Examining Religion And Belief: Judaism

It is always a huge challenge to present a rich and diverse
religious tradition in 33 pages. Inevitably much is omitted,
and the selection has the potential to distort the reality.
Here we have tried to present a broad and balanced picture of
Jewish thinking and living, representative although not
comprehensive, providing authentic, first-hand resources
to use in the classroom. Our focus on Jews rather than
Judaism seeks to avoid any essentialising of Jewish belief
and practice. It enables us to show something of the
diversity of voices within Jewish communities, e.g. the
everyday lives of teenagers (pp. 10–13) and festival practice
with representatives from Orthodox and Progressive
communities (pp. 8–9 and 18–23). We deal with some
essential knowledge on branches of Judaism (pp. 4–5), key
texts (pp. 6–7) and prayer (pp. 8–9).

It is important for students to have opportunities to
consider the nuances around issues of controversy.
Resources from the Jewish Museum London help teachers
to identify how far students are susceptible to the myths
and stereotypes around Jews and money (pp. 14–15).
Students are helped to approach the political relationship
between Israel and Palestine through the efforts by Jewish
grandmothers to bring justice at the border wall (pp. 24–29).

Our previous publication on Judaism was called
Questions: Jewish people. We have considered the use of
the term ‘Jew’ in the classroom context and recognise that
for some it is a sensitive issue. We have decided to go with
the title, Examining Religion and Belief: Jews as an attempt
towards reclaiming the term for the classroom. Teachers
will need to handle this with awareness and care.

We hope that through encountering and engaging with
Jewish voices, students can deepen their understanding
of the world and reflect on how they make sense of their
own place within it. This resource aims to enable personal
reflection as well as to develop religious literacy