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This lesson offers some historical information about the first Bat Mitzvah, the welcoming of a young Jewish woman to adulthood. Jews had for centuries celebrated a boy’s entry to adulthood with a Bar Mitzvah, meaning, ‘son of the commandments’. In 1922 Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, a member of the Orthodox Jewish community in New York, performed the first Bat Mitzvah, for his daughter, Judith. This means ‘daughter of the commandments’. As we shall see, not everyone welcomed the move. We will explore historical information as well as information about Jewish belief, practice and community.

Lesson Outline

1. Search online for an image of Judith Kaplan at the 70th anniversary of the first Bat Mitzvah. The image is housed in the Jewish Women’s Archive, there are several versions online. You could also search for other images of Judith and her father Mordechai Kaplan, there are a few.
Give groups 3 minutes to come up with 3 questions about the image.

2) Cut the information below into cards and give a set to each group: (In the download at the end of this page there are ready made cards you can cut out.)

Judith’s father was a rabbi, and he performed her Bat Mitzvah

Bar Mitzvah is when a boy comes of age in Judaism

Judith Kaplan’s Bat Mitzvah was conducted in New York in 1922

No one had conducted a Bat Mitzvah before Judith Kaplan’s.

The young person reads from the Torah in front of the congregation

The first public Bat Mitzvah involved 13-year old Judith Kaplan

There are 316 commandments in then Torah (Jewish holy book)

Bat means ‘daughter’ in Hebrew

Bar Mitzvah means ‘son of the commandments’.

Ask groups to find answers to these questions, using the cards:
– What is a Bat Mitzvah?
– What is a Bar Mitzvah?
– why is the first Bat Mitzvah is significant in Jewish history?

3. Ask groups to predict how this was received in the Orthodox community. Do they think it was welcomed as a positive change, or resisted as an unwelcome change?

4. In fact not all New York Jews supported Judith’s Bat Mitzvah. Write the 4 statements below into 4 speech bubbles and display. Ask groups to identify TWO reasons why Judith’s Bat Mitzvah was seen as a bad idea, and TWO reasons why it was seen as a good idea.

A woman’s sphere of influence is the home, so it is right and fitting that a young woman should be welcomed into adulthood in the home.

Religions need to change with the times. Traditions adapt without destroying the religion. The belief has not changed, just the way of showing it has changed.

Women have more of a role in public life in modern times so it is correct for women to be more involved in public religious ceremonies.

Jewish women and girls have always been ‘daughters of the commandments’. A new ceremony is not necessary.

5. Introduce the idea that religion can be understood as a combination of beliefs, practices and community or tradition; how groups see the world, what they do, and who they do it with. Show a diagram like this. You could give examples of beliefs, practices and community traditions, which pupils have to match to each element to make this point.

6) Using the information squares below, answer the question; ‘Was Rabbi Kaplan seen as challenging religious beliefs, practices or traditions with the first Bat Mitzvah?’

The Torah is the first part of the Jewish bible, consisting of 5 books.

The 613 commandments cover all aspects of community & religion.

The Torah teaches about the Jewish prophets and early Jewish history.

Traditionally only men read from the Torah.

‘Torah’ means ‘teachings’ (Hebrew).

The Torah begins with God creating the universe.

The Bar Mitzvah ceremony is not mentioned in the Torah, or the Talmud (books that interpret the Torah).

The first mention of the Bar Mitzvah ceremony is in the Middle Ages, not the time of the Torah.

Traditionally, only men would read from the Torah in public. Women had no roles of authority in public; in business or religion.

The Jewish bible contains elements of the Bar Mitzvah ceremony. For example, adult Jews fast on the Day of Atonement, and children would begin their fast at 13.

At a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, the 13-year old boy reads a portion of the Torah to the congregation at the synagogue. This is the first time he has read from the Torah in public.

The Mishnah (part of the Talmud) states, ‘”At five years old one should study the Scriptures, at ten years for the Mishnah, at 13 for the commandments…’ (Mishnah Pirkei Avot 5:21)

What does a worldviews approach look like in the classroom? Dr Kate Christopher and Professor Lynn Revell have been exploring this question through a project called ‘Islam as a Worldview’. The project considers worldviews thinking through practical resources for the classroom, focusing on the teaching of Islam.

Through thinking practically, and with all ages of pupils in mind, the team present two working principles:

1. Worldviews starts with people
2. Pupils need to engage with different types of knowledge

These clear, simple principles form the basis of the teaching materials produced. The teaching materials are free and available for all.

Have a look at these teaching materials and see how you can bring in a wide and rich sense of history, context and lived diversity in Islam, through starting with people, and their time and place. Don’t be limited to your own Key Stage, you can pick up all sorts of ideas you can adapt from the resources.

Key Stage 4

Consider what inspires Malala to struggle against control and oppression. Explore the historical and cultural contexts of Malala’s life.

Created by Lynn Revell and Kate Christopher as part of their Canterbury Christ Church University grant funded project Teaching Islam as a Worldview. Funding provided by  Culham St Gabriel’s Trust. You can find further resources which were created as part of this project in the RE:ONLINE resource Islam as a Worldview

Key Stage 3

Explore the life of a North London mosque through snapshots reflecting contemporary religious and ethical questions.

Created by Lynn Revell and Kate Christopher as part of their Canterbury Christ Church University grant funded project Teaching Islam as a Worldview. Funding provided by  Culham St Gabriel’s Trust. You can find further resources which were created as part of this project in the RE:ONLINE resource Islam as a Worldview

Key Stages 1 and 2

This resource encourages pupils to look at Islam through the eyes of the poet Rumi.

Created by Lynn Revell and Kate Christopher as part of their Canterbury Christ Church University grant funded project Teaching Islam as a Worldview. Funding provided by  Culham St Gabriel’s Trust. You can find further resources which were created as part of this project in the RE:ONLINE resource Islam as a Worldview

Key Stages 2 and 3

Find out about Muhammad Ali: the athlete, the antiracist, the conscientious objector and the devoted Muslim.

Created by Lynn Revell and Kate Christopher as part of their Canterbury Christ Church University grant funded project Teaching Islam as a Worldview. Funding provided by  Culham St Gabriel’s Trust. You can find further resources which were created as part of this project in the RE:ONLINE resource Islam as a Worldview

In an attempt to answer some questions on the nature of evil from the point-of-view of the Bahá’i Faith, I have looked to the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, key figures in the Faith.

Perhaps the simplest way to explain the Bahá’i teaching about evil is to compare it to light and dark. Light is a physical reality, whereas darkness is the absence of light; it does not exist as an entity itself. In the same way, the Bahá’i Writings refer to evil as the absence of good:

Evil is non-existent; it is the absence of good; sickness is the loss of health; poverty the lack of riches. When wealth disappears, you are poor; you look within the treasure box but find nothing there. Without knowledge there is ignorance; therefore, ignorance is simply the lack of knowledge. Death is the absence of life. Therefore, on the one hand we have existence; on the other, nonexistence, negation or absence of existence.¹

One of the questions asked whether an act of evil can be categorised as both natural and moral – which I understand as asking whether, if we act upon our natural impulses, we can still be judged in a moral way. Emotions such as anger are not ‘evil’ in themselves – we have the ability to feel them for a reason – but how we choose to use them determines whether our actions are ‘evil’ or not.

The answer to this is that desire, which is to ask for something more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is used suitably. So, if a man has the desire to acquire science and knowledge, or to become compassionate, generous and just, it is most praiseworthy. If he exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use these qualities in a right way, they are blameworthy. … It is the same with all the natural qualities of man… if they be used and displayed in an unlawful way, they become blameworthy. ²

Sometimes people consider natural phenomena – earthquakes, floods and so on – as evil, asking why, if God is good, He would allow such things to happen. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s explanation can also be extended to the natural world: these phenomena are not evil in their own right but can cause untold pain and suffering to us. They are ‘evil’ in relation to us, but are not in themselves: if a volcano blows but injures no-one, is it a ‘good’ volcano in comparison to the one which erupts and destroys a village? It is our challenge as humans sharing this planet to increasingly understand natural forces and phenomena and help each other to be safe. So too, perhaps, with the damaging behaviours of some people.

Suffering is both a reminder and a guide. It stimulates us better to adapt ourselves to our environmental conditions, and thus leads the way to self-improvement. In every suffering one can find a meaning and a wisdom. But it is not always easy to find the secret of that wisdom. It is sometimes only when all our suffering has passed that we become aware of its usefulness. What man considers to be evil turns often to be a cause of infinite blessings. ³

One final question I have been asked is whether it is possible to gain true happiness without natural evil. This is a thread which runs throughout religion, and the following passage seems appropriate:

‘’The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most.’ ⁴

Perhaps ultimately, it is how we react to the actions of others, the choices we make and the situations in which we find ourselves that define evil for each of us throughout our lives.

Sources:

¹‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity, p. 76-79

²‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, pp. 250- 251

³ Shoghi Effendi, Unfolding Destiny, p. 434

⁴ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 178

Some classroom ideas

Tasks

Look at these quotes and consider what Baha’is might believe about evil, suffering and human behaviour

1. ‘Evil is non-existent; it is the absence of good’
2. ‘If he exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy;’
3. ‘Suffering is both a reminder and a guide.’
4. ‘The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering.’

This resource was written by Debbie Tibbey, one of RE:ONLINE’s Email a Believer team. 

A worksheet looking at symbols used with Paganism, to represent Pagan faith groups and concepts.  Students may have seen some of the symbols on clothing, jewellery, etc.

It includes independent research, which could be suitable as a piece of homework. It would fit well into a broader lesson (or series of lessons) looking at symbols and symbolism within religion.

These resources have been created to support the Jerusalem Trust and BBC film Catholics – Children.

There are resources designed for use with KS2 (8-11),KS3 (11-14), KS4 (15-16), KS5 (17-18) and adults.

In order to use this resources it is necessary for students to watch entire film. In addition, sections may, of

course, be reshown as required in relation to each topic. The Programme Outline contains the timings for each

part of the film.

Teachers can select all or any of the resources and activities as suitable for the course they are pursuing. There

are additional ‘Stretch and Challenge’ topics as well as cross-curricular materials.

Additional versions of resources have been created:

• Dyslexic (D) wherever appropriate

To avoid confusion these are coded in the bottom left -hand corner of each page.

Many of the materials, especially the challenges, are also suitable for

• SEN – special educational needs;
• EAL – English as an additional language.