Step 1
Put assorted cards of rabbis on different tables in the room. Divide the students into groups and have each group add thought bubbles to the cards where the rabbi describes the different aspects and challenges of their role and what the most important part of their job is
Step 2
Give the students a few minutes to look at the cards and thought bubbles on each table. Discuss what they noticed using the following questions:
- What do people see as the role of a rabbi?
- Has this changed over the years?
- What aspects of the rabbi’s role may change according to time and place?
Step 3
For older students:
- Create a job description for a rabbi stating the 3 most important traits/skills they need and defining 3 main responsibilities.
For younger students:
- Create a picture/collage of a rabbi for their community with thought bubbles expressing their traits and responsibilities.
- Roles and Responsibilities
- 3 - 5
- 6 - 7
- 8 - 12
- After School and Beyond
- Camp
- Congregational Learning
- Day Schools and Yeshivas
- Family Engagement
- Teen Engagement
Discover more
Congregation Kol Ami White Plains, NY. Mesorah (tradition) is a choice-based model for 7th-12th graders that includes CORE learning and hands-on, experiential, project-based learning electives.
Temple Adat Elohim, Thousand Oaks, CA. Families come together twice a month, once to experience Shabbat as a B’Yachad community and another time to help heal the world by participating in Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) projects
Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley (TEPV), Woodcliff Lake, NJ. This online, opt-in, home-based learning model for 7th-9th graders is a partnership with JETS Israel (Jerusalem EdTech Solutions).