Official Lesson plan Template - The Lookstein Center for Jewish ...

מרכז לוקשטיי*‏ ‏•תוכנית לימודי!‏Judaic Studies Lesson Plan • The Lookstein CenterSchool of Education, Bar-Ilan University בית הספר לחינוך,‏ אוניברסיטת בר-אילןThe value of life is found at all levels of this conflict, from the lives that were lost onSeptember 11 th to the lives of the American servicemen fighting this conflict, to the livesof the Afghan civilians, as well as the lives of the Taliban and Al Qua’eda fighters. Thestudents have to decide whether values of life is an over-riding value that de-legitimizesthis conflict, or whether the Taliban/Al Qua’eda have forgone their right to life, and theother values involved such as right to self-defense, or political ideologies are moreimportant than the risk to the lives of American servicemen and Afghan civilians. Thesame debate can be had with the value of peace, and each group’s right to live in peace,and right to shatter someone else’s peace. Further to this debate we can consider the rightto self-defense. Does America have the right to self-defense at the cost of other lives, anddoes the Taliban/Al Qua’eda also have the right to self-defense?The role of God in conflict is a sensitive issue to explore. Both sides feel that they haveGod on their side, and many students may feel uncomfortable with using God to justify aconflict. Students should be able to see that both sides are using similar values to fightthis conflict, such as God, morality and justice. Can and should the student relates to bothsides, or only their own? Are there fundamental differences between the way the sidesuse these values?Ask the students which of these are values contained in the Torah/Judaism, and what theythink Judaism would say about this conflict.Finally, the students should see that many of the ethical values that are being spoken of inthe context of this conflict are values contained in the Torah and in Judaism. Such valuesas peace, value of life, the role of God, the right to self-defense and the right to fight foran ideology are all ideas that the students will be exploring for the rest of the lesson.5