*Updated for 2024 with new questions, content, and assessments at the end of this page.

Students discover why the argument between God and Yonah is relevant to Yom Kippur.

Introduction

In this lesson, the students continue to examine and analyze the text of Sefer Yonah in order to fully understand one of its messages and why the text is read on Yom Kippur.

Lesson objectives

The student will be able to…

1. Summarize in writing or an audio recording the entire book of Yonah.  Special attention should be given to the debate between God and Yonah throughout the book.
2. Show, with proofs from the text itself,  how one of the central messages of Sefer Yonah is that God acts mercifully and that He controls all creation, except for free will.
3. Discuss whether or not they agree with #2, including both explanation and support for their opinion.
4. Explain why the book is read on Yom Kippur linking the text of the book, the messages emanating from the text, and the essence of Yom Kippur.
5. Reflect on whether or not the book of Yonah resonates with them and why (or why not).

Skills

The student will…

1. Develop hevrutah study skills
2. Develop text analysis skills

Values

The student will be able to articulate their understanding that:

1. God is the ultimate arbiter of justice
2. God is all merciful
3. God controls the world but allows Man to have freedom of choice
4. There is an inherent paradox in trying to reconcile 1,2 and 3 and that this is a central element of God’s uniqueness
5. Recognizing the value of a makhloket leshem shamayim (lit. arguments for the sake of heaven) and how through these our understanding of God increases
6. The power of tefillah (prayer) and teshuvah (repentance) to overturn a bad decree

Resources & Equipment needed

• Copies of Sefer Yonah (or Sefaria link here)
• Worksheet and accompanying Hebrew texts

Procedure

PART 1

Continuation of working with the worksheet. In hevrutot, students should review chapters 3 and 4 of Sefer Yonah and answer questions 7-11, quoting from the text to explain their answers.

PART 2

After completion, review answers, and promote further discussion with the students.

Question 7

Yonah is so distressed about how God runs the world that he is prepared to die. God therefore must explain to him why He tries to be as merciful as He can be.

a) A kikayon is a desert bush that grows very quickly. It provided Yonah with shade as he watched over Nineveh, on a very hot day. The kikayon then died and Yonah had the hot sun beating down on his head, making him very uncomfortable.

b) God asked Yonah how he felt about the kikayon dying. Yonah said that he would like to die. For the first time we see God angry (“E-lohim”, the name of the God of Justice, as opposed to “Hashem” – the God of mercy, speaks for the first time). God (reverting to the “Shem Hashem”) then explains that Yonah cared about the kikayon which only lived for a day and in which he did not invest any effort. All the more so God cares for the 200,000 souls in Nineveh (and all the animals) who do not know the difference between their right and left hands, i.e. who are misguided beings. God wants Yonah to understand that He cares about all His creations and will always forgive them if He is given the chance. To help the students understand, compare God’s love for Nineveh to a mother’s love for an abusive child. The child may be cruel and behave with total hatred toward her, but if he were to show just one moment of repentance, the mother would accept him back with open arms.

Students should look at the mila mancha (repeated word) “vayeman” (and he prepared) in Chapter 4 and regarding the fish, and consider what this means. Reflect on the role of both justice and mercy. 

Question 8

Yonah’s response is not given here and therefore we are unclear as to whether he accepted it or not.

Have students look up the reference to Yonah in Kings II 14:25. In this section, he prophesizes to a wicked king of Israel, Yeravam ben Yoash, that God would restore Israel’s borders because He had pity on Israel’s suffering. Therefore, it is possible that Yonah accepted this message, as he is a messenger of good news to a wicked king.

Question 9

One of the reasons we read this book on Yom Kippur is that Sefer Yonah is a debate about God’s trait of justice versus his trait of mercy. Here we see how God represses His justice towards sinners. This is what we want God to do for us on Yom Kippur.

Question 10

This question aims to show an additional relationship between Sefer Yonah and Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we recognize God as the master of the Universe and we crown him as our king.

The word “E-lohim” means that God not only judges but also delivers the verdict of judgment.  In this way, God is “majestic” (even more than a king).

Pesukim That Describe God’s Majesty:

1:4 & 15: The storm- God controls the sea and weather

1:7: The lottery- God controls fate

2:1 & 11: The fish swallows and spits out Yonah- God controls the animal kingdom

4:6: The kikayon provides shade for Yonah- God controls vegetation

4:7: The worm eats the kikayon’s roots- God controls land creatures

4:8: The sun beats down on Yonah- God controls the celestial orbs

Question 11

a) God does not control Yonah and the people of Nineveh. There is a discussion as to how much he controlled the sailors.

b) Human beings have free choice to do good or bad. The will of God will always be maintained but individuals can choose their direction. God does interfere in our lives whether through the weather, the animal kingdom, nature, or other humans. They may all be messages that He sends us in order to make us consider and reconsider the direction that we are taking, but ultimately, we all have free will to make our own life choices.

PART 3: CONCLUSION

In this lesson, we have examined the message behind the story of Sefer Yonah and have seen that the main emphasis of the book is a debate between God and the prophet, regarding God’s traits of mercy and justice. Yonah wants God to behave in a just manner, which means punishing the people of Nineveh, while God would rather behave mercifully, thereby forgiving them. We have also seen how God acts as the master of the universe with Him having supreme control over all creation, save the free will of humanity. For all these reasons it is highly appropriate for Sefer Yonah to be read on Yom Kippur, the day we ask of God to behave mercifully towards us, and the day we recognize God’s majesty.

 

Possible Summative Assessments

I. Values Clarification

(Part A can be done in hevrutah.  Part B should be done independently.  Part B can either be done in writing or orally. For an online classroom, oral assignments can be recorded as voice notes and submitted to the teacher) 

A. Here are 3 concepts that are dealt with in Sefer Yonah.  For each of the three, provide TWO citations–including perek number, pasuk number, and the words from the pasuk that highlight the concept AND explain in your own words how the citation demonstrates the following concepts:

1. 1. God is the ultimate arbiter of justice
   2. God is all merciful
   3. God controls the world but allows Man to have freedom of choice.
      

B. There is an inherent paradox in trying to reconcile the 3 concepts above and that this is a central element of God’s uniqueness. Answer the following questions: 

1. Do you think of God more as “an arbiter of justice” or “all-merciful.”  Explain why and how in at least 3 sentences.
2. How is having “free choice” BOTH a gift AND a responsibility?  Please explain each of these (“gift” and “responsibility”) in 1-2 sentences.
3. Which of the two (gift or responsibility) do you feel more? Explain why in 1-2 sentences.

II. The Power of Tefillah and Teshuvah

(Part A can be done in hevrutah.  Part B should be done independently, either in writing or orally).

A. Using citations (cite the perek and the pesukim)  from the text, show how the following do teshuvah, then answer the questions below:

1. 1. The sailors
   2. Yonah
   3. The people of Nineveh

• What do these 3 examples of teshuvah have in common?
• Which of the three acts of teshuvah is the most honest/authentic, in your opinion?  Why did you choose that one?  Discuss your choice with your hevrutah.

B. Think of something for which you want to do teshuvah.  How would you ask for forgiveness?  Compose a prayer or a speech that demonstrates your teshuvah.

III. Necessary Vocabulary

Part A can be done with a hevrutah; Part B should be done independently.

A. (1) For chapters 1,3 and 4 create a vocabulary list of 15 “must-know” words for each chapter.  Supply the Hebrew word and the English translation. 

If you are working with a hevrutah, each of you should come up with your own list at first and then work together to create a “final” list.  Note with an asterisk the words that you both chose at first and with a plus sign the words on which you reached consensus/agreement after discussion.

(2) Choose 5 words from each chapter’s list and explain why you chose the word as a “must-know.”

B.  (1) Create a title or theme phrase for each of the four chapters. (2) In 2-3 sentences, explain why you came up with that title.

IV. Creative Expression for why we read Sefer Yonah on Yom Kippur

Using some form of creative medium, demonstrate how the story of Sefer Yonah intertwines with the theme(s) of Yom Kippur.  You can write a poem, write a song, create a playlist of existing songs, create a visual image, create a children’s book, or anything else individual and creative.

 

RETURN TO PART 1

RETURN TO PART 2