Ki Tavo: Lessons from a Desert(ed) Classroom

As the new school year begins, Ohev Shalom is once again filled with the presence of young people. From the infants and toddlers in Federation's Kehillah program, to religious school kids returning to their studies, our B'nai Mitzvah students, and the incoming Confirmation class; we run the gamut here inside our building. It is with that in mind that I look at this week's Torah portion, Ki Tavo. 

One question keeps popping back into my head as I read this parasha, how do we get people to buy in? How can you facilitate someone's Jewish journey, creating a positive and meaningful, fun yet educational, spiritual and historic, modern yet traditional, specific but not exclusionary, amazing Jewish experience??? Piece of cake, right? We have all these young folk scurrying through our building, and we want them to care about Judaism, we're just not always sure how to get there. We think we know. We know the approach we're going to take, and we know the SWBAT's (Students Will Be Able To. Thank you, MA in Jewish Education...) that we want to achieve, but there are no guarantees. It's frustrating. BUT, it's also nice to know that God and Moses struggled with the very same issues.

Our Torah reading highlights different approaches that Moses and God tried to take in order to get the Israelites to subscribe to the new Exodus Agenda (my title). The people are at the border of the Promised Land. The goal is simple: Get in there, sweep away idolatry, create a country with new cities and towns, build a Temple, and establish a new religion, culture, and society. Yikes! Understandably, you need people to subscribe to your philosophy, and get really excited about it, or this enterprise is going to be awfully short-lived... I read a wonderful Torah commentary this week by Shira Epstein, a professor in Jewish Education (and former teacher of mine) at JTS in New York. 

Dr. Epstein points out different "modalities," ways to educate, that are used in our parasha. Moses goes back and forth between praising, admonishing, teaching, preaching, and encouraging the people to feel connected. They are given "activities" to create a connection to God and the land, and they are chastised for bad behavior they may be tempted to engage in sometime in the future. Dr. Epstein writes, "each of the activities Moshe describes is what educators might view as a 'scaffold' to help the people ultimately feel invested in both venerating their lineage and their land, and thus, preserving the laws that guide their everyday communal practices." 

 
Our biggest problem with this Torah portion, however, is the lengthy list of curses, known as the Tochecha, that Moses launches against the people. What kind of an educational model is that?!? But as any parent or teacher will tell you, there's the ideal... and there's reality. Like stubborn and insolent children, the Israelites only occasionally respond to reward and encouragement; sometimes they also need reprimands and a timeout in the corner. And like with parenting, we often have comments and "helpful" suggestions for other parents; we just never want that well-intentioned advice ourselves! It's easy to judge how Moses handles the Israelites, and point out the flaws in his leadership style. As we get closer and closer to the High Holidays, let's not forget to look back at ourselves, and the relationships we've created with children, students, and peers. Or even parents, teachers, and colleagues. Imagine for a minute how hard it would be if you yourself were in Moses' sandals!

Instead, let's put aside the judgment, yet hold onto the underlying lesson: How do you create buy-in? What gets someone excited and enthusiastic, and how do you empower him or her to take ownership? These were the questions facing Moses and God, and they continue to challenge us to this day. But wrestling with this challenge does remind us we're still on the journey, and we're still engaging with Judaism and caring about the next generation. And that truly is half the battle right there.

Photos in this blog post:

1. Image courtesy of Ohev Shalom

2. CC image courtesy of ewige on Flickr

3. CC image courtesy of Anthony Shemmans on Flickr
 
4. CC image courtesy of Ken Wilcox on Flickr 

5. CC image courtesy of emdot on Flickr