Full Curriculum

Unit II: Visualizing Values

Lesson 4: Jewish Values in Depth

Once your class has identified its list of core Jewish values, we encourage you to explore one or more of these values in greater depth—through images, texts, and student projects.

In this lesson, we’ve included activity ideas for a few values that are commonly thought to be core to Jewish belief and practice. These include:

• Chinuch – Education and Study
• Tzedakah  – Righteousness and Charity
• Kehillah – Community
• Peoplehood / World Jewish Community- Klal Yisrael 
• Kavod – Honor
• Ha-S’vivah  – The Environment
• Halachah U’mesorah – Jewish Life and Tradition

Depending on your curriculum needs, your class list of values, your students’ interests, and your time constraints, try out as many of the activities as you’d like. Spend one session or several and adapt the activities as you see fit. 

Because there is no definitive list of Jewish values, the seven values listed here may not match your class’s list precisely. Nevertheless, there will likely be overlap between this list and yours. Again, feel free to adapt the ideas as appropriate.

We encourage you to make use of the additional resources included with this site. The Curriculum sample texts, for example, includes a variety of quotes organized loosely by value. After each set of texts in that collection, you’ll find a list of photographs by Zion Ozeri that relate to the particular value. Likewise, many of  Ozeri’s photographs are followed by 2–3 relevant texts. Feel free to use these photographs and texts to augment your class’s discussion of Jewish values.

 Chinuch – Education and Study:

• Have students complete Worksheet K or explore the photograph, questions, and texts on the worksheet together through class discussion.
• Have students take photographs in school that reflect the value of chinuch, or have them create and photograph a series of “tableaux”—staged scenes—that depict the value.
• Have students compare the photographs Upsherin, Older Sister, and The Shape of Sound. Discuss:
  • What do these photographs have in common?
  • How are they different?
  • What do they suggest about the role of education within the world Jewish community?
  • Why do Jews consider the Hebrew language so important?
• Have students view the photograph Synagogue Attic, Scribe, or Summer Camp and respond to the photo using one of the creative response exercises suggested here [link to I.B.3.m.  Creative Options for Viewing and Responding to Photos] Discuss the way we, as Jews, treat sacred books. Why do we give so much honor to inanimate pages?  You might want to start a genizah project, wherein students collect discarded texts and either repair them or bury them in the traditional manner.

  Tzedakah () – Righteousness and Charity:

• Have students complete Worksheet L or explore the photograph, questions, and texts on the worksheet together through class discussion.

• Have students take photographs in school that reflect the value of tzedakah, or have them create and photograph a series of “tableaux”—staged scenes—that depict the value.
• View the Photograph Soup Kitchen Musician and discuss it in relation to this text from the Talmud (Gittin 61a):
  “We support Jewish and non-Jewish poor; we visit Jewish and non-Jewish sick and bury Jewish and non-Jewish dead, to promote the ways of peace.”
  • What is meant by the phrase “to promote the ways of peace”?
  • What is our obligation to the various communities of which we are a part?
  • How do we decide who to give tzedakah to?
• Have students research various social-service organizations in your community (Jewish or secular) and decide as a class where to volunteer or donate money.

  Kehillah () – Community:

• Have students complete Worksheet M or explore the photograph, questions, and texts on the worksheet together through class discussion.
• Have students take photographs in school that reflect the value of kehillah, or have them create and photograph a series of “tableaux”—staged scenes—that depict the value.
• Have students view the Photograph Bomba Israel. Have them read the sample texts accompanying the photo. Which text do they think connects best with the photo? Why?
  Discuss:
  • What are our obligations to our community?
  • What are the various communities of which we are a part?
  • What do we get from or give back to each?
• Have students compare two or more of Ozeri’s photographs to explore various aspects of community. For example, have students observe the Photograph Sunrise, Sde Boker, Waiting for Seven Jews, and Summer Camp. Discuss:
  • What do these photographs have to do with community?
  • What do they say about the role of “place” in a community?
  • How important do you think the places where we gather for community and prayer are?
• Have students view the Photograph Headstone and the Photograph Beit Ha-Hayim. Discuss:
  • How do these photographs relate to each other?
  • What do they suggest about responsibilities toward both the living and the dead in our communities?

• Show students the Photographs Shochet and Scribe. Discuss the role the individuals in these photographs play in a Jewish community. Then have students interview and photograph individuals who contribute (at all levels) to their own community—firefighters, janitors, rabbis, local politicians, educators, postal workers, crossing guards, etc.
• A community is a mosaic of individuals. There is a feeling of unity that ties a community together but also a sense of diversity that keeps a community dynamic and evolving. Have your students create a collaborative artwork that reflects the unity of your class community, as well as the diversity that exists among its members. For example, they could create an actual mosaic of painted tiles or a mural in the school.

 Peoplehood / World Jewish Community- Klal Yisrael ( )

• Have students complete Worksheet N or explore the photograph, questions, and texts on the worksheet together through class discussion.
• Have students take photographs in school that reflect the value of Klal Yisrael, or have them create and photograph a series of “tableaux”—staged scenes—that depict the value.
• Have students look at the photograph Honorable Discharge and write a story from the point of view of the figure in the picture. Then discuss the circumstances of his arrival in Israel (see the photo caption for more information). View and discuss the photographs The Secret, Backpack, Cave, Barefoot Passages, Let My People Go, The Shape of Sound, Background, Open Table, and B’nei Menashe, as well as the individuals and communities depicted in them.  Then have students research the various aliyot(immigrations) to Israel in the 20th century they represent—from Ethiopia, Yemen, North Africa, the former Soviet Union, and elsewhere. 

 Kavod () – Honor:

• Have students complete Worksheet O or explore the photograph, questions, and texts on the worksheet together through class discussion.
• Have students take photographs in school that reflect the value of kavod, or have them create and photograph a series of “tableaux”—staged scenes—that depict the value.
• In small groups, have students look at the Photographs Honorable Discharge, Basic Training, Barefoot Passages, Headstone, Kabbalat Shabbat, Summer Camp, Holocaust Survivor with his Grandchildren, and Scribe. Have each group discuss one of the photographs and share: How does this photograph show honor? Have each group find a text to go with the photograph (you might want to print out some selections related to this theme from the “Sample Texts” page here). Discuss: What can we do in our own lives to reflect the value of honor?
• In small groups, have students come up with real or plausible scenarios that reflect the value of kavod. Have students role-play their scenes for the rest of the class and discuss them. Each group could present two scenes—one showing how the value was upheld and one showing how it wasn’t.

  Ha-S’vivah () -The Environment:

• Have students complete Worksheet P or explore the photograph, questions, and texts on the worksheet together through class discussion.
• Have students take photographs in school that reflect the value of ha-s’vivah, or have them create and photograph a series of “tableaux”—staged scenes—that depict the value.
• Have students view Photograph Olive Harvesting and respond to the photo using one of the creative response exercises suggested here [link to I.B.3.m.  Creative Options for Viewing and Responding to Photos] Then have students read the sample texts accompanying the Photograph. Discuss:
  • What role does the olive tree have in Jewish history and in Israeli life today?
  • Which plants play an important role in our own lives?
• Have students take “portraits” of some of the plants or trees that contribute significantly to our lives.
• Print out some of the “Curriculum sample texts” related to the environment/Ha-S’vivah.  . Have each student choose one text and take a photograph that illustrates that text.

 Halachah U’mesorah ( ) – Jewish Life and Tradition:

• Have students complete Worksheet Q or explore the photograph, questions, and texts on the worksheet together through class discussion.
• Have students take photographs in school that reflect the value of halachah u’mesorah, or have them create and photograph a series of “tableaux”—staged scenes—that depict the value.
• Have students view Photograph Upsherin. Ask each student to write a story about what he or she thinks is happening in the photograph. Then share the actual story of the photograph and discuss:
  • How does the custom of upsherin relate to the value of “tradition”?
  • Why is it important to pass the Jewish tradition on to younger generations?
  • What other ways do we pass on the traditions?

• Have students take still-life photographs that combine Jewish ritual objects in interesting ways to reflect what they believe are important aspects of Jewish tradition. Students can accompany their photographs with written statements that explain the objects and their significance.

Throughout your study of Jewish values, help students understand that one’s values influence the way one acts within a community. For example, if Zionism is a key value for you, you might become involved in a fundraising effort for Israel. If you value tikkun olam, you might volunteer for an environmental organization. And if you value respect for others, you might simply behave kindly toward your family, friends, and neighbors.

Discuss the ways we express our values through our actions—and ways we don’t. For example, think about Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties. On the one hand, they celebrate an important Jewish life-cycle event. On the other hand, the money spent on food or party favors could perhaps be spent more constructively elsewhere. What do your students think?

And what about times when students’ personal values come into conflict with their Jewish values—for example when a Friday night dance or basketball game pits one’s value for social popularity against the value of Shabbat or family? How do they respond?

Have students think of ways to translate their values into action within their community. For a given value, discuss:

• How does this value influence my daily life?
• What broader social issues does it relate to?
• What actions does it lead to?

You might consider having students complete and discuss Worksheet R:  Applying Values

If your students have not yet done the Introductory Lesson, we recommend beginning with that lesson before progressing through the lessons in this unit.

IMAGES

B’nei Menashe (Immigrants from India), Carmiel, Israel, 2007

This photograph was taken at an absorption center for new immigrants in Israel. The subjects of the photo are members of the B’nei Menashe(Children of Menashe), a small group of people from northeast India whose traditions bear similarities to Jewish practice and who believe they are descended from the ancient Israelite tribe of Menashe. They trace their history to the exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 721 BCE, across Asia to China, and Œfinally to India. In recent years, small groups of B’nei Menashe have immigrated to Israel, offiŒcially converted to Judaism, and begun to learn about traditional Jewish practice.

Sample Texts:

The Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—
Bless these boys.
In them may my name be recalled,
And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
And may they become numerous throughout the earth.
– From Jacob’s blessing over his grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe, Genesis (Bereshit) 48:16

As long as deep in the heart
The soul of a Jew yearns
And towards the East
An eye looks to Zion

Our hope is not yet lost
The hope of two thousand years
To be a free people in our land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
– Naphtali Hertz Imber

Background, Rehovot, Israel, 2008

A teenager sits on her bed in the Israeli town of Rehovot. Her schoolbook is open on her lap, her shelves strewn with other books and assorted knickknacks. This could be any teenager’s room anywhere in the world. But the poster on the wall above the bed refl‰ects this girl’s unique cultural heritage.

It shows daily life in a small village in Ethiopia. It’s a life that’s far removed from her modern existence in Israel. This young woman is one of about 85,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Her parents made the diffiŒcult journey from Ethiopia during the mass migrations of the 1980s. But the journey did not end when they reached Israel.

All immigrants must struggle to adjust to a new home, new language, new friends, new culture. But those coming from Ethiopia have also had to make the transition from living in a developing nation to life in an industrialized one. In addition, the religious life of the Ethiopian Jews developed independently of mainstream Judaism over the centuries, and their re-absorption into the larger Jewish community has not always been smooth. Today, the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel continues to face challenges, especially in the areas of education and employment.

Sample Texts:

The whole world is one town.
– Yiddish saying

, - - - - , , ; , .

But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children.
– Deuteronomy (Devarim) 4:9

The individual understands himself or herself in terms of a community, not only as a singular independent person but also as an individual attached to others and interdependent with them. Here, identity means identification: solidarity with others with whom you identify. Identity in this sense is a kind of communal self.

This tie to community in the past, the present, and the future is what adds a further dimension to your own immediate activities. It requires that you not simply engage the world as a lone individual. What you do contributes to a larger picture: linking your life to the lives of contemporaries who are part of the same community or to past and future generations of that community.
– Natan Sharansky, Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy

The Shape of Sound, Yemen, 1991

Whether you’re in a cave in Yemen or a yeshiva in Brooklyn, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the words of the Torah remain the same. It is these universal Jewish traditions that keep communities connected across time and space.

Why do you think the photographer calls this picture The Shape of Sound?

Sample Texts:

, – , ”- “ ( ,).

Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? One who learns from all people, as it is written (Psalm 119:99) “I have gained understanding from all my teachers.”
– Pirkei Avot 4:1

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Rabbi Chalafta of Kefar Chanania used to say: If ten people sit together and occupy themselves with the Torah, the Divine Presence rests among them as it is written (Psalm 82:1) “God has taken his place in the divine assembly.” And from where do we learn that this applies even to Œfive? Because it is written (Amos 9:6) “He has established his vault upon the earth.” And how do we learn that this applies even to three? Because it is written (Psalm 82:1) “He judges in the midst of the judges.” And from where can it be shown that the same applies even to two? Because it is written (Malachi 3:16) “Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord took note and listened.” And from where even of one? Because it is written (Exodus 20:24) “In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.”
– Pirkei Avot 3:7

Open Table, (Immigrants from Azerbaijan), Acco, Israel, 2007

Members of the Kavkazi community (Jews from the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia and Azerbaijan) who have immigrated to Israel have strived to retain important aspects of their rich cultural heritage. This photograph refl‰ects one example of this—the value of hospitality that is central to their tradition. The woman in the middle (with her head covered) represents another cultural attribute among the Kavkazi Jews—the reverence and respect that is paid to matriarchs and patriarchs in the community. The photograph, however, also reflects a certain tension among the Kavkazis—the tension between tradition and modernity, as expressed in the different clothing styles of the younger and older women.

Sample Texts:

When the great calamity befell Job, he pleaded with the Holy One, “Master of the Universe, did I not feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and clothe the naked?”

The Holy One answered Job, “Job, you have not yet reached half the measure [of hospitality] extended by Abraham. You sat in your house waiting for guests to come to you. To him who was accustomed to eat wheat bread, you gave wheat bread; to him who was accustomed to drink wine, you gave wine. But Abraham did not act thus. He went out, getting about in the world. When he met prospective guests, he brought them to his home. Even to him who was not accustomed to eat wheat bread, he gave wheat bread; to him who was not accustomed to eat meat, he gave meat; and to him who was not accustomed to drink wine, he gave wine.”
-Avot of Rabbi Natan 7

When Rav Huna had a meal, he would open the doors of his house and say, “Let whoever is in need come and eat.”
– Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 20b 21a 

Cave, Haidan A-Sham, Yemen, 1992

You don’t need to be in a classroom or synagogue to study the Torah. You can do it almost anywhere—even in a cave. The town of Haidan A-Sham is located in a rugged and mountainous part of Yemen, and the Jews there made use of whatever spaces were available. These boys have gathered in a cave to study the weekly Torah portion. Since the time this photo was taken, most of the Jews have left that part of the country, moving to bigger cities or to Israel.

Jews fiŒrst moved to Yemen in ancient times. They practiced their religion faithfully throughout the centuries but were generally treated as second-class citizens by the Muslim authorities. Because of the way they were treated, as well as their longing to return to the Jewish homeland, Yemenite Jews started immigrating to Israel in the late 1880s. This culminated in 1949 – 50 with a huge airlift known as Operation Magic Carpet. For the Yemenite Jews, this airlift seemed to fulfiŒll Isaiah’s prophecy that the Jewish people would be brought to the promised land “on the wings of eagles.” Today, only a tiny number of Jews remain in Yemen.

Sample Texts:

, , , ,   . : , , 

At Sinai Moses received the Torah and handed it over to Joshua who handed it over to the elders who handed it over to the prophets who in turn handed it over to the men of the Great Assembly. The latter said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah. 
– Pirkei Avot 1:1

,  ,  ; .

Joshua ben Perachyah said, “Get yourself a teacher, fiŒnd someone to study with, and judge everyone favorably.”
– Pirkei Avot 1:6

Headstone, Cimpina, Romania, 2000

“It’s a community where I photographed one couple—that’s all that’s left [of the Jewish community]. They still have one synagogue that nobody visits.” This is what the photographer, Zion Ozeri, has to say about the town of Cimpina, Romania, where he took this picture. When he went with the couple to the town’s Jewish cemetery, he found it overgrown and in disrepair. There was a thriving Jewish community here, but after the Holocaust, there was no one left to tend to the gravestones. 

Notice the decorations on this headstone. You can see a Magen David and what seems to be a kind of menorah in the middle. Next to it are two hands. In ancient times, when the priests, or Cohanim, blessed the people, this is how they held their hands. Descendents of the Cohanim still make this sign when they symbolically bless the congregation in synagogues today. Its use on this tombstone probably means the person buried there was a Cohen. You can Œfind this motif on the headstones of Cohanim everywhere in the world—South America, Europe, Israel, and elsewhere.

Sample Texts:

A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven;
A time for being born and a time for dying,
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;
A time for slaying and a time for healing,
A time for tearing down and a time for building up;
A time for weeping and a time for laughing,
A time for wailing and a time for dancing;
A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces;
A time for seeking and a time for losing,
A time for keeping and a time for discarding;
A time for ripping and a time for sewing,
A time for silence and a time for speaking;
A time for loving and a time for hating;
A time for war and a time for peace.
– Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) 3:1-8

We rejoice over a birth and mourn over a death. But we should not. For when a man is born, who knows what he will do or how he will end? But when a man dies, we may rejoice—if he left a good name and this world is in peace.
– Midrash Tanhuma

Backpack, Ben Gurion Airport, Israel, 1991

Jews have lived in Ethiopia for hundreds and hundreds of years. But in the 1970s and 1980s, life became very diffiŒcult for them. They were no longer safe. So, in 1984, the Israeli government organized a secret operation—known as Operation Moses—to bring Ethiopia’s Jews to Israel. In six short weeks, almost 8,000 Ethiopian Jews were rescued through the Sudan. It was a diffiŒcult journey, and many suffered or died along the way. When the operation ended, about 15,000 Jews still remained in Ethiopia.

In 1990, Israel and Ethiopia reached an agreement that would allow Ethiopia’s remaining Jews to move to Israel. But before anything could be done, rebel forces threatened to topple the Ethiopian government. So in May 1991, as the rebels seized control of Ethiopia’s capital, the Israeli government organized an unprecedented rescue operation, called Operation Solomon. Beginning on Friday, May 24, and continuing non-stop for a day and a half, 36 El-Al jumbo jets and military transport planes carried more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to freedom in Israel.

The people in this photograph were part of Operation Solomon. The man carries his mother on his back as they enter the land of Israel for the Œfirst time. Look at the expression on their faces. How do you think they feel?

Here’s what the photographer, Zion Ozeri, had to say about the experience: “I was here [in the United States] at the time. Reading carefully through the Israeli newspapers and the New York Times, I felt that something was going to happen—some kind of an airlift. I smelled it in the air. So I called someone I knew at the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, and I said, ‘What’s happening? Is it what I think is going to happen? Is there going to be an airlift?’ He said, ‘Are you crazy? I can’t talk to you about this over the phone.’ I said, ‘I understand. But tell me, should I just buy a ticket to come to Israel right now?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ I bought a ticket and I got there Friday afternoon. I put my luggage down at my parents’ house, took my camera, and said, ‘Goodbye, I’m going back to the airport.’ They said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘I can’t tell you now, but you’ll know in a couple of days.’ And it was the most amazing thing. An hour or two after I got to the airport, they started landing. And you’d see babies who were being born on the planes. It was just amazing.”

Sample Texts:

.

All people, in every generation, must regard themselves as having been personally freed from Egypt.
– from the Passover Haggadah

Holocaust Survivor with His Grandchildren, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002

Here we see a Holocaust survivor surrounded by his grandchildren. He lives in Buenos Aires, where he writes and lectures about the Holocaust. The photographer, Zion Ozeri, explains why he took this picture: “I was concerned about taking a meaningful photograph of him. I could have taken his photograph sitting alone in a chair but I decided that his dignity would shine through more if he was surrounded by his grandchildren. Holocaust survivors lost so much family and they didn’t think they would have any future. This is showing that they do have a future.”

Sample Texts:

You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
– Leviticus (Vayikra) 19:32

When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.
– Martin Buber

Basic Training, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1996

These men and women are cadets in the U.S. Air Force. Every day, they get up at the crack of dawn and go through the challenges and rigors of basic training. But these cadets are also Jews. So once a week, on Friday night, they get together for a couple of hours at the synagogue on their base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for services, a piece of cake, and a much-needed break from their training. If you look behind them, you can see the Ten Commandments on the synagogue wall. The left-hand column begins with the sixth commandment: “Lo tirtzach” (Thou shall not murder).

Sample Texts:

The law of the land is the law.
– Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 28a

.

Do not stand idly by the blood of you neighbor.
– Leviticus (Vayikra) 19:16

, – ’, : , .

When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. 
Are trees of the Œfield human to withdraw before you into the besieged city?

– Deuteronomy (Devarim) 20:19

Honorable Discharge, Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel, 1992

Look at the expression on this man’s face. How would you describe it—fear, sadness, confusion, joy? He has just arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union. Under communism, Soviet Jews were not allowed to practice their religion openly and were often denied the right to immigrate to the U.S. or Israel. But after Gorbachev (the Soviet president) opened the doors to emigration in 1989, hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union fl‰ocked to Israel, with the help of Jews around the world.

These immigrants often arrived with very little and faced many challenges in their new homes. But the man in this picture has brought something very precious with him: the military medals he wears with pride. They serve as a reminder of his previous life, of the risks he took Œfighting for his country.

Here is what the photographer, Zion Ozeri, has to say about this picture: “I call it honorable discharge. He was obviously discharged from the Russian army. And many Jews, by the way, either sacriŒficed their lives or fought heroically during World War II…. I always look for the image that would defiŒne the moment, so to speak. So I sort of saw it in his face…. You see the ‰flag, you see El-Al, and that look.”

Sample Texts:

; , .

Gray hair is a crown of glory;
It is attained by the way of righteousness.
– Proverbs (Mishlei) 16:31

, .

Bring us in peace from the four corners of the earth and lead us with upright pride to our Land.
– from shacharit (the morning service)

- , -; - -, - . --, - , , ; , -, , .

Assuredly, a time is coming—declares the Lord—when it shall no more be said, “As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt,” but rather, “As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites out of the northland, and out of all the lands to which He had banished them.” For I will bring them back to their land, which I gave to their fathers.
– Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu) 16:14-15

Kabbalat Shabbat, Cold Spring, New York, 2008

The Sabbath candles have been lit. The women and girls cover their eyes as they recite the blessing over the ‰flames. For millennia, this is how the weekly Sabbath has been heralded in Jewish communities across the globe. According to the rabbis of the Talmud, there are two reasons for lighting Sabbath candles—one practical and one spiritual. The practical reason, which they called shalom bayit or “tranquility in the home,” has to do with the fact that Jewish law prohibits the kindling of lights during the Sabbath. So rather than having people stumble around in the dark on Friday night, it made sense to light a ‰flame before the Sabbath began. The spiritual reason is called oneg Shabbat or “Sabbath joy.” The lights we kindle simply add to the feelings of celebration, warmth, and peace that typify the Jewish Sabbath.

This scene takes place at Surprise Lake Camp, a Jewish summer camp outside of New York City. Ozeri calls this photograph Kabbalat Shabbat, which means, literally, “welcoming the Sabbath.” Kabbalat Shabbat is also the name of the prayer service traditionally recited on Friday evenings. The Kabbalat Shabbat service, which includes selections from the book of Psalms, as well as the beautiful liturgical poem “Lecha Dodi” was introduced in the 16th century by a group of mystics living in the city of Tzfat, Israel. The mystics would gather on the edge of town dressed in white and sing songs of praise to greet the Sabbath bride.

Sample Texts:

- , . , -. , –, ’ : - - , - , , .

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements.
– Exodus (Shemot) 20:8-10

The Holy One lends every person an extra soul on the eve of the Sabbath, and withdraws it at the close of the Sabbath.
– Babylonian Talmud, Beitza 16a

He who feels in his heart a genuine tie with the life of his people cannot possibly conceive of the existence of the Jewish people apart from “Queen Sabbath.” We can say without exaggeration that more than Israel preserved the Sabbath, the Sabbath preserved Israel.
– Ahad Ha’am, Al Parashat Derahim

Blessed is the match consumed in kindling ‰flame.
Blessed is the ‰flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.
Blessed is the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor’s sake.
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling ‰flame.
– Hannah Senesh

Let My People Go, New York City, 1987

These people are engaging in the important mitzvah of Pidyon Sh’vuyim (the Redeeming of Captives). At a demonstration in New York City, they push for the release of thousands of Jews from the Soviet Union. Notice what it says on the kids’ signs. Where have you heard these words before?

Under Soviet rule, Jews weren’t allowed to practice their religion. They weren’t allowed to immigrate to Israel or America, and many Jewish leaders were put in jail. To help their Jewish brothers and sisters overseas, American Jews held demonstrations, petitioned the U.S. government to pressure the Soviets, and even smuggled Jewish books and religious objects into the USSR. By the end of the 1980s, internal changes and an economic collapse in the Soviet Union, along with pressure from the world Jewish community, changed the situation for the Soviet Jews and gave them new hope. Within a few years, hundreds of thousands of Jews were able to leave the former Soviet Union for Israel.

Sample Texts:

Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.
– Leviticus (Vayikra) 19:16

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When the community is in trouble do not say, “I will go home and eat and drink and all will be well with me.”…Rather, involve yourself in the community’s distress as was demonstrated by Moses (Exodus 27:12) …In this way Moses said, “Since Israel is in trouble, I will share their burden.” Anyone who shares a community’s distress will be rewarded and will witness the community’s consolation.
– Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 11a

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There is no greater mitzvah than the redemption of captives. For a captive is among those who are hungry, thirsty, and unclothed, and he is in mortal peril. If someone pays no attention to his redemption, he violates the negative commandments: ‘Do not harden your heart or close your hand’ (Deuteronomy 15:7), ‘Do not stand by when the blood of your neighbor is in danger’ (Leviticus 19:16), and ‘He shall not oppress him with exhausting work in your presence’ (Leviticus 25:53). And he has negated the observance of the positive commandments: ‘You shall certainly open up your hand to him’ (Deuteronomy 15:8), ‘And your brother shall live with you’ (Deuteronomy 19:18), ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Leviticus 19:18), ‘Save those who are taken for death’ (Proverbs 24:11), and many other decrees of this nature. There is no mitzvah as great as the redemption of captives.
– Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Matnot Aniyim, 8:10

Older Sister, Hong Kong, 2008

Hong Kong may not be the fiŒrst place most people think of when they think of Jewish communities, but Jews have lived there for at least 150 years. Persian Jewish merchants arrived in Hong Kong in 1842, after China ceded the territory to Great Britain. Hong Kong’s Œfirst synagogue opened in 1900, but the community remained small—by the 1950s, the Jewish community numbered just 250, roughly half Sephardic and half Ashkenazi. With the city’s development as a trade and Œfinance center in the past several decades, however, Hong Kong’s Jewish community has grown substantially. The Jewish population of Hong Kong is now between three and four thousand people, about two-thirds of whom come from the U.S., Israel, or England.

Hong Kong now has four synagogues, a Jewish community center, a kosher restaurant, and two Jewish schools. Because Hong Kong is a commercial hub, its Jewish institutions must serve not only the full-time residents of the community but also the many businesspeople who pass through in the course of their work.

The photograph above was taken in one of Hong Kong’s synagogues. Compare this image with the photographs The Shape of Sound and Upsherin, also taken by Ozeri. The common threads of Hebrew language and learning can be easily traced around the globe.

Sample Texts:

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O how I love Your teaching! It is my study all day long.
– Psalms (Tehilim) 119:97

“One who tends a fiŒg tree will enjoy its fruit,
And one who cares for a master will be honored.”
– Proverbs (Mishlei) 27:18

Why is Torah compared to a Œfig tree?
Because most trees—olive, grape, date—have their fruit picked at one time. But the Œfig’s fruit is picked gradually.
And so it is with the Torah: You learn a little today and more tomorrow; you cannot learn it all in just one or two years…
– Midrash Numbers Rabbah 12:9

Whenever children are learning, there dwells the divine presence.
– Yiddish saying

Olive Harvesting (coming soon)

Scribe, Marseille, France, 2006

This sofer (scribe) in Marseille, France, is writing a Torah scroll. A kosher Torah scroll must be written by hand by a trained scribe, using quill pens, special ink, and parchment made from animal skin. The scribe cannot simply write the Torah from memory; he must carefully copy every word from an existing Torah. It can take as long as one year to write a single Torah scroll.

Marseille is the second largest city in France, and it’s home to the third largest Jewish community on the European continent. Jews lived there as early as the 6th century. During the Middle Ages, Jewish merchants settled in the lower part of the city near the port, trading with Jews and Christians from around the Mediterranean region. The Jews were granted the status of citizens and in the 14th century even given special consideration—for example, they were exempted from having to sweep in front of their houses on Saturday and from having to carry a lantern after curfew on Jewish holidays. In the 15th – 17th centuries, however, the Jews of Marseille faced a number of persecutions. The Jewish population dropped considerably by the 18th century but began to grow again in the 19th century. During the Holocaust, the city was in the unoccupied part of France. Jews from other parts of Europe and North Africa took refuge there and helped rebuild the community after the war. Since the Holocaust, the Jewish community of Marseille has continued to grow, with the arrival of many Jewish immigrants from North Africa.

Sample Texts:

Have a beautiful scroll of the Law prepared, copied by an able scribe with fiŒne ink and Œfine calamus; and wrapped in beautiful silk.
– Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 133b

The Torah and all its commandments in their minutest details, as expressed in thought and deed, for a great and mighty Divine poem, a poem of confiŒdent trust and love. Every commandment and law has a unique musical quality that the congregation of Israel perceives and appreciates. It evokes the blossoms of reverent joy and song within us. It is for us to remove the warts from the ears of our sons, “the thorns and thistles that surround the noble fl‰ower,” so that the waves of song will echo in their hearts as well, uplifting their souls with the same natural exaltation that is common to all in whom the spirit of Judaism is properly developed.
– Abraham Isaac Kook, quoted in Banner of Jerusalem by Jacob B. Agus

Sunrise, Sde Boker, Israel, 2003

The people in this photograph are reciting morning prayers in the heart of the Negev Desert, just outside a kibbutz called Sde Boker. Sde Boker is where Israel’s fiŒrst Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, chose to retire. His vision and hope was that Israelis would move to the Negev and make the barren land ‰flourish. Over the years, Israel has built cities, towns, and kibbutzim in the desert, helping to fulfiŒll Ben-Gurion’s dream. Why do you think the people in the picture chose this setting for their prayers?

Sample Texts:

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Rabbi Shimon said, “Be careful, when reciting the Shema and Amidah. And when you pray, do not make your prayer rigid, but rather compassionate and pleading before God.”
– Pirkei Avot 2:18

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May a new light shine on Zion, and may we all be privileged soon to behold its splendor.
– from shacharit (the morning service)

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This is my God and I will beautify Him;
The God of my father, and I will exalt Him.
– Exodus (Shemot) 15:2

Soup Kitchen Musician, New York, NY, 2008

Tzedakah means “righteousness” or “charity”, and it’s a fundamental part of Jewish life. We are obligated to help the needy, whether they are Jewish or not. This man is a client at a soup kitchen that’s run in a synagogue on 23rd Street in New York City. While visiting the soup kitchen, he often entertains himself and others by singing and playing the guitar.

The soup kitchen is part of Project ORE (Outreach to the Elderly), an outreach program for homeless people aged 45 and older. Believed to be the only such program aimed at Jewish homelessness, Project ORE has also come to serve people who are neither Jewish, elderly, nor homeless; however, most of the participants do fiŒt into at least two of these categories. Project ORE describes itself as “a comprehensive program that sees a homeless person not as just a cup to fiŒll, but as a member of our human family, deserving of opportunity and dignity.”

Sample Texts:

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When you reap your harvest in your fiŒeld, and have forgotten a sheaf in the Œfield, you shall not go back and get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless and the widow; that the Eternal your G-d may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
– Deuteronomy (Devarim) 24:19-22

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It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home; when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to ignore your own kin.
– Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 58:7

If each one sweeps before his own door, the whole street is clean.
– Yiddish saying

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Sing forth, O you righteous, to the Lord; it is fiŒt that the upright acclaim Him. Praise the Lord with the lyre; with the ten-stringed harp sing to Him; sing Him a new song; play sweetly with shouts of joy.
– Psalms (Tehilim) 33:1-3

Bomba Israel, Santiago, Chile, 2002

Bomba Israel is the Jewish volunteer fiŒre department of Santiago, Chile. Photographer Zion Ozeri explains: “There, every ethnic group has its own Œfire engine. That doesn’t mean they’re not going to help others, but there is a sense of pride: ‘We have our own volunteers.’ And the younger ones are trainees.” Bomba Israel was founded in 1954, and its mission is to serve all those in its area who need assistance.

Sample Texts:

True salvation can come only to a person who renders service to the community.
– Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter

If each one sweeps before his own door, the whole street is clean.
– Yiddish saying

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Therefore man was created singly to teach you that whosoever kills a single soul the Bible considers to have killed a complete world. And whosoever sustains and saves a single soul, it is as if that person sustained a whole world.
– Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5

Summer Camp, Tumwater, Washington, 2002

It’s time for morning services at Camp Solomon Schechter, in Tumwater, Washington. As the Torah is raised, the kids point with their fiŒngers, symbolically kissing the Torah and lending their support to the Magbiah, who lifts up the scroll.

Founded Œfifty years ago, Camp Solomon Schechter in Tumwater, Washington, “provides Jewish youth, families, and adults from the U.S. and Canada with a Jewish, active, and fun camping and retreat experience year-round in the PacifiŒc Northwest.” In addition to hosting a summer camp for kids of all ages, the site is used by Jewish organizations throughout the year for retreats, meetings, and other community events.

Sample Texts:

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Rabbi Yose taught:
Whoever honors Torah will himself be honored by others;
Whoever dishonors Torah will himself be dishonored by others.
– Pirkei Avot 4:8

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A person should see to it that the body is kept healthy and strong in order that they may be upright to know G-d. For it is impossible to understand and comprehend wisdom when one is hungry and ailing or if one’s limbs ache.
– Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deot, 3:3

Synagogue Attic, Riga, Latvia, 1991

Before World War II, there were many synagogues in Riga, the capital of Latvia. In fact, until the 20th century, Eastern Europe was a center for Jewish life and learning. But today, only one synagogue still stands in Riga. And just a handful of elderly Jews, like the man in this picture, still attend services. During the communist period, young people were intimidated by the police to keep them from going to synagogue. But if you climb up to the synagogue’s attic, you will discover stacks and stacks of ancient Jewish books. These books remind us that there once was a large and active Jewish community there.

According to Jewish law, sacred books can’t be thrown away. They must either be set aside in a special storage area called a genizah or buried in the ground.

The photographer, Zion Ozeri, explains how he came to take this picture: “When we came, there were only a few elderly men in the synagogue. This one [in the picture] is the gabbai, actually. And I asked the translator to ask him—I found it strange that in a big synagogue there were only a few prayerbooks. So I asked him to ask about that. And the man kind of got a little insulted, because he thought I was questioning their Jewishness. So he said to the translator, ‘Does he want to see books? I’ll show him books.’ So he took us to the attic. It turns out they had put all of their books in the attic, because the communists didn’t want to see that richness of Jewish life. Because when you see so many books, what does that mean? It means that this culture and tradition is very rich. So they put everything in the attic. He was actually reaching for his glasses to show me a book, to show me how ancient these books were. At that moment I saw this image and I took a photograph of it.”

Sample Texts:

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Ben Bag-Bag taught:
Study it [Torah] and review it; you will find everything in it. 
Scrutinize it, grow old and gray in it, do not depart from it. There is no better portion in life than this.
– Pirkei Avot 5:24

The Secret, M’vaseret Zion, Israel, 1990

During the 1980s and 1990s, many Jews came to Israel from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union for religious freedom and a better life. These immigrants often lived in special apartment buildings, called “absorption centers,” until they could Œfind more permanent homes. Absorption centers provide temporary housing and an introduction to Israeli life for many new immigrants. The photographer, Zion Ozeri, explains how important these centers are: “The Œfirst few steps of any immigrant are very diffiŒcult—not knowing the language, not knowing where to buy things, where to go. The Absorption Center helps the new immigrant. It’s something I don’t know if they have anywhere else in the world. It’s a place where you can ease yourself into it. For the fiŒrst few months at least, they give them some money to buy food, and there is an ulpan(Hebrew class) for teaching the language. They kind of initiate them into new life in Israel, and how to deal with everyday things from the very, very simple things—like shopping in the supermarket—to Œfinding a job.”

The two boys in this picture are in a kindergarten class at an absorption center near Jerusalem. One boy is from Ethiopia; the other is from the former Soviet Union.

Sample Texts:

When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them. 
– Martin Buber

One day, [Honi] was walking along the road, and he saw a man planting a carob tree. He asked him, “How long does it take [for this tree] to bear fruit? The man replied, “Seventy years.” He asked him further, “Are you certain you will live another seventy years?” The man replied, “I found the world provided with carob trees because my forefathers planted them for me. I am planting them now for my children.”
– Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 23a

Upsherin, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, 1995

What do you see in this photograph? A young boy sits on a rabbi’s lap, and together they point to Hebrew letters while a jar of honey sits beside them on the table. It is a custom in some communities that when a boy reaches three years of age, he gets his hair cut for the fiŒrst time (everything except the peot, or corners) and learns his fiŒrst Hebrew letters. But what is the honey for? They use the honey to show the child that studying Torah is sweet. This is an important event in the life of this boy: His sisters and other family members look on as he starts down the path of Talmud Torah—Jewish learning.

Sample Texts:

There are three names by which a person is called:
One by which her father and mother call her,
And one by which others call her,
And that which she earns for herself.
The best one of these is the one that she earns for herself.
– Adapted from the Midrash Tanhuma

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At Sinai Moses received the Torah and handed it over to Joshua who handed it over to the elders who handed it over to the prophets who in turn handed it over to the men of the Great Assembly. The latter said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah.
– Pirkei Avot 1:1

Waiting for Seven Jews, Djerba, Tunisia, 1995

This is the El-Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba. Although the current building was constructed in 1929, it is believed that a synagogue has existed on this site for 2,000 years. According to tradition, the Œfirst synagogue on the spot was built with a stone from the destroyed Temple in Jerusalem. If you look closely at the patterns, shapes, and motifs in the picture, you can see how the builders of this synagogue were infl‰uenced by Muslim art and culture. In 2002, after this picture was taken, al-Qaeda tried to bomb the synagogue. The building was not destroyed, but about 20 tourists and local workers were killed.

Why do you think the photographer called this photo Waiting for Seven Jews?

Sample Texts:

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Hillel said,
“Don’t separate yourself from the community.
Don’t be overconfiŒdent until the day of your death.
Don’t judge your fellow human being until you have reached that person’s place.
Don’t say anything that is unintelligible with the hope that it will be understood.
And don’t say, ‘When I have leisure I will study’ – perhaps you will never have that leisure.”
– Pirkei Avot 2:4

Nine tzaddikim cannot make a minyan, but if one common man joins them, he completes the minyan.
– Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav

Shochet, Rosh Ha-Ayin, Israel, 1983

Notice the bloodstains on this man’s shirt. He’s a shochet—a person who slaughters animals according to Jewish law. A shochet must be thoroughly trained and knowledgeable in the laws of kashrut. Here he is shown sharpening his knife. In order for an animal (other than a Œfish) to be kosher, it must be killed with a single stroke across the neck from a perfectly sharpened knife. This ensures the most painless, humane death for the animal. The shochet, therefore, has to clean and sharpen his knife after every use. The Torah also prohibits eating blood, because it represents the life of the animal. So after the animal is killed, the shochet must let the blood drain out.

Sample Texts:

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Rav said, the miztvot were given only in order that human beings might be puriŒfied by them. For what does the Holy One care whether a person kills an animal by the throat or by the nape of the neck? Hence their purpose is to refiŒne human beings.
– Midrash Genesis Rabbah 44:1

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A person should not say, “I don’t want to eat pork”… but rather, “I want it, but what can I do if my father in Heaven has commanded me not to do it!”
– Midrash Sifra on Leviticus 20:26

Beit Ha-Hayim, Fez, Morocco, 2004

“Charity preserves from death” is the phrase repeated in Hebrew, English, and French on this charity box at the Jewish cemetery in Fez, Morocco. The phrase comes from the book of Proverbs (10:2). But, it’s not entirely clear who is delivered from death. Is the deceased delivered from a harsh judgment in the world to come when the living give charity in his or her memory? Is the giver delivered from evil by the good deed? Or is it the recipient of the charity who is delivered from hunger and suffering? Whatever the answer, Jewish tradition emphasizes acts of tzedakah at times of mourning. Giving tzedakah reminds us of our obligation to the living and helps translate our grief into tikkun olam, repairing the world. Giving to causes supported by the deceased also helps keep the person’s memory alive.

Money deposited in this charity box goes to maintain the beit ha-hayim, literally, “house of life” (a euphemism for “cemetery”). This cemetery is one of the few remaining vestiges of the Jewish community in the city of Fez. Although the city was once an important center for Jewish study and culture, today only about 150 Jews live in Fez.

Jews have been in Morocco for more than 2,000 years. Although it’s not easy being a Jew in a Muslim country, the Moroccan community has fared relatively well, at least in the last hundred years. During World War II, King Muhammed V protected the Jews of his country from deportation to concentration camps. After the war, there were more than a quarter of a million Jews in Morocco. Most, however, have since left for Israel, France, the U.S., or Canada. Today, there are only about four or fiŒve thousand Jews left in Morocco—mainly in the city of Casablanca. But the community has retained its strong religious commitment and its unique traditions, including annual pilgrimages to the tombs of holy sages.

Sample Texts:

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Why should I dread days of evil,
When the iniquity of my enemies surrounds me?
They depend on their wealth and take pride in their riches.
But a man cannot save his dearest from death,
He cannot ransom himself from the decree of the Lord;
He cannot buy immortality, he cannot evade the grave.
– Psalms (Tehilim)  49:6-10

Rabbi Judah said: Ten strong things have been created in the world. The rock of the mountain is hard, but iron cleaves it. Iron is hard, but fiŒre softens it. Fire is powerful, but water quenches it. Water is heavy, but clouds bear it. Clouds are thick, but wind scatters them. Wind is strong, but a body resists it. A body is strong, but fear crushes it. Fear is powerful, but wine banishes it. Wine is strong, but sleep works it off. Death is stronger than all, yet charity delivers from death. As it is written [in Proverbs], “Charity delivers from death.”
– Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 10a

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who are the Judge of the Truth.
– Blessing recited upon hearing news of someone’s death.