Grade level: 7

Length: 2 hours
Jewish Values class: Intro to tzedakah and unity
Goal: Students will be able to describe the different levels of giving tzedakah, and by
discussing unity attain skills on how to tolerate our differences.
Procedure:
-Small discussion: What is tzedakah?
-Tzedakah (Charity) is considered one of the most important mitzvot in Judaism. But
what does it mean to give tzedakah? Make sure, money, clothes, food, and time are
mentioned and discussed.
-Discuss that the root of the word tzedakah is tzedek meaning righteous and how being a
righteous person is the root to being a good person.
-Speak about the most common charity, money. There are eight levels of charity and they
are going to have to figure out the order of most important too least important.
-Distribute Rambams eight levels of charity to pairs. Each pair will get a mixed up set
and will have to put it in the order they think is the most important kind of tzedakah to
the least.
Giving when you dont want to
Giving less than you should but happily
Giving to the poor after being asked
Giving to the poor before being asked
When the person getting it knows the giver but the giver does not know the person
getting it
When the giver knows the person getting it but the person getting it does not know the
giver
When the giver and the person getting it are unknown to each other
Putting time and effort in a poor person in a way they become able to live a healthy
lifestyle alone
-Go over their answers and have them discuss and debate their specific orders. Ask why
give tzedakah and how they are able to give tzedakah as well

SECOND HALF OF CLASS:

Procedure:
-Ask and discuss: what is unity? How can a people be unified? Am I able to be unified
with myself?
-Make sure to mention: Inclusion. Unity is also accepting everyone even though we are
all different.
-Play a few games.
1) Each kid grabs a partner. One of them closes their eyes tightly, and the other leads
them around the corners of the room. Then they switch off (if you have time, try to limit
each game to 5-10 minutes or less, depending on how long tzedakah goes). This is to
give them an idea of being blind, and totally trusting the other person.
2) Pantomime -- pick a kid, and whisper a sentence to him/her. (IE: "I want to go to bed
now"). The student has to pantomime it to everyone else. This is to give them an idea of
how it is to be deaf. Explain that deaf people have to rely on other senses, such as sight.
(Time permitting, give them sign language sheets and have them learn to spell out
their names)
3) Learning disabilities -- tell them that each person in the world has a different level of
ease when it comes to learning. Write out the poem on the Smart Board.
There are many fish in the ocean that swim and swirl
But it's the oyster that turns water into Pearl;
Ideas numerous, as many drops as the ocean can hold
But it's the person who can turn ideas into gold.
-Think, pair, and share what they interpret it to mean.
-Wrap up- Hopefully they'll tell you that they learned that they need to be respectful and
understanding of people different from themselves. They may not know so many people
who are deaf, blind, etc. But, they can still apply what they've learned with everyone
they know because we're all different. The only way to be unified is to respect others.