About this story:
Along with a compilation of three stories revolving Jewish holidays and traditions, this book includes an overview of the Days of Awe, which include "Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the ten days between them". After the background information increases the student's knowledge about the subject, they get three traditional lessons from three of the subjects taught from this Jewish holiday: Repentance, Prayer, and Charity.
The Charity story is about a glove-maker and his wife who come across a long seven years of good luck. After they realize where it came from, they vow to only take what little they need to survive and give the rest to others around them. After keeping their promise for those seven years, they receive good fortune for the rest of their long lives.
The Prayer story is about a shepherd who had not ever been taught to pray, although we find him making his own prayers and belting them out on his fields with his sheep. One day, a well-learned Rabbi comes up to him and asks what kind of nonsense the shepherd is yelling and tells him that what he claims to be a prayer is not a prayer at all. He then proceeds to teach the shepherd how to pray. After the Rabbi leaves, the Shepherd admits to himself that he didn't understand a word the Rabbi had just said and that he hadn't even remembered how the prayers went. Ashamed of his former ways of praying, he gave up praying all together. After getting silence from the Shepherd for a while, God send down an angel to ask the Shepherd why he had stopped praying. When he tells the angel why, she reassures him that it doesn't matter how one prays--as long as it's from the heart. After that, he realizes that that's what counts as a prayer: if it's from the heart.
The Repentance story is about a famous Rabbi who, after a sermon, is stopped by a beggar whom had been enchanted by the Rabbi's words. As the beggar asks for a blessing, the Rabbi, without thinking, shields his eyes from the beggar's ugliness and makes a comment about his appearance. After seeing the astonishment from the beggar by his reaction, he realizes that he has done wrong and begs for forgiveness. However, the beggar replies that he will only forgive him once "the One Who Made Me" forgives you. This troubles the Rabbi and he sits at the beggar's feet, begging for his own forgiveness and coming up short. Soon, the Rabbi's daughter and three sons come to his aid. The son's try to coax the beggar into giving their father forgiveness, but the beggar simply replies that he will forgive him when "the One Who Made Me" forgives him. The daughter eventually persuades the beggar to forgive her father by saying that "the One Who Made Me" has already forgiven him because he is always ready to forgive the sins of his children.
What comes from this book:
This book not only gives a short description of Jewish traditions, but also gives three Jewish story lessons over Repentance, Prayer, and Charity--three lessons which can be taught in the classroom and great lessons to encourage the practice of outside of the classroom.
Classroom uses for this book:
This is a great book for middle school aged kids and below. From the detailed background information about the Jewish holiday and tradition, it can be used as a source for a research assignment for older kids. It can also be used as lesson assignments for kids to read and learn from. The lessons of repentance, prayer, and charity are all three great ways for students to form their own opinions about their morals.
Further information about this book:
Kimmel, Eric A. Days of Awe. New York, NY: The Penguin Group, 1991. Print. ISBN: 0-670-82772-X
Along with a compilation of three stories revolving Jewish holidays and traditions, this book includes an overview of the Days of Awe, which include "Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the ten days between them". After the background information increases the student's knowledge about the subject, they get three traditional lessons from three of the subjects taught from this Jewish holiday: Repentance, Prayer, and Charity.
The Charity story is about a glove-maker and his wife who come across a long seven years of good luck. After they realize where it came from, they vow to only take what little they need to survive and give the rest to others around them. After keeping their promise for those seven years, they receive good fortune for the rest of their long lives.
The Prayer story is about a shepherd who had not ever been taught to pray, although we find him making his own prayers and belting them out on his fields with his sheep. One day, a well-learned Rabbi comes up to him and asks what kind of nonsense the shepherd is yelling and tells him that what he claims to be a prayer is not a prayer at all. He then proceeds to teach the shepherd how to pray. After the Rabbi leaves, the Shepherd admits to himself that he didn't understand a word the Rabbi had just said and that he hadn't even remembered how the prayers went. Ashamed of his former ways of praying, he gave up praying all together. After getting silence from the Shepherd for a while, God send down an angel to ask the Shepherd why he had stopped praying. When he tells the angel why, she reassures him that it doesn't matter how one prays--as long as it's from the heart. After that, he realizes that that's what counts as a prayer: if it's from the heart.
The Repentance story is about a famous Rabbi who, after a sermon, is stopped by a beggar whom had been enchanted by the Rabbi's words. As the beggar asks for a blessing, the Rabbi, without thinking, shields his eyes from the beggar's ugliness and makes a comment about his appearance. After seeing the astonishment from the beggar by his reaction, he realizes that he has done wrong and begs for forgiveness. However, the beggar replies that he will only forgive him once "the One Who Made Me" forgives you. This troubles the Rabbi and he sits at the beggar's feet, begging for his own forgiveness and coming up short. Soon, the Rabbi's daughter and three sons come to his aid. The son's try to coax the beggar into giving their father forgiveness, but the beggar simply replies that he will forgive him when "the One Who Made Me" forgives him. The daughter eventually persuades the beggar to forgive her father by saying that "the One Who Made Me" has already forgiven him because he is always ready to forgive the sins of his children.
What comes from this book:
This book not only gives a short description of Jewish traditions, but also gives three Jewish story lessons over Repentance, Prayer, and Charity--three lessons which can be taught in the classroom and great lessons to encourage the practice of outside of the classroom.
Classroom uses for this book:
This is a great book for middle school aged kids and below. From the detailed background information about the Jewish holiday and tradition, it can be used as a source for a research assignment for older kids. It can also be used as lesson assignments for kids to read and learn from. The lessons of repentance, prayer, and charity are all three great ways for students to form their own opinions about their morals.
Further information about this book:
Kimmel, Eric A. Days of Awe. New York, NY: The Penguin Group, 1991. Print. ISBN: 0-670-82772-X