A Manual for Teaching Biblical HistoryKohn, Eugene
Religion
A Manual for Teaching Biblical History
Kohn, Eugene
Jewish religious education of children -- United States
=Suggestions to the teacher.= There is comparatively little
narrative in this lesson and what there is will present no
difficulty. When telling of how Moses addressed the people before
his death, read well selected extracts from the Book of Deuteronomy.
If the class has learned in its Hebrew work the translation of the
שְׁמַע (Deuteronomy 6. 4 to 9) and וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמוֹעַ (Deuteronomy
11. 13 to 21) or if the pupils have been taught to say them at home,
include these portions among those selected and call the attention
of the children to the fact that these words which they say daily
are among the last words of Moses, which he wanted the people to
remember after his death and to teach to their children, and that
if we say them and live according to them we are carrying out the
will of the great law-giver of our nation. This should serve to
give an added meaning and value to the child's prayers and connect
the history lesson with his daily life. Other passages adapted for
reading to children are, Deuteronomy 3. 23 to 4. 10, also 4. 32-40
and 28. 1-4, 30. 15-20 and 32. 7-18.
In the discussion of the lesson with the class after its first
presentation take occasion to review the life of Moses as a means
of bringing out the salient traits of his character. Call for
instances illustrating Moses' stern sense of justice, his courage,
his modesty, his readiness to forgive, etc., and seek to get as many
examples as possible so that the result will be in effect a review
of the life of Moses. Be very careful not to make your questions
too vague. Thus it would not do merely to say, "Who can tell me an
incident in the life of Moses that shows his modesty?" inasmuch as
the abstract noun "modesty" has little meaning to the child of the
age at which this story is usually taught. It would be much better
to say, "One reason that Moses was so great was because he was
modest, that is to say, he never thought about the honor that others
owed to him as leader, or felt boastful in his heart because of all
the great things he had done, and was always ready to see the good
in others and to admit whenever he was wrong. Can any of you give
me any instance in the life of Moses to show that he did not think
himself a great man? Can you give me an example to show that he was
not anxious for honors? to show that he was ready to take the advice
of others, or to admit that he was wrong when such was the case?"
After having a sufficient number of answers illustrative of the
modesty of Moses put them down on the blackboard thus:
Moses was modest,
1. He hesitated about leading the people from Egypt.
2. He would not rebuke Eldad and Medad for prophesying.
3. He veiled his face when it shone.
4. He accepted the punishment for his sin without complaint.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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