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Twenty generations have passed from the world’s creation until Avraham Avinu. Over the course of these twenty generations, G-d spoke to a small handful of people: Adam and Chava, Noach and Avraham. We do not know why G-d chose to speak specifically to them, but throughout the story of Avraham and Sarah, we will glean insights about Avraham's behavior and unique personality, which may have led to his selection, and to his being the only one who "heard" G-d's word and acted to make the world recognize and know the truth about G-d. This story is relevant to us, as well. If we listen carefully, we can hear the truth and determine the right path to follow, and perhaps we will then succeed in taking another step toward the fulfillment of this path.
In this unit, we will begin with a general introduction to Sefer Bereishit, focusing on the first section, from the world’s creation until after the flood and the generations that followed Noach. In the chart of Sefer Bereishit, we will see where we are in the story, and we will meet for the first time Avraham’s family and Avraham himself. After getting acquainted with Avraham’s family tree, we will reach the point of G-d’s revelation to Avraham, and the command of “Lekh-lekha” - “Go forth.” We will discuss the significance of the fact that Avraham left his family and his past, and moved to Canaan. We will study the map of the ancient Middle East, and see Avraham’s family’s journey from Ur Kasdim to Charan, and then to Canaan. We will raise the question of why G-d chose specifically Avraham, and also inquire about the mission G-d assigned to Avraham. Over the course of the story of Avraham and Sara, we will try to answer this question by way of an in-depth analysis of Avraham’s behavior. Please note that this lesson is very rich with content. Every teacher should use their discretion to decide which portions from the story to teach, and how much time to devote to the lesson. We should mention also that the core of the lesson is the call of “Lekh-lekha” and Avraham’s response. All the other sections (the introduction, the elaboration on aliya stories from other periods) are left to the teacher’s discretion as to if and how they should be incorporated.
El éxodo de Egipto. Mapa con explicacionesKnowledge Objectives in Teaching This Unit
Interpersonal skills: Practice positive and productive communication skills, teamwork, social engagement, and a sense of social belonging.
Responsible decision-making: Identifying problems, analyzing possible solutions, attempting to solve problems while practicing reflective skills and social and moral responsibility.
Avraham and Sarah began the line of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the entire Nation of Israel, for all time. Their actions and their story serve as a model and example for us in all generations, in the sense of מעשה אבות סימן לבנים – “the deeds of the forefathers are a sign for the children.” (This concept appears already in Bereishit Rabba 48:7, and is developed in greater detail in the Ramban's discussion of Avraham, in his commentary to Bereishit 12:6).
Therefore, the story of Avraham and Sarah, is, in many ways, the story of each and every one of us in every generation. Through the stories described in the Torah, we learn about how our forefathers handled the various events, dilemmas and hardships that they encountered, their moments of adversity and their moments of triumph.
The stories themselves are fascinating, but additionally, important messages lie deep within each story that we can take with us for life.
The creation of the world and the story of Noach were dramatic episodes, which affected the entire universe, lasted many years, and were “macro” stories, dramatic and grand. These stories are related in the first 11 chapters of the book of Bereishit.
Then, from chapter 12 onwards, we delve into more “human” stories, focusing on relationships between people and groups. These may seem less dramatic than the stories of the creation and the flood, but the nature of the personal, human story actually enhances the student’s connection to the various events and his ability to identify with them and learn life lessons from them.
One can also look at the timeline of all history and notice that the first 11 chapters cover nearly 2000 years, whereas the subsequent stories are told at a slower pace. To see the timeline, click here.
In order for students to survey the events of Sefer Bereishit from the beginning until the story of Avraham, we will direct students to several worksheets and educational games that they will work on before class.
Here are suggestions for several activities that can be done as preparation for class using the "flipped classroom" approach.
The teacher can find here a brief explanation of how to prepare an AI prompt and which free programs can be used to create an image. Students will prepare the images and share them in this collaborative presentation.
(If the students cannot work with AI, suitable images for the topics can be found on the internet.)
These activities appear in the file "Getting Acquainted With Sefer Bereishit.”
After the students prepared before class the background to the story of Avraham, the material can be reviewed in class, and the main topics discussed:
How many people in these twenty generations are well known? Why are there so few well-known figures?
One possible answer, for the teacher: The other personalities were not chosen by G-d to play a “central role” in the history of Am Yisrael. It seems that Adam & Chava, Noach and Avraham were exceptional people, with whom G-d chose to speak.
Sometimes, a single individual can bring healing and repair to the whole world. On this basis we can understand more clearly why the actions of the patriarchs are described in great detail in Sefer Bereishit, as opposed to the descriptions of creation and the sins of the early generations, which are told very briefly.
At this point the teacher can bring the words of Rabbi Sacks, that the Torah teaches us about G-d’s faith in Man. (Teachers: A detailed explanation can be found in Rabbi Sacks’ video, here.)
After we have seen the background to Avraham’s story, and learned about his family, we will focus on Avraham’s story from a geographic viewpoint. We will examine his family’s origins, which events transpired in Ur Kasdim, and which occurred in Charan. We will trace the family’s route from Ur Kasdim to Charan, and try to understand why Avraham’s family did not go directly from Ur Kasdim to Canaan (which is a far shorter journey).
This understanding of how the events unfolded on the map will help us understand just how difficult Avraham’s first test was - leaving Charan for the unknown.
The activity can be found in the worksheet entitled “The Beginning of Avraham’s Story on the Map.”
The worksheet includes thought questions about the lengthy journey that Avraham’s family traveled from Ur Kasdim to Charan, in order to reach Canaan. The reason is that the trek via Charan enabled traveling along the water sources which they desperately needed for drinking, bathing, and so on. This trip took several months and could be a difficult undertaking for a large family.
Now we will learn G-d’s first revelation to Avraham in Charan. We will have the students study in pairs the content of the prophecy and its significance; the command to leave Charan and go forward to the unknown, and the blessings that G-d promised him. The activity for the chavruta study can be found on the page “G-d’s Revelation to Avraham - Lekh-Lekha!”
Wrap-Up Discussion for this section:
We have seen that G-d commanded Avraham to leave his land, his hometown, and his father’s home and go forward to the unknown.
G-d also promised Avraham that He would turn him into a large nation and bless him, that he would earn great fame, and that people would associate his name with blessing.
The students can be asked:
(Possible answer for the teacher: Perhaps Avraham had specific qualities, perhaps this was G-d’s decision and we don't know the reason, etc. We will discuss this question in depth in the next part of the lesson).
Possible answer: Terach “got stuck” in Charan, maybe due to fatigue from the journey, or because of the prosperity he found there. A satellite image of Charan can be shown so the students can see that it's a flourishing and prosperous area.
After discussing G-d's revelation to Avraham ("Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's home") and the promises G-d gave him (“I will make you a great nation, I will bless you, you shall be a blessing”):
How did Avraham react to all this?
"And Avraham went as G-d had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. Avraham was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran." (Bereishit 12:4)
How did Avraham hear that there is a G-d in the world?
We will use the "think-pair-share" method and direct students to the Midrash’s comments on the subject, or, alternatively, to a short passage from the Rambam describing the process that Avraham underwent along his journey to faith in G-d.
Students can do a thinking and sharing exercise, as appears in the worksheets.
At the end, the students’ ideas can be shared with the whole class.
For mature or advanced students, a very short excerpt from the Sefat Emet about Avraham Avinu and his selection can be presented:
“It seems that this itself is the praise - that he heard this statement, ‘Lekh lekha’ which is said by G-d, may He be blessed, to all people, at all times…and Avraham Avinu heard and accepted." (Sefat Emet, Bereishit, Parashat Lekh Lekha)
The source in our words:
Avraham Avinu was special in that he heard G-d saying, “Lekh lekha.”
G-d always speaks to all people at all times, but Avraham was special in that he heard G-d's voice and did what G-d said.
According to the Sefat Emet, G-d makes His voice heard in the world all the time (the voice that explains to us how to behave properly, what is right to do), and we all have the ability to hear. The question is, are we listening? Do we do what seems right to us, or is it sometimes easier to ignore this voice?
We will discuss with the students the notion that Avraham Avinu looked at the world, listened, asked questions, and examined his reality. Afterward, he heard the word of G-d.
The teacher will ask the questions:
Ongoing Task
Throughout all of Avraham's stories, we will build together with the students a "portrait" of Avraham Avinu's character. The teacher can create a collaborative board, slideshow, or a physical poster hanging in the classroom that will be used throughout the entire period of studying Avraham's story.
At the end of each class, students will add an answer to the question: “What did I learn about Avraham in this class?”
We began the class with an independent study of the structure of Sefer Bereishit, a game of creating AI illustrations on the various topics in the book. The students played and learned about the twenty generations from the creation of Adam to Avraham, as well as a game to familiarize themselves with Avraham's family tree.
Next, the teacher discussed with the students the significance of the fact that most of Sefer Bereishit deals with the stories of the patriarchs and not with the creation of the world, and we emphasized that this fact sheds light on the importance of the patriarchs' stories and their actions.
We learned about the route on the map that Avraham's family took from Ur Kasdim to Charan. We delved into the command of "Lekh lekha,” what it demanded from Avraham Avinu, what God promised him. As an enrichment exercise, we recommended several different immigration stories from different periods (which represent the continuation of the command of “Lekh lekha” in different periods in the history of the Jewish people).
In the lesson summary, we studied a Midrash or a passage from the Rambam about how Avraham discovered G-d. Finally, we addressed the question that will arise throughout the story - "Why specifically Avraham?” - and one possible answer is because he heard G-d's voice and carried out what G-d commanded him to do despite the hardship entailed.
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