Tisha B’Av: When Society Breaks Down, Temples Fall – Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 7-12
Time: 30-80 minutes
Setting: formal or informal educational settings

Introduction:

Tisha B’Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. On that day, both Batei HaMikdash (Holy Temples) were destroyed; the first by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the emperor of Babylonia, in 586 BCE, and the second by the armies of Rome in 70 CE. On Tisha B’Av, we mourn ALL of the tragedies that the Jewish people have suffered in their history. Traditional Jews fast and don’t wear leather shoes, and they also sit on the ground or low chairs, and focus their attention on the horrors we have suffered. 

The Talmudic Sages teach that the First Temple was destroyed because the people worshipped idols, committed adultery, and murder. The prophets also railed against all varieties of social injustice, from a corrupt legal system to a lack of charity to an overemphasis on material wealth. The second Temple was destroyed because of sinat chinam – baseless and destructive hatred of one another. The disintegration of Bein Adam LeChaveiro (interpersonal relationships) greatly overshadows Bein Adam LaMakom (one’s relationship with God). The destruction of the buildings represents the destruction within Jewish society.

This lesson takes students through 4 sources dealing with the destruction of the Temples. The Driving Question is how the disintegration of social justice and the moral fabric of society destroys the holiest building and center of religious worship. The lesson also asks students to reflect on the overarching importance of Bein Adam LeChaveiro in religious life. 

Objectives:

Content and Skills:

• Students will engage with texts (either by reading or listening).
• Students will demonstrate their comprehension of the texts (either in writing or orally).
• Students will reflect on the broader ramifications of the texts.
• Students will articulate their reflections (either in writing or orally).
• Students will consider and suggest how these texts apply to their lives.
• Students will reflect on and discuss the proximal and deeper causes for the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash.

Values:

• Students will reflect on and discuss how the lessons of Tisha B’Av apply today.
• Students will reflect on and suggest ways in which they can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and also create a better future (“Tikkun Olam”).
• Students will reflect on and discuss the centrality of social justice and Bein Adam LeChaveiro in Judaism.

Materials Needed:

• Copies of the source sheet/worksheet for all students (the document contains links to the sources; if digital access is unavailable, then these should also be printed and distributed to students)
• Writing utensils for all students
• Answer key

Procedure:

1. Entrance and/or Trigger Questions. Educators can begin with one or more of these if they wish. These questions can be answered in writing, digitally, orally, in chevruta/pair-share, or in small groups. Educators can also divide up the triggers and use a jigsaw format to discuss, or let students choose which trigger they want to discuss in a smaller, self-selected group.
   Suggestions for an entrance activity or a “trigger” question:

    

   A.  (1) Why was the first Beit HaMikdash destroyed?
          (2) Why was the second Beit HaMikdash destroyed?
          (3) Of these sins, which one do you think is the worst, and why?

   B. Discuss: Is it better to be a good person or to be a good Jew? How did you choose? Can you have one without the other?

   C. Can a physical structure, a building, truly inspire us to be good people and good Jews? Explain your answer.

   D. How do you define “social justice”? What does that term mean to you?

2. Educators will distribute the source sheet and questions.
3. Educators can:
   
   A. Read the sources aloud, ask the comprehension questions to the whole group, and then address the thought questions as a group.
   
   B. Read the sources aloud and have the students engage with the questions independently, in chevruta, or in small groups, answering questions either orally or in writing.
   
   C. Have students read the sources, either independently, in chevruta, or in small groups, and address the questions either orally or in writing.
   NOTE: For Source #3, you may need to provide background information. You may also need to reference the destruction and exile of the Northern Kingdom/Malchut Yisrael by Ashur (Assyria), which had happened about 100-150 years before Yirmiyahu’s prophecy.
   
4. Educators and students can address the “thought questions” either as a whole group or in small groups, and articulate responses either orally or in writing.
5. Educators and students can address the “Big Questions” either as a whole group or in small groups, either orally or in writing.
6. Exit ticket/assessment:A. Ask students to address one or more of the Big Questions and include references to the sources as background for their responses
   
   B. Ask students to design an “action plan.”
   
   C. Ask students to write a kinah (lament) for the present day, which also includes prayers/suggestions for how to make a better future (model after the famous kinah, “b’tzeit miYerushalayim/b’shuvi leYerushalayim”)