Tefillah

Enduring Understandings

 * Prayer is multi-faceted and dynamic.
 * Studying text in hevruta deepens our understandings and connections to text.
 * Prayer can be different things to different people, and it can be different things to ourselves at different times.
 * Prayer can fit different moods.
 * Hevruta text study is a back and forth between two active and engaged participants and the text.

Essential Questions

 * What is the role of wonder in tefillah?
 * What is kavannah?
 * What does prayer mean to me personally?
 * What does it mean to be fully engaged with text?

Outline of Mondays
"We must remember, however, that prescribed prayers, although they constitute the framework of Jewish worship, are certainly not the whole of it. The very Rabbis who fixed the times for prayer and established the prayers to be recited also said: "Do not make your prayer a fixed thing." (Pirke Avot; chapters 2:18) The individual is encouraged to put his own fresh meanings into the received text, to formulate his own prayers too, and to allow for a period of preparation for prayer in order to come to it in a receptive mood." //The Service of the Heart; Evelyn Garfiel pp. 22-23// "Rabbi Shimon said: Be careful in the reciting of the Shema and in prayer. When you pray do not make your prayer a form of routine but a plea for mercy and supplications before God, for it is written (Joel 2:13), "For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing." Do not be wicked in your own mind." //Pirke Avot 2:18// ||
 * Date || Focus ||
 * 4/26 || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Learning “how to” do hevruta text study ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">5/3 || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Wonder ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">5/17 || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Kavannah**: texts about fixed prayer vs. flexible prayer?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">5/24 || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Nature ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">6/7 || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Assessment: Talmud page & write-up ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">6/14 || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Public audience forum ||

Kavanah in Prayer

 * Monday 5/17 with grades 4 and 5**

Enduring Understandings

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Prayer is multi-faceted and dynamic.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Studying text in hevruta deepens our understandings and connections to text.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Prayer can be different things to different people, and it can be different things to ourselves at different times.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Prayer can fit different moods.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Hevruta text study is a back and forth between two active and engaged participants and the text.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Prayer can be enriched by both structure and personal meaning

Essential Questions
Knowledge Outcomes: Students will know what the role of kavanah/intention is in prayer; students will know the advantages and disadvantages of fixed prayer versus personal/not fixed prayer Skill Outcomes: Students will know how to think about these advantages/disadvantages and use these ideas in their own prayer (later on?)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">What is the role of personal meaning in tefillah?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">What is kavannah?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">What does prayer mean to me personally?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">What does it mean to be fully engaged with text?

Activities
Transition: Students are transitioning from morning assembly with their siddurim. As students enter, I will instruct them to find a place to sit with their Tefillah Hevruta partner Hook: With your hevruta, read all three texts. If you get to really hard word, please try to use context or a dictionary to try to determine the meaning. You can raise your hand to ask Mrs. Woods, Eliana or myself what it means. I will also write some of the words on the board and their meanings. Be sure to read ALL THREE texts before deciding on which one to focus on first. We will stop 6 minutes before the end of the period to share some thoughts. I will write the following words and definitions on the board: Wrap-up
 * Make sure the texts are ready to be handed out*
 * Gabe and Aaron
 * Kevin and Mark
 * Micah and Jacob K.
 * Jordan + Lee + Eitan
 * Jacob H. + Jeremiah
 * Sandy + Sally
 * Sonya + Emma
 * Chava + Lily
 * Jessica + Jasmine
 * Natalie + Molly
 * Daniel + Penina
 * Alicia + Josh
 * Lyndsay + Emmett
 * Ask one or two students if they can repeat the directions in their own words.
 * Ask the helpers to hand out the texts, and tell the students to begin.
 * Students will have most of the period to work on this.
 * Established: made, created, decided
 * Recited: said out loud (or not), practiced
 * Confronts: to bring in front of, to deal with directly
 * Affirmations: a thought or idea that you believe
 * Prods: pushes, encourages
 * Eloquently: well said, beautifully stated
 * Spontaneous: sudden, without planning
 * Utilize: use, make use of
 * Variations: differences
 * Enriched: made better
 * At 8:39, students will stop with their work, and I will ask if anyone chose to focus on the first text. What do you think it means to have a fixed prayer? How do you try to put fresh meaning into your prayers?
 * Second text: Any thoughts?
 * Third text: Any thoughts?
 * Fourth grade will go down to their classroom with Mrs. Woods, while fifth grade transitions to Judaic studies.

**Prayer in Nature**

 * Monday 5/24 with grades 4 and 5**

Enduring Understandings

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Prayer is multi-faceted and dynamic.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Studying text in hevruta deepens our understandings and connections to text.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Prayer can be different things to different people, and it can be different things to ourselves at different times.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Prayer can fit different moods
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Being in nature can set a different mood for prayer
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Hevruta text study is a back and forth between two active and engaged participants and the text.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Prayer in nature can have profound effects on a person's relationship with prayer
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Being in nature can deepen and transform prayer

Essential Questions
Knowledge Outcomes: Students will think about how being in nature changes/affects/informs prayer Skill Outcomes: Students will know how to use nature as an inspiration for prayer
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">What is the role of nature meaning in tefillah?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">How does being in nature inspire and deepen prayer?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Does being in nature deepen and inspire prayer?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">What does it mean to be fully engaged with prayer?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">What are the conditions/criteria for being fully engaged in prayer?

Activities
Transition: Students are transitioning from morning assembly with their siddurim. I would like for them to go directly outside. This will depend on the weather. I would like for them to go into nature and read their prayer texts silently and aloud. Then they will come together with their hevruta and discuss the texts. (Nature texts.doc) Students will need something to write on and with. We will sit outdoors on the grass behind the school. Wrap-up
 * Make sure the texts/questions are ready to be handed out*
 * Gabe and Aaron
 * Kevin and Mark
 * Micah and Jacob K.
 * Jordan + Lee + Eitan
 * Jacob H. + Jeremiah
 * Sandy + Sally
 * Sonya + Emma
 * Chava + Lily
 * Jessica + Jasmine
 * Natalie + Molly
 * Daniel + Penina
 * Alicia + Josh
 * Lyndsay + Emmett
 * At 8:30, students will come together in a circle on the grass. We will discuss the texts.
 * Is there anything about nature that makes you more receptive for prayer?
 * What are you thinking about when you pray in nature? When you pray with nature in mind?
 * How does being inside change the mood of prayer?
 * How does being outside enhance or detract from the purpose of prayer? (You will have to have some personal concept of the purpose of prayer)
 * How can you personally use being in nature as a way to enhance your prayer?

Texts
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Directions: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">- Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, "Prayer as a Way of Being" || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">What analogy does Rabbi Stassfeld use to explain the purpose of prayer? Why do you think he uses this analogy <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">? How does prayer help us, according to Rabbi Strassfeld? <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">What does it mean to be “aware of the millions of moments that together make up the sandy beach of our individual lives? Can you think of an example in your life? <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Write a “big idea sentence” that you get from this text.
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Read all 3 texts silently and aloud. Choose one to begin focusing on.**
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">**Discuss the following questions and record your responses.**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">" <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">Standing on an empty beach, we look back across the sand stretching as far as the eye can see. Lost from our sight is not what lies beyond the horizon, but rather the millions of grains of sand lying at our feet. All those millions make up this sandy vista, but we only perceive the mass whole. A life of prayer is to make us aware of the millions of moments that together make up the sandy beach of our individual lives. As small as each of us is in the vista of the universe, as fleeting as this moment is, this moment and myself are integral parts of the tapestry of existence."

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">- Drew Kaplan, "Praying in the Fields" || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">According to this text, what strengthens prayer? Explain how to engage in a conversation with the natural world. How might this help a person pray? How might you (or someone else) use “conversation with the natural world” in your (or their) prayer? Write a “big idea sentence” that you get from this text. help us to remember that we are a part of nature. We are not the best or the worst of nature and G-d's creations, but we are <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: center;">the most responsible. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">-__Siddur Mikor-Hayyim – The Source of Life__, Rabbi Henry M. Shreibman || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">What does it mean that we are the “most responsible” of G-d's creations? Have you ever felt responsible for nature? Explain. Write a “big idea sentence” that you get from this text. Explain how you (or someone) might use this poem in prayer? How would this poem inform your (or their) prayer?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">"Rabbi Nahman of Breslov instructed his followers to engage in <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">// hitbodedut // <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">--to speak with God in the field for an hour every day. In explaining Rebbe Nahman's teachings, Rabbi Natan Greenberg stated that real prayer involves conversation with the natural world around a person. Indeed, the strength of prayer comes from the Divine spiritual energy flowing from nature. A person needs all the spiritual energy of the earth to give strength to his or her prayer."
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-style: normal;">**Kavanah** **כונה** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: center;">As human beings,

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> List of Tefillot

Modeh Ani Torah Tzuah Mah Tovu Adon Olam Igdal La'asok bedivrei Torah Birkot Hashahar Baruch She'amar Ashrei Hallelu Yah Hallelu Adonai L'bekidsho Yishtabach Hatzi Kaddish Barchu Shema v'ahavat V'haya Am Shemoah Veyamar Tzitzit Emet Mi Camocha Tzur Yisrael Avot Givurot Kedushah Middle Birkot Sim Shalom Kiryat HaTorah Ein Ka-Likinu Kiddush Shalom Aleinu Hallel Kabbalat Shabbat Az Yishir