TEMPLE EMANUEL

CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY

SHABBAT SHALOM FROM TEMPLE EMANUEL

WE HOPE THAT THIS WILL ADD TO YOUR FAMILY'S ENJOYMENT OF SHABBAT

Shabbat July 3, 2009 / 12 Tammuz 5769

Torah - Chukat /Balak   Numbers 19:1 - 25:9

PARASHA OVERVIEW

• The laws of the red heifer to purify a person who has had contact with a corpse are given. (19:1-22)

•  The people arrive at the wilderness of Zin. Miriam dies and is buried there. (20:1)

•  The people complain that they have no water. Moses strikes the rock to get water for them. God tells Moses and Aaron they will not enter the Land of Israel. (20:2-13)

• The king of Edom refuses to let the Children of Israel pass through his land. After Aaron's priestly garments are given to his son Eleazer, Aaron dies. (20:14-29)

• After they are punished for complaining about the lack of bread and water, the Israelites repent and are victorious in battle against the Amorites and the people of Bashan, whose lands they capture. (21:4-22:1)

• Balak, the king of Moab, persuades the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites so that he can defeat them and drive them out of the region.  However, Balaam blesses the Children of Israel instead and prophesies that Israel's enemies will be defeated. (22:2-24:25)

• God punishes the Israelites with a plague for consorting with the Moabite women and their god. The plague is stayed after Pinchas kills an Israelite man and his Midianite woman. (25:1-9)

The law of the red heifer is introduced in this week's first Torah portion, Chukat. This law is called a "chukat haTorah," a ritual law, and from this phrase comes the name of this week's parasha, Chukat. Ashes of the red heifer were to be used to purify those who came into contact with a corpse.

The Israelites arrive in the wilderness of Zin and camp at Kadesh. Miriam, the sister of Moses, and Aaron, his brother, die there and are buried. The people complain that there is no water and that they are in a wretched place that has no grain or figs, vines or pomegranates. God tells Moses that he and Aaron are to take the rod, assemble the people so they can witness Moses ordering the rock to give water. Once the people are assembled Moses says to them, "Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?" Moses strikes the rock twice with his rod instead of speaking to it. Water pours forth from the rock, but God declares that because of their actions Moses and Aaron showed a lack of faith and thus would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. This place became known as the waters of Meribah, meaning "waters of strife."

Moses sends messengers to the King of Edom asking to pass through his land on the way to Canaan. The request is denied and the Israelites skirt around the Edomite territory and reach Mount Hor where Aaron dies. The Israelites mourn his death for 30 days. Eleazar, Aaron's son, succeeds him as High Priest.

The Israelites continue on their journey toward the Promised Land, successfully engaging in three battles, over Arad, the Amorites and over Bashan. The Israelites march on to Moab, across the Jordan from Jericho.

This week's second parasha, Balak, is named after the King of Moab. The Israelites were camped on the border of Moab, on their way to the Promised Land. Balak saw that the Israelites had prospered and grown in number and was afraid that the Israelites would try to take over his country. Balak sends messengers to Balaam, a pagan prophet, asking Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites so that they can be defeated and driven out of Moab. Before Balaam replies to the messengers, he asks them to stay overnight so that he may consult with God.

That night, he has a dream in which God speaks to him. Balaam tells God of Balak's request and God says "Do not go with them. You must not curse the people, for they are blessed" (Num. 22:12). The next morning, Balaam tells the messengers that God will not allow him to accompany them. Balak then sends other messengers back to Balaam, offering him riches if he will come and curse the Israelites. Balaam replies that regardless of what riches he is offered, he cannot do anything against the command of God.

God appears again to Balaam during the night, telling him that he may go with the messengers, but he must do whatever God tells him to do. In the morning, Balaam saddles his ass and departs. "But God was incensed at his going; so an angel of God placed himself in his way as an adversary" (Num. 22:22). The ass sees the angel of God standing with a drawn sword in his hand and swerves away from the road to avoid it. Balaam beats the ass and tries to turn it back onto the road. Two more times, the angel stands so that the ass moves to avoid it, and each time, Balaam beats the ass. Finally, God gives the ass the ability to speak to Balaam. The ass declares that she has never taken him off the road in all the time that she has served him before this day, so why is he beating her these three times? God then "uncovered Balaam's eyes" (Num. 22:31) to reveal the angel with the drawn sword.

The angel of God tells Balaam that he appeared because he does not approve of what Balaam is going to do and that the ass was protecting Balaam from death. Balaam admits that he did not know that the angel was standing in the way and offers to turn back from his journey. The angel tells Balaam to continue, but that he must only say what he is told to say. When Balaam arrives, he makes seven sacrifices to God, looks out at the Israelite people from a high place and instead of cursing them, praises them. When Balak asks him why he has done this, Balaam tells Balak that he can only repeat what God tells him to say about the Israelites. Balak takes Balaam to another high place, asking him to curse them from there. Once again, Balaam makes seven sacrifices and praises the people. Balak takes Balaam to a third place and the entire process is repeated. Enraged, Balak tells Balaam to go back to his own home without any rewards since he did not do as he was asked. Before he leaves, Balaam foretells the destruction of Balak's nation and of Israel's many victories over its enemies.

The Israelites camp at Shittim, eventually becoming involved with Moabite women and worshiping their god Ba'al-peor. God becomes angry and tells Moses to have all of the idol worshipers executed. In an act of defiance, an Israelite man takes a Midianite woman into a tent in front of Moses and the rest of the community. Pinchas, Aaron's grandson, sees this, follows them and kills them both. As punishment for their behavior, God sends a plague and 24,000 Israelites die before the plague subsides.

Admitting Weakness by Adam Lieberman

In this week's Torah portion, a king named Balak wanted to curse the Jewish people. He sought out a prophet named Balaam to carry out this wish and sent his officers to summon him. Balaam asked God if he could go, but God immediately told him not to go and curse the Jewish people because they were a people who were "blessed." But when Balaam relayed this answer to the king's officers, Balaam left that part out and only said:

"...God refuses to let me go with you." (Numbers, 22:13)

A LIFE LESSON

God had told Balaam two distinct and specific points in response to his request to go and curse the Jewish people. First, God emphatically told Balaam not to go and second, to not curse the Jewish people because they are blessed. But when Balaam relayed this simple and brief response, he left out 50 percent of what God said!

God made it very clear to Balaam that it would be completely futile to even attempt to curse the Jews because they are a blessed nation. But to an arrogant and haughty prophet -- which Balaam certainly was -- he could never bring himself to admit his own powers lacked any limitations. So instead of telling the king's delegates that Balaam was simply the wrong man for the job and would be completely ineffective and incapable of doing the king's bidding, he chose to omit all of this and "pass the buck" to God by only saying that God said he wasn't allowed to go.

It's what Balaam purposely didn't say that can teach us all a valuable lesson in our own lives. To most people, it's clear that God gave each of us certain unique strengths and talents whereby certain things that just seem to "naturally" to us. But it is also equally clear that God didn't give us certain skills and strengths. Whether we're not good at math, directions, instruction manuals, drawing, or organization -- we all have weaknesses. While some of these weaknesses are things we might continually work on to become better people, there are some things that we are just plain not good at, and that's just how it is!

But those with low self-esteem have a difficult time ever admitting they lack any skill or ability. They wrongly believe that an acknowledgement of a lack of talent in any area would be a direct reflection on their own self-worth.

However, the exact opposite is true. Those who can readily and easily admit that they aren't "good" at something aren't showing weakness or incompetence. Rather, it demonstrates honesty, strength and self-confidence. Others will look at this person and see someone who is comfortable with the strengths and talents that they DO have and need not proclaim to all they meet that they're good at everything.

Balaam was just too proud to admit he couldn't do what someone had requested of him. Let's learn from this the next time you're asked to do something that you're either not that skilled at or are outright incapable of doing. Contrary to what Balaam believed, telling people you're not the right person for the job will actually make you shine in their eyes, because it means you have the confidence to say so. It also sends the message that when you do take on a task; you unquestionably believe that you'll deliver great results.

Chukat by Rabbi Shraga Simmons

This week's parasha features one of the most perplexing incidents in the entire Torah. The Jews have been wandering for 40 years in the desert and they're thirsty. So God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water will come forth (Numbers 20:8). The instruction to "speak" to the rock is in contrast to 40 years earlier, when Moses followed God's instruction to HIT the rock -- and water gushed out (Exodus 17:6).

This time, Moses is to speak. Yet he again hits the rock. Nothing happens, so Moses hits the rock a second time, and water comes out.

God's response: "Since you HIT the rock rather than speaking to it, you will not lead the Jewish people into the Land of Israel" (Numbers 20:11-12).

We read this story and think: Here's the mighty Moses, who confronted Pharaoh, arranged the Ten Plagues, split the Red Sea, brought the Torah down from Mount Sinai, and defended the people through trials and tribulations in the desert. Now he makes one little mistake and God takes away his dream of entering Israel. The consequence seems inappropriately harsh!

The first step in understanding this incident is to appreciate how the Jewish people were at the critical juncture of transitioning from desert life to Israel. At the rock, God's instructions to Moses are carefully chosen to reflect this transition. Forty years earlier, when Moses was told to HIT the rock, the people had just come out of brutal slavery in Egypt -- and "hitting" was a language they understood. But this time, Moses was called upon to lead a generation who'd grown up in freedom; a generation which required the softer approach of "speaking."

Notice how in our parasha, Moses hits the rock twice. First, he hit the rock and no water came out. At that moment he had the opportunity to reevaluate his approach and reflect more carefully on God's specific instruction to "speak." But Moses hits the rock again.

The commentators suggest that perhaps symbolically, we can learn about our own need to be flexible in our approach. Moses' punishment is not harsh; it is simply a consequence of his relationship to the new generation and their needs in entering Israel.

We learn from this a crucial lesson about education. King Solomon says: "Educate each child according to his own way." The process of learning is different for everybody, and the approach that's effective for one is often not effective for another.

This defines the crucial difference between education and indoctrination. "Indoctrination" is when the teacher is concerned primarily with advancing his position. "Education" is drawing out from the student's own intuitive sense.

This idea is elucidated in the Talmud, which says: "Even more than the baby calf wants to drink, the mother wants to nurse." The simple understanding is that of course the calf is hungry and needs to eat. But even more so "the mother wants to nurse" -- meaning that the mother is full of milk and needs to get it out.

However, I heard in the name of Rabbi Simcha Wasserman (20th century Los Angeles and Jerusalem) that the Talmud must be understood differently. Because if the mother's only concern is to get rid of her milk, then it would come out in one big gush. And we see instead that it comes out precisely in the right proportion to satisfy the specific needs of the calf.

So when the Talmud says, "More than the baby calf wants to drink, the mother wants to nurse," it is saying that even more than the calf desires to eat, the mother wants that it should eat -- not for the mother's sake, but because that's what's best for the calf. And that, said Rabbi Wasserman, is what good education is all about.

Jewish ideals have existed against all odds for 3,000 years -- not because we've pounded people over the head, but because we've communicated those ideas in a rational, practical way.

It is interesting that the experience of Moses in the desert can be understood in light of the experience of Judaism in the 20th century. In the shtetl of Europe, a rabbi might be able to communicate displeasure to his students by hitting the knuckles with a ruler. It was a language that was accepted and understood. But when tens of thousands of Jews moved to America, those who sent their children to Jewish day school found these same rabbis applying their European-style methods to children with American mentalities. These children, who were used to a more open and permissive approach, could not relate to Judaism as it was being presented. The result is that many of them shifted away from observance.

It has only been in the last 20 years -- with American-born rabbis now taking the helm and explaining Judaism in modern, relevant terms -- that American Jewry has seen resurgence back toward traditional observance.

Human Dignity by Rabbi Yehuda Appel

A recent study was undertaken to see how parents interact with their children. The study found that for every positive comment a parent makes to a child, there are on average 19 negative remarks. Of course, any teacher or office manager will tell you that people are far more productive in a positive than in a negative environment. Yet, somehow, this realization gets lost in the commute from work to home.

A friend recently told me how his 10-year-old son had been acting in a difficult manner. After some painful self-examination, my friend realized that he'd been constantly chiding the boy. So he decided to change tactics; he began to focus on praising his son, and speaking about him in front of others as "my little tzaddik."

The result? Overnight this child became a totally different person! Given his new title of "tzaddik," he gladly assumed the role.

This approach was pivotal to the moral development (mussar) methods of the famous European Yeshiva, Slobodka. Instead of focusing on what the students "were," the rabbis would focus on what the person "could become." The result was that the greatest Torah luminaries emerged from the Slobodka study hall.

This concept finds illustration in this week's Torah portion. A Moabite chieftain named Balak - fearful of Israelite attack -summons a non-Jewish spiritualist named Bilaam to curse the Jewish People.

The Torah reports how Bilaam saddled up his donkey and embarked on a journey to curse the Jews.

On the way, an angel came to block the way. Initially, only the donkey - not Bilaam himself - noticed the angel.

Subsequently, when Bilaam realized the angel's presence, he acknowledged the humiliating reality that a donkey is more spiritually perceptive than he is!

But we must return to a more basic question. Why was Bilaam's military strategy a curse rather than bows and arrows? Because Bilaam reasoned that since the power of the Jewish People is in their mouth (i.e. through study of Torah), the best way to counteract that power was with the mouth - a curse!

There is much discussion in the commentaries as to the true nature of Bilaam. In the view of some he was a prophet, in the view of others a charlatan. Some say he was an astrologer, others a liar. Whatever the case may be, however, one thing is clear - he was a very evil man. For a high enough wage he was willing to curse an entire people.

At the completion of this episode, God smites the donkey. This, at first glance, appears counterproductive. Wouldn't God want to keep the donkey around as a reminder of this incredible incident?

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, the late dean of the Mir Yeshiva, explained that God was being solicitous of Bilaam's honor. How embarrassing it would be for Bilaam to have a constant reminder of his downfall. To preserve Bilaam's honor, the donkey needed to be killed.

It is amazing that God would go to such great lengths to preserve the honor of a wicked character. Yet the Almighty wants to teach us a valuable lesson: If we need to be concerned about the dignity of Bilaam, then how much more so should we be sensitive to the dignity of our friends and neighbors. And, Rabbi Shmuelevitz adds, we must not forget to honor the higher nature within ourselves.

May the lesson of our Parsha inspire us to act in an exalted, dignified, and truly human way!

BRAINSTORMING WITH BAARS – Balak by Rabbi Stephen Baars

This week's parasha focuses on Bilaam, a non-Jew and one of the great men of Biblical history. In fact, the Talmud compares his greatness to that of Moses.

Unfortunately, however, Bilaam was overwhelmed by his own greatness. Pride and honor-seeking eroded and destroyed all he had achieved. He was hired as a mercenary to go curse the Jewish People. He eventually sank to such depth that, in the final analysis, Judaism regards Bilaam as one of the truly evil people of history. He sold his soul for a bag of gold.

It is difficult to understand why God lets such evil persist in the world. Even more startling is that God not only let Bilaam proceed in his goal to curse the Jews, but God even helped lead him there! For as the Talmud says, "In the way in which a person wants to go, God will lead him."  (see Rashi, Numbers 22:35)

What this teaches is that life is not a battle of God's will against man's. To the contrary, the battle is man's will against himself! Life's problems do not arise out of God's choices; rather they are the consequences of man's choices for himself.

The drunk driver doesn't realize it, but he is really choosing to have an accident. The drug addict doesn't realize it, but he is choosing to destroy his life. The one who is spiteful and uncaring doesn't realize it, but he is choosing to have no friends. The parent who raises children with a lack of values doesn't realize it, but he is choosing to have problematic children.

Instead of learning from those who have already drunk the bottle, we stubbornly persist in sipping from the same cup of misfortune to others. We rationalize that though we suffer, at least it's the "cup of our own choice!"

THE CONSEQUENCE OF CHOICE

All of life is a decision, a choice. If a person wants to choose greater meaning in life, then that will underlie everything that happens to him. If however, his desire is to have greater possessions, then that too will explain the course of his life.

The problem is that many people have not really clarified what they want in life. They may say they want "meaning," but are not willing to give up on "comfort." Many may realize family and friends are more important, but their real choice is money. This doesn't mean that the one who wants meaning won't have money, but it's definitely more difficult to have meaning... when your priority is money.

Men seek beautiful women, believing that life with such women will somehow be more meaningful than with "not-so-beautiful" women. Yet is it true that a women's facial structure affects the patterns of her personality?!

One may be reaping the benefits of working 50, 60 or more hours a week, yet not reaping the benefits of friends and family. You may own an enormous house, luxury automobile and exquisite jewelry - but your relationship with those sharing with you is sorely lacking such perfection.

Our lives are the product of our dreams. Those who have realistic dreams have realistic and meaningful lives. Those who haven't clarified their choices (or don't consciously choose anything), have lives that are similarly aimless and void of direction.

Be certain that your dreams will produce the lifestyle you really desire. Otherwise you might wake up one day to find the dream is fulfilled... but the lifestyle is a nightmare.

COMPARE DREAMS

The lesson of Bilaam is poignant. It is a terrible waste to be led along the path of your dream - only to discover that it was the wrong path for the life you really so desired.

It's like a child who dreams of owning the key to the candy shop, not realizing that it will produce more pain in the dentist chair than any amount of joy. Are we so sure that our dreams are any more realistic?

Make a list of the things in life you don't like, all the things that are going wrong, and what you would change in your life if you could. Then realize that these problems are tied to the direction and choices you are taking in life. Try and see if there is a common denominator in your list. This will give you the clue as to where you are going and if that place is where you really want to be.

Study your dreams and your choices. Compare notes with others who pursued that same dream - and find out if it produced for them what you wish it to produce for you.

For in the end, we don't choose the life we live, we live the choices we make.

BRAINSTORMING QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Question 1: What is the best thing that ever happened in your life? What principle did you learn from this?

Question 2: What was the biggest tragedy of your life? What lesson did you learn from it?

Question 3: What is your biggest problem in life? What does this tell you about the direction in which you're heading?

FAMILY PARSHA FOR PARENTS AND KIDS - Parashat Chukat

FROM THIS WEEK’S FIRST TORAH PORTION

Nobody likes to make mistakes. Sometimes we wish we were perfect, or feel that we should be. But the truth is that even the greatest people sometimes make mistakes.

This week's Torah portion describes the Jewish people’s travels in the desert toward the land of Israel. But in the desert there wasn't any water to drink, so God decided to make a miracle for them and cause water to come flowing out of a rock. He told Moses to speak to the rock and then the water would come pouring out.

Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses mistakenly hit it with his stick.

If even Moses, the greatest of men, could make a mistake, we shouldn't expect ourselves to be perfect. We have to try our best and learn from the mistakes we do make.

In our story, a girl learns that it’s okay not to be perfect.

STORY

“Spell Check”

Dina seemed to be the perfect student. Nobody could ever remember her getting less than an “A” on a test or a report card. She wore a serious look on her face that made her look older than she really was, and she always did her homework on time.

The thing she did the best though, was spell. “Dina, the Dictionary” her friends would call her with amazement. She could spell words that nobody else could even pronounce.

So when it came time for the state-wide spelling championship, everyone -- including Dina herself -- expected that she would walk away with the crown.

The big day of the contest arrived. Spelling whizzes from all over the state gathered at the beautiful Wilson Auditorium in the state capitol. It was an awesome building with a high gold ceiling and rows of plush red velvet seats.

Dina's friend Sari made herself comfortable in one of the front rows and watched all the contestants sitting lined up on the auditorium's stage. A panel of judges sat across from them and asked each of them, one at a time, to spell some of the hardest words Sari had ever heard of. If they got their word right, they would go another round. If not, they would have to

step down.

Soon the contest was down to two finalists, “Dina the Dictionary” and one other girl.

It was Dina's turn, and Sari watched from the edge of her seat. The judge asked Dina to spell a word that sounded pretty easy. “Hey even I could spell that,” thought Sari. Dina grinned, and began to spell. But amazingly she got it wrong.

“I'm sorry,” called out the judge, “That was not correct.”

The other girl, who was now the winner, jumped for joy.

Dina hid her face in her hands and ran down off the stage. Sari got up and ran after her. She finally caught up with her outside of the auditorium. Sari could see that Dina had been crying. “I can't believe I blew it,” she said bitterly. “I should have been able to spell a word like that backwards in my sleep!”

Sari tried to think of something to say to her friend. At last she said, “I'm sure that you must feel terrible but these types of things happen to all of us. Everybody makes mistakes.”

“Not me,” sniffled Dina. “I should have done better.”

Sari took her friend by the hand and said, “Dina, I know you're upset. But nobody's perfect. Not even you. Nobody expected you to be, and you don't have to expect it of yourself. God didn't put us in the world to never make mistakes, just to try our best, and learn from the mistakes we do make.”

Dina nodded her head.

Suddenly Sari got an idea. She opened her backpack and pulled out a pocket dictionary. Her copy had been printed with the cover upside down. “See Dina,” she said with a smile. “Even the dictionary gets it wrong sometimes!” The two friends had a good laugh, and headed home.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Ages 3-5

Q. How did Dina feel when she spelled the word wrong? Why?

A. She felt bad because she thought she should always do everything right and not make mistakes.

Q. How do you feel when you try hard to do something but make a mistake? Do you feel good that at least you really tried?

Ages 6-9

Q. Do you believe a person can learn from his mistakes?  If so, how?

A. We can try to think about what went wrong, and why. The next time something similar comes up we can remember and try not to make the same mistake again.

Q. Do you think the pressure to be perfect helps a person to do better, or does it hold him back?

A. It will usually hold him back, since when we're under pressure it can lead us to make more mistakes than we normally would. Knowing we're not perfect gives us the freedom to be the best we can be.

Q. Do you remember a lesson you learned from making a mistake? 

Ages 10 and up

Q. What does it mean “to err is human?”

A. It means that as human beings we are bound to make mistakes sometimes. God didn't intend for us to be perfect. Rather that we should always try to do our best and be happy with the results, even if they're not perfect.

Q. Do you believe good can come from our mistakes? Can you think of any personal examples?

A. One good thing is that we can learn to be more patient and accepting with other people. When we see that we're not perfect, we don't expect others to be either. Also we can discover new things that we wouldn't know about if we didn't make the mistake. For instance, making a wrong turn and discovering a beautiful park, etc.

FAMILY PARSHA FOR PARENTS AND KIDS - Parashat Balak

FROM THIS WEEK’S SECOND TORAH PORTION

Everyone has talents and strengths. These are gifts that God gave us. But abilities alone aren't what makes for a good person. It's how we choose to use them that counts.

In this week's Torah portion, Bilaam, a wicked prophet, tries to curse the Jewish people as they travel in the desert. Bilaam had an awesome power of prophecy, the ability to communicate directly with God. Nobody, except Moses, could match him.

But Moses and Bilaam were as different as day and night. Moses chose to use his power to do good, to help save and protect the Jewish people, and guide them in the right path. But Bilaam chose instead to use his power for his own personal gain, and to hurt others.

It's wonderful to be strong, rich, smart or talented, but only if we use these gifts the right way, to do good.

STORY

In our story, we see how two boys with the same abilities put them to very different uses

“Land of the Giants”

It wasn't hard to see that Abie and Jake were brothers. They were about a head taller and much stronger than anyone else in the neighborhood. It seemed like they were made out of steel. They could hit a baseball a mile and kick a football into the next county. They had loud booming voices that suited them very well.

Everyone in the neighborhood loved Abie. "The gentle giant," they called him. And Abie loved people, especially when he could help them. If he saw any frail kid struggling to carry home a really heavy book bag or package he would jump up and appear out of nowhere. "Let me lend you a hand," he would say with a smile. With just one of his huge hands he would lift the

heaviest load off of your shoulder like it was a feather. "I have to use all these muscles for something!" He would joke as he walked us all the way back to our houses.

Jake was different. As much as everyone loved Abie, they were all afraid of Jake. He was the neighborhood bully. "Hey pipsqueak," he would say with a snarl. He would just hang around showing off his muscles to whoever came by. And if anyone dared to look at him wrong, he could expect to get his arm twisted or worse.

One day a moving van appeared in front of Abie and Jake's house.  Word quickly spread that their dad had gotten a new job and they were moving out of state. The brothers were out on their front lawn helping to pack their boxes and furniture, which of course wasn't hard for either of them.

As the kids in the neighborhood walked by, calling out, "Bye Abie, we're really going to miss you!”,  Abie gave one of his great big smiles.

Sometimes Jake would look up and say "Hey, what about me?"   The kids would get scared and quickly answer back, "Oh … and you too, Jake."  But they really were going to miss Abie and were really happy and relieved to see Jake go.

In his heart of hearts, Jake knew it too and wished he had tried to be a big friend, and not just a big bully.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Age 3-6

Q. How did the kids feel when they saw Abie moving away? Why?

A. They were sad because he was a good friend who used his strength to help them.

Q. How about when they saw Jake moving also?

A. They were happy he was going away. He had always tried to bully them and use his strength to hurt and frighten them.  

Q. Who would you rather be: Abie or Jake?

Age 6-9

Q. Let's say a kid in class is a real genius. How could he use his talents in a way to help people and cause them to like him?

A. He could offer to help them with their homework, or think of ways to help them solve their problems. This would be the right way to use his brains, for the good.

Q. How might he misuse his talents to hurt people?

A. He could tease the other kids about how he's so much smarter, or use his brains to fool people.

Q. After seeing how the kids in the neighborhood were happy to see him move away, do you think Jake might act differently in his new home? How?

A. He might try to act nicer to the new kids he meets. He saw that being a bully only made people afraid of him, and that Abie had made real friends by using his strength to help them.

Q. What’s one of your greatest strengths? How can you use it for good?

Age 10 and up

Q. Do you think that having a lot of "natural gifts" (i.e., being athletic, intelligent, good looking,) makes someone a "good person?"

A. No. These things can be great assets, but they're not enough to call someone a "good person."

Q. If not, what defines a "good person?"

A. A good person is someone who uses his gifts to do good; it doesn’t matter if he is very talented or not, the main thing is how he chooses to use his talents.

Q. What’s one of your greatest strengths? How can you use it for good?

SHABBAT SHALOM,

Mayda Clarke