CU2-15

2:15 **Shabbat:** Possible origins, current pratices
 * Goal:** Students will review some of the possible origins of Shabbat and the independent development of days of rest in many cultures. Students will review the “Just So” stories explaining and requiring a day of rest on Shabbat. Students will review secular and religious Jewish practices for observing (not celebration) Shabbat and discuss how observing Shabbat can be helpful
 * Materials:**
 * 1.  ****Gain the attention of the learner** Write the following letters on the chalkboard: “ S M T W T F S” ask students what they think the letters represent or what is the next letter in the series.
 * 2.  ****Review relevant past learning** Shabbat is the last day of the weekly measure of time and is not related to activities of the sun or the moon. The story in Genesis I is a “Just So” story of creation in 7 days with God resting on the 7th day and making it holy. The story in Genesis 2 is also a “Just So” story of creation but the number of days it took is not mentioned and neither is the holiness of the 7th day.
 * 3.  ****Present new material** The origins of Shabbat are not know but it may be related to market day when all farmers would cease their work to bring their produce to town to sell on the same day. (Why isn’t market day, every day or once a month? What is the advantage of all farmers going to market on the same day?). It may also be related to some of the taboos and restrictions associated with moon phases. Similar days of rest have arisen many times in other cultures. One group of Jews codified and sanctified Shabbat by writing the “Just So” story of creation in Genesis 1 and then basing its commandment (Exodus 31:17) for observing Shabbat on its “Just So Story”. Another group of Jews did not use its story of creation to explain Shabbat but based the commandment (Deuteronomy 5:15) for observing Shabbat on the “Just So Story” of the exodus from Egypt.
 * 4.  ****Provide guided practice** Things have changed greatly from ancient days. What things do your students think they do in a day? Together list the events of a typical day on the board. Now imagine life 5000 years ago. How different would their lives have been back then? Read chapter 6, “A Day in the Life of a Bible Kid” from //The Kids Catalog of Bible Treasures.// Compare days, what do they think a typical day would have been like? Categorize activities by whether or not an orthodox Jew can do them, whether they are observers (i.e. are being entertained, like watching a ball game) or participants (they are playing the game).
 * 5.  ****Provide independent practice** Ask students to imagine the same day 5000 ago, write a story describing a busy day you lived then
 * 6.  ****Close the lesson** Which time period would your students prefer living in as children? What do they think children of the future will say of their schedules now? Which current Jewish practices (secular and non-secular) would they like to incorporate into their own lives? Why?