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Introduction
Abstract
With the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, the Bible became
central in forging a new Jewish-Israeli identity. The Bible portrays Jews who are
masters of their own fate, who work the land and fight bravely against the enemy, and
this image was perceived by Zionist leaders, religious and secular alike, as an
important counterweight to the ideal of the Jewish scholar, laboring over the study of
Talmudic and halakhic tracts. In addition, the language that was to be spoken by the
nascent state was Hebrew, the language of the Bible. It is therefore not surprising that
the Ministry of Education of the State of Israel determined that the Bible was to be
studied from kindergarten through twelfth grade, both in the general and religious
schools.
The modern study of Bible, like the study of ancient texts in general, creates its
own set of problems. We have chosen to focus on problems related to the teaching of
biblical miracle stories, an area that has not been previously researched. Perhaps more
than any other biblical narrative, these stories present the modern reader with a reality
which differs radically from his own experience and which far exceeds the limits of
credulity.
This dissertation will focus on the teaching of biblical miracle stories in the Israeli
state religious school system (henceforth: mamad). Having taught in this system for
thirty years, I am familiar with the issues and problems evoked by biblical miracle
stories, and I wish to present and examine teaching strategies in light of these
difficulties. We will propose a variety of methods for teaching biblical miracle stories,
providing the teacher with several possible strategies for addressing the challenges
that they pose. Our discussion will include: (a) the problems involved in teaching this
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