A superhero is a person who does heroic deeds and has the ability to do them in a way that a normal person couldn’t. So in order to be a superhero, you need a power that is more exceptional than any power a normal human being could possess, and you need to use that power to accomplish good deeds. . . If the good guy is doing something that a normal human being couldn’t do, couldn’t accomplish, then I assume he becomes a superhero.
Stan Lee
We are now going to divide into four groups. Within your groups, divide into smaller groups to read the story. When everyone in your group has read the story, discuss:
Is the main character in your story a superhero according to Stan Lee's definition? Why or why not?
If the main character is a superhero, what is his/her power?
Be prepared to briefly present your story to the other groups. Summarize the story and share your answers ot the questions above.
1. Superhero Story: Hillel
S The Sages taught : A person should always be patient like Hillel and not impatient like Shammai. The Gemara related: There was an incident involving two people
2. Suprhero Story Aaron
אוהב שלום כיצד מלמד שיהא אדם אוהב שלום בישראל בין כל אחד ואחד כדרך שהיה אהרן אוהב שלום בין כל אחד ואחד שנא׳ (מלאכי ב) תורת אמת היתה בפיהו ועולה לא נמצא בשפתיו בשלום ובמישור הלך אתי ורבים השיב מעון (ר״מ אומר מה ת״ל ורבים השיב מעון) כשהיה אהרן מהלך בדרך פגע בו באדם רשע ונתן לו שלום למחר בקש אותו האיש לעבור עבירה אמר אוי לי היאך אשא עיני אחר כך ואראה את אהרן בושתי הימנו שנתן לי שלום נמצא אותו האיש מונע עצמו מן העבירה. וכן שני בני אדם שעשו מריבה זה עם זה הלך אהרן וישב אצל אחד מהם אמר לו בני ראה חברך מהו אומר מטרף את לבו וקורע את בגדיו אומר אוי לי היאך אשא את עיני ואראה את חברי בושתי הימנו שאני הוא שסרחתי עליו הוא יושב אצלו עד שמסיר קנאה מלבו. והולך אהרן ויושב אצל האחר וא״ל בני ראה חברך מהו אומר מטרף את לבו וקורע את בגדיו ואומר אוי לי היאך אשא את עיניו ואראה את חברי בושתי הימנו שאני הוא שסרחתי עליו הוא יושב אצלו עד שמסיר קנאה מלבו. וכשנפגשו זה בזה גפפו ונשקו זה לזה לכך נאמר (במדבר כ) ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל:
(Rabbi Meir would say: What do we learn from “he pulled back many from sin”?) When Aaron was walking down the road, and he came upon a wicked person, he would wish him Shalom. The next day, when that man wanted to sin, he would say: Alas! How will I be able to look Aaron in the face; I will be so embarrassed when he wishes me Shalom. And so this man would stop himself from sinning.
Similarly, when two people were fighting with one another, Aaron would go and sit next to one of them and say: My son, look at the anguish your friend is going through! His heart is ripped apart and he is tearing at his clothes. He is saying, How can I face my old friend? I am so ashamed, I betrayed his trust. Aaron would sit with him until his rage subsided. Then Aaron would go to the other person in the fight and say: My son, look at the anguish your friend is going through! His heart is ripped apart and he is tearing at his clothes. He is saying, How can I face my old friend? I am so ashamed, I betrayed his trust. Aaron would sit with him until his rage subsided. When the two people saw each other, they would embrace and kiss one another. And that is why it says (Numbers 20:20), “And the entire House of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty days” [after his death].
3. Superhero Story: Esther
4. Superhero Story: The Rabbi of Nemirov
Chasidic Tale "If Not Higher"
adapted by Don Schwager
This story is true. So the Russian villagers of Nemirov swear. Every Friday morning he vanished! The rabbi that is. He was nowhere to be found. Not in the synagogue, not in the library, nor in the park. Nobody in the village worried however. They say: "The Rabbi, blessed be God, ascends to Heaven every Friday morning where he talks with God."
"Ascends to Heaven?" scoffed a skeptical Litvak who visited the village on occasion. "Nonesense! I will solve this mystery once and for all." So the disbelieving Litvak devised a scheme to trap the Rabbi. Sorry. You do not know what a Litvak is? A Litvak who knows his Talmud well will tell you plainly that nobody ascends to Heaven. Not even Moses ascended to Heaven during his lifetime.
Well, the Litvak hid behind the Rabbi's house one Friday morning. And waited to see what this Rabbi would do. As usual, the Rabbi rose, said his prayers very devoutly, washed his face, combed his lengthy beard, and then slid into his dark black boots. Before he left the house he grabbed an axe and a thick piece of rope. And off he went away from the village.
The Litvak drew a deep breath and then began to follow the Rabbi. Secretly of course. He didn't want a Rabbi to know that he was spying on him! The Rabbi headed into a thick woods and began to chop down a tree. He cut the limbs into numerous pieces and made a large bundle with his rope. Strapping the axe to his belt, he hoisted the large bundle of wood onto his back and headed towards the end of the woods. Near the edge of the village stood a little house, barely room enough for two. Inside dwelt an old feeble woman and her sick son. The Rabbi left the wood near the door. The bundle was just enough for a whole weeks supply of fuel. As he left the widow's house the Litvak could hear him mumble some prayers, no doubt for the widow and her son.
Well, the Litvak became the Rabbi's friend and even his disciple! He went to his synagogue every Friday evening and came to his house every week so he could learn about God and his holy word. Now, whenever any of the villagers say that "our Rabbi ascends all the way to Heaven on Friday mornings", the Litvak quietly adds, "If not higher!"
You Are A Superhero
Martin Buber, The Way of Man According to Hasidim
Every person born into this world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique. It is the duty of every person...to know and to consider that he/she is unique in the world in his/her particular character and that there have never been anyone like him/her in the world, for if there had been someone like him/her, there would have been no need for him/her to be in the world. Every single person is a new thing in the world, and is called upon to fulfill his/her particularity in this world...Every person's foremost task is the actualization of his/her unique, unprecedented, never recurring potentialities, and not the repetition that another, and be it even the greatest, already achieved.