Obviously this is a serious subject. The following ideas will need careful preparation and a good understanding of what you can achieve with your group.

Rosh Hashanah Discussion

How would you compare and contrast Rosh Hashanah and January 1st? Are "New Year's Resolutions" really as serious as Teshuvah? Is an all night New Years Eve party comparable with the thoughtful reflection of Rosh Hashanah?

The Meaning of Life

- It's a complex point so get it clear in your mind before you begin. Introduce the programme by asking the group to write down, or shout out the 'meaning of life' - seriously or comically. Write up their responses.

- Look at the more serious comments and ask them which is more precious: the meanings they have expressed or life itself. If they could only live ten very meaningful years or seventy slightly meaningful years, which would they go for? This question is trying to highlight how precious life is.

Choosing Life (I & II)

- Do a play where a person must stand before God and try to justify his life. It could be some kind of heavenly trial. When the person fails, ask the audience why he could never really be successful.

- Describe the moment in Synagogue mentioned earlier (in italics). Why is it so hard to do? Does the atmosphere in Synagogue help or hinder? Try to get honest and personal reponses to these challenging questions.

- Write out the sentence from the Torah (at the back) on a big piece of card and ask the audience what it means or implies. You might want to use this metaphor for explaining God's command to Choose Life: Imagine a king is offering his son one of the many fields of his Kingdom as a present. "Choose anyone you like", the monarch says and then pointing to his favourite field he adds, "...but that one over there is particularly good!" So it is with God. He wants us to choose well, He cares how we turn out. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are God-given opportunities to do something about the situation we are in.

Yom Kippur In Your Face

This takes some panache: Begin the session by asking people to shout out (or better, write down anonymously and hand in to you) some really awful things that they have done. Write them on the board and vote on which is are most disgusting. Now it is time to dramatically change the pace of the programme: Get the whole group quiet and ask one simple question:
"Do you honestly think that you can change and not do this kind of stuff anymore?" Only let people respond if they are being honest. You need to create the right atmosphere for this. The idea of the programme is to get people to face up to the difficulty of changing their lives.

Three stages of Teshuvah

- Make up a story about a kid who kept on trying to change but always failed and ended up making the same mistakes over and over again. Try and be realistic and convincing.

- Now ask the audience why the non-hero of your story couldn't get out of the rut they were in. Will anyone admit to similar feelings?

- Explain what Teshuvah means and the three stage process it involves. Do the group think this will work? Why are admission and regret so important, why not just decide not make the same mistakes again? Is it really possible to look to the future without addressing the past? This is a deep psychological truth. Think about it before you run a heavy discussion. Remember that people love to talk about themselves so if you pitch it right, you will have be given plenty of opinions to deal with!

Saying Sorry

- Act out different scenarios of trying to apologise to someone. Do friendly, difficult and luke warm versions.

- Ask the audience about real situations when they have tried to apologise.

- A couple of Jewish students once put an advert in the local Jewish paper in which they asked forgiveness from anyone they might have offended. Do you think this counts? Discuss with the group. Do you have to meet the person face to face? Will a letter or phone call do? - "We never end up asking forgiveness from the people we really hurt" Why is this? You could ask the audience for a list of feelings that get in the way of saying sorry: embarrassment, denial, shame etc.

- Israelis hardly ever say sorry while us Brits say "Oh, sorry!" at the drop of a hat. Which is a better approach? Does a word become meaningless if you say it all the time? Caricatures of the two cultures could well demonstrate this point.

Next Page