskirts of the city; a friend accompanies a friend until the Shabbat boundary of that city, which is two thousand cubits; and for a student who accompanies his teacher, there is no measure to the distance he accompanies him. The Gemara asks: And how far? The student is certainly not required to walk with him the entire way. Rav Sheshet says: Up to a parasang [parsa], which is four mil. The Gemara comments: And we said this amount only with regard to one who is not his most significant teacher, but he accompanies his most significant teacher,three parasangs.
Connecting Students with One AnotherWhen have you developed meaningful relationships as a learner?How can classmates become "accountability buddies"?
(ו) יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה וְנִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב, וּקְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר, וֶהֱוֵי דָן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת:
(6) Joshua ben Perahiah and Nittai the Arbelite received [the oral tradition] from them. Joshua ben Perahiah used to say: appoint for thyself a teacher, and acquire for thyself a companion and judge all men with the scale weighted in his favor.
וקנה לך חבר כיצד מלמד שיקנה האדם חבר לעצמו שיאכל עמו וישתה עמו ויקרא עמו וישנה עמו ויישן עמו ויגלה לו כל סתריו סתר תורה וסתר דרך ארץ
"And acquire yourself a friend," (Avot 1:6), In what manner? It teaches that a person will acquire a friend for one's self to eat with, and to drink with, and to read with, and to study Mishnah with, and to lodge with, and who will reveal all of their secrets--the secrets of the Torah and the secrets of the way of the land.
Rabbi Yizhak Hunter, Pahad Yizhak: Iggerot u"ktuvim, p.236
A person who tries to keep everything personal hidden will not have close friends. Building relationships with others requires self-disclosure.
A person who tries to keep everything personal hidden will not have close friends. Building relationships with others requires self-disclosure.
Wisdom of Mishle, p.183
Nothing helps you work as hard as having a friend who is trying to succeed at the same goal. When we work alone we can make mistakes and fool ourselves. When we talk things over with a friend we can correct each other’s thinking, and we can help each other find new ideas too.
Nothing helps you work as hard as having a friend who is trying to succeed at the same goal. When we work alone we can make mistakes and fool ourselves. When we talk things over with a friend we can correct each other’s thinking, and we can help each other find new ideas too.