When we take action for the common good, we give up something: a little time or money that might have been spent on something else. Youth explore different forms of sacrifice for the common good and answer the question: When is a sacrifice justified and necessary, and when is it too much or a...
From books and research, young people read about the Aztec Empire practice of human sacrifice, which was seen as a gift to help the community. Discuss the concept of sacrifice for the common good and debate individual rights and community responsibility when taking action for the common good....
Sometimes you have to give up what you truly love to get what you really want. That can be a hard lesson when you have almost nothing. This lesson looks at who has the responsibility to be generous and what changes can come about because of one’s generosity.
In the featured folktales, we learn the impact of misjudging the character of another, and understand that an evil act does not require a person to return evil with evil.
When life is at its most difficult and grief is great, a generous sacrifice can move the spirit toward life again. In these folktales, two Inuits face death with a truly generous spirit.
Learners analyze Buddhist folktales to determine their relevance to everyday life. There are times when the easiest thing one can do is leave and let others deal with a stressful situation. When one stays and works through the tough times with responsibility...
We each have gifts we can use to give our lives purpose and make the world better. Using our gifts for the good of others can solve problems, if we take bold and selfless action. Even very young people are capable of the kind of selfless actions that create positive change.
This lesson focuses on two young Jewish survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi death camp. As they return to their home town and the concentration camp, they each tell their story and explain why they were willing to return to such an...
This lesson focuses on two young Jewish survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi death camp. As they return to their home town and the concentration camp, they each tell their story and explain why they were willing to return to such an emotionally devastating place. Their story is...
Performance of the mitzvah of tzedakah is, ideally, a holistic part of life, not an activity to be performed when all others have been completed! This lesson offers a classic model of how that ideal was realized by one of our Sages, Rabbi Tanchum, and how our families might...