War, Peace and Judaism – Lesson 1
Introduction
This is the first lesson in a four-lesson unit. Students look at war and peace from the perspective of Biblical history and Jewish ethics by studying traditional Jewish texts. In this lesson, students will be challenged to consider how Judaism synthesizes war and peace.
Lesson objectives
The student will be able to:
- Describe the conflict discussed in class in general.
- Identify the groups involved in the conflict and their different interests.
- Define the term ethics.
Skills
The student will be able to:
Analyze a current news story from an ethical point of view.
Values
The student will appreciate:
The numerous values/issues that are at play in a conflict.
Terms
Ethics:
Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary:
1. The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation
2. a: a set of moral principles or values
b: a theory or system of moral values
c: the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group
d: a guiding philosophy
Concise Oxford Dictionary:
1. The science of morals in human conduct;
2. a: Moral principles; rules of conduct.
b: a set of these
Resources & Equipment needed
Copies of current events article on war for all students
Procedure
- Using news media (e.g. TV, website, newspaper, radio, etc.) present a current event story involving war or political conflict of some kind.
- Hand out a copy of the article you have chosen. Ask the students to read the article, paying particular attention to any possible ethical issues mentioned.
- Lead a classroom discussion on the article. Ultimately, this discussion aims to facilitate the students to evaluate the ethical issues surrounding the conflict. Therefore, you and your students should have a working definition of the term “ethics.” It may help to write these definitions on the board for reference. Ask the students: Who is involved in the conflict? What are the sides fighting for and what ideologies (if any) are motivating them?
- Ask the students: What do they think the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ of this conflict are and who is perpetrating them? This question will no doubt generate some debate. It is important that there is some debate and that different voices are heard.
- Ask the class if there has ever been a legitimate and moral war. If so, is this an example? There may be students who consider themselves pacifists and therefore suggest there is no such thing as a legitimate conflict, and if there are none in your class, it may be worthwhile explaining that such an opinion exists. It is more likely that students will state opinions such as wars of self-defense are legitimate, war against terrorism, and evil regimes are acceptable.
- Write the following list of values/issues on the board and ask the students to evaluate the place that they do or do not have in this conflict:
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- Political ideologies
- Value of life
- Is there one “right” and “wrong”
- Cost of life
- Moral clarity
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- Note: The role of God in conflict is a sensitive issue to explore. Both sides feel that they have God on their side, and many students may feel uncomfortable with using God to justify a conflict. Students should be able to see that both sides are using similar values to fight this conflict, such as God, morality, and justice. Ask the students: Are there fundamental differences between the way the sides use these values?
- Ask the students which of these are values contained in the Torah/Judaism, and what they think Judaism would say about this conflict. The students should see that, in some form or another, many of the values/issues in the list are contained in the Torah and Judaism.
- Ask the students to share their initial thoughts on the approaches of Judaism to war and peace. Is Judaism a pacifist religion or a religion of war? If possible, ask them to support their arguments with proof from their knowledge of Judaism and Jewish texts (hopefully some will mention battles and wars that take place in Tanakh, as well as sources that speak of peace as a value). Explain that this unit will address this issue.