Girl Scout lesson - Pre-Chanukah

tzedek, tzedek tirdof

Justice, Justice you shall pursue
My Girl Scout Juniors (all 5th Graders) are working on earning their Bat Or Award (the Jewish
Religious Recognition Award for Juniors). I put together this lesson plan to help connect the dots
between Chanukah, charity, and the concept of justice. The girls are simultaneously working on
completing requirements for the AMUSE Journey, which includes a discussion about female roles and
stereotypes. To reinforce the discussion about justice, we invited a female police officer to come to our
meeting as our special guest, and the girls interviewed her about the types of stereotypes she has faced
(and continues to face) in her career.
I distributed Chanukah-themed cookies and chocolate gelt as a snack, and while the kids were eating, we
had the following discussion
What does gelt mean? It's the Yiddish word for money. It was traditional for yeshiva students
(Jewish Torah students) to receive money at Chanukah, like a scholarship or charity, to help them
stay in school. The money would have been used to pay for books, or a room at the school, or
perhaps to pay for tuition. If the students didn't have help from charitable people who were willing
to help pay for their studies, these students would have to leave school and get jobs. The gelt was
a real kindness!
Today, we give children chocolate gelt or coins at Chanukah, as a memory of that time, but also to
increase the sweetness of the holiday and to increase light in the world. Light is holiness - it's
Torah - it's the presence of G-d - and it's part of our job as Jews to spread goodness and holiness
and light to the world.
At Chanukah, we light the chanukiah (menorah) candles, adding one candle each night, increasing
the amount of light each night, and while we also receive presents, it's important to do charity as
well. Charity increases light!
Let's look at a passage in Deuteronomy (16:20) ... Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof, or "Justice, Justice you
shall pursue."

Tzedek means "justice." It's also the same root as in the word tzedekah or "charity." What do you
think justice means? Fairness, moral rightness, decency. What does charity mean? The act of
giving money, of being generous, of being kind to those who are poor, sick, or in need. How do
you think it's "justice" to give "charity?" Why is it the fair and decent thing to do to help those
who have less?

Tzedek tzedek tirdof. It's unusual for the Torah to have two words repeated like that (tzedek,
tzedek). Some people say that every single word of the Torah, even the spaces in between the
words, is G-d's way of telling us something. What do you think this means? Tzedek, tzedek
(justice, justice)?
Some people think this extra emphasis on the word tzedek, coupled with the word tirdof (pursuit)
means that we should go out of our way - we should make extra effort to become involved when
we hear that there is an injustice that we can help fix. It's not OK to just sit by and hope that
someone else will do something to feed the hungry or clothe the homeless. We should become
involved and encourage others to do the same.
Some people think tzedek, tzedek tirdof means that we should try particularly hard to be just and
fair. For instance, a policewoman has to be fair, and not play favorites or use her personal
feelings, when she decides whether someone has broken the law. She shouldn't arrest someone
because they smell weird or dress funny (for example). If you're a cop who loves the NY Yankees,
you don't get to arrest someone because they're wearing a Red Sox hat. Being just or fair often
requires courage, and tzedek, tzedek tirdof asks us to be strong and use good judgment.
Lastly, the repetition of the word tzedek (justice) suggests that we must pursue justice in a just
manner. The just end must be pursued through just means. We don't steal money in order to give
money to a poor person. We don't steal food to give to a hungry person.
Charity should be just. Some people give money and do nice things because they like the feeling
of being thanked. It feels good to do a kindness for others, but the Jewish tradition teaches us that
it's an even greater mitzvah to give and do kindnesses anonymously. We never want someone to
feel embarrassed or humiliated because they are hungry or poor. We try to treat them with dignity
by giving or helping them quietly. We don't want the hungry or poor person to feel like they have
to thank us, or that they owe us. This is a very fair and just way of sharing with those who have
less. We give with no expectation of receiving thanks in return.
Task: try to do one anonymous kindness a day during Chanukah, to help increase the light in the
world.
After the discussion, the girls interviewed the female police officer for half an hour about her career,
female stereotypes, and themes around justice and fairness.