ART AND RASHI: A PORTRAIT OF A BIBLE TEACHER

Abstract

This article examines the practice of teaching content-based disciplines through visual art. Qualitative and ethnographic methods are used in researching the teaching practice of a Bible teacher in a Jewish day school. The teaching method under study provides for active learning of the biblical text and demonstrates sensitivity to students' diverse theological backgrounds, various levels of text knowledge, and different modalities of learning. Acknowledgment of the diversity of students' strengths helps students to cross the bridge between biblical time and the present and creates opportunities for creating connections between subjects that are not possible with more traditional teaching methods.

Notes

1 Rabbi Shlomo Itzchaki (1040–1105), known as Rashi, lived in Troys, France and was a major commentator on the Bible and the Babylonian Talmud.

2 Jewish day schools' dual curriculum covers all secular subjects as well as a wide range of Jewish subjects, including Hebrew and Israeli literature, Bible, Talmud, Jewish philosophy, rabbinic literature, and Israeli and Jewish history.

3 All names are pseudonyms.

4 The major denominations within Judaism range from the traditional Orthodox to the liberal Reform. Orthodox Judaism maintains that both the written and the oral laws are fixed and unchangeable. Resisting modern pressures to modify their observance, Orthodox Jews adhere strictly to traditional beliefs.

5 Mishnah is the entire religious law formulated before 200 c.e. It is written in a very concise manner.

6 Talmud, compiled by the sixth century, is the entire traditional teaching derived from the interpretation of the Mishnah.

7 The Hasidim belong to a sect of Jewish mystics founded in the 1700s in Eastern Europe by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. Hasidut emphasizes the ability of all Jews to grow closer to God in joyful practices while staying faithful to the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism.

8 Moses ben Maimon or Rambam (1135–1204) was born in Spain. He was the first scholar to write a systematic code of all Jewish Law, the Mishneh Torah.

9 Palmach was a combat force established by the Haganah's national command on May 19, 1941. Palmach leaders included Moshe Dayan and Yitzhak Rabin.

10 A Yeshiva is a seminary for Orthodox Jews who primarily study Judaic subjects.

11 Conservative Judaism seeks to retain the essential elements of traditional Judaism but allows for the modernization of religious practices.

12 Bezalel (Exodus 35:50) was appointed to oversee the construction of the Tabernacle.