Understanding the Role of Tisha B’Av in the Jewish Year
Grade Level: 3-5
Time: 30 minutes
Setting: Camp or Informal Ed
Objectives:
- Students will explore the purpose of Tisha B’Av, as a day for Jewish sadness and mourning of something lost.
- Students will identify Tisha B’Av as the day when we mourn the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash (Temple).
- Students will reflect on the reasoning given for the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, baseless hatred, and its connection to their daily practice.
Materials Needed:
- Ten Random Items
- 2 Decks of Ahavat Chinam/Sinat Chinam Cards
- Commitment cards
Hook (7 minutes)
Begin the lesson by displaying 10 items on a table. (Some possible examples: a teddy bear, a block, a package of markers, a notebook, a clock, a book, a ball, etc.)
Then, call a student up to the front of the room to stand with his back to the items. Remove an item, then ask the student to turn around and guess what the missing item was. Ask the student how it felt to see the item and then notice it was missing. Ask the student how they would have felt if the missing item was something important to them or something of significant value. Would they feel differently?
Play 4-5 rounds of this game, removing a different object from the pile before each round.
Following the game, explain to the students that Tisha B’Av is a day on the Jewish calendar where we mourn the loss of something. Something is missing in our lives, and Tisha B’Av is the day when we mourn its loss.
Connection (7 minutes)
Highlight for the students that fast days on the Jewish calendar are days that are often used to commemorate a sad event. (If they have already learned the 17th of Tammuz lesson, the teacher is invited to recap the lesson for the students.) Explain that while Tisha B’Av commemorates numerous tragic events in Jewish History, the primary event that is mourned is the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.
Explain that we are not afraid of sadness, and that the emotion of sadness is emphasized on the day of Tisha B’Av.
Ask the students to explain the prohibitions of Tisha B’Av (no eating, no drinking, no leather shoes, no bathing) and of the Three Weeks (no weddings, no haircuts, no live music) that reflect these feelings of sadness. Feel free to play charades, Pictionary, or hangman as a way to encourage students to answer this question.
Exploration (3 minutes)
Explain that one of the reasons that the Temple was destroyed (according to our Rabbis) is due to baseless hatred, Sinat Chinam, between people. Explain that Tisha B’Av is a day that reminds us that it is important to treat each other with respect, love, and care. The teacher can introduce the term Ahavat Chinam as a term that incorporates these qualities. Since the Temple was destroyed due to Sinat Chinam, one of the ways that we try to fix the mistakes is through an increase of Ahavat Chinam.
Activity #1 (7 minutes)
Print the Ahavat Chinam/Sinat Chinam Cards and give each student an image card of a specific action. (If there are too many students, print a few decks of the cards and divide the students into groups to use the deck of cards together.)
In a round-robin, students should categorize the action they are given as an action that encourages Ahavat Chinam or an action that encourages Sinat Chinam. Some of the cards may spark discussion among students about how the image is perceived; encourage thoughtful responses from them. The teacher can then have a short discussion with the students about what qualifies something as an action that either increases or decreases respect, kindness, and love among people. Then have students offer suggestions for additional actions to increase Ahavat Chinam.
Activity #2 (5 minutes)
Students should be given this card to fill out.
The card should say the following:
- This Tisha B’Av, I am sad about…
(This gives students the opportunity to consider big issues around the world, in Israel, in their communities, and in their own personal lives, and to think of something that they are missing or that they are sad about. )
- This Tisha B’Av, I will try to increase Ahavat Chinam by….
- This Tisha B’Av, I commit to decreasing Sinat Chinam by….
Conclusion (5 minutes)
The cards should then be used to create a heart on the wall or on the floor. Students can be encouraged to share one of their responses as they place their card on the wall or the floor.