F9: Shavuot

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Revelation at Sinai

- What is truth? Show your audience four books: a science textbook, a classic fictional novel, a cookery book and a copy of the Torah. Ask: Which of these books is true? Or: Which of these contains the most amount of truth? This can lead to a stimulating discussion about what truth really is. Here are some points to consider and use:

SCIENCE TEXTBOOK: It contains physical laws that have been proved and theories which have not. What's true at GCSE, isn't true at A level. Does light travel in straight lines? Are Newton's laws true in every case? (in both cases the answer is NO)

NOVEL: It may never have happened but it probably contains many truths about life and human relationships. In your head the characters exist, isn't that some level of truth?

COOKERY BOOK: Recipes are suggestions of how to prepare healthy, tasty and satisfying meals. But health, taste and satisfaction are all very personal. Is one cookbook more true that another? The book is probably based on the author's personal experience.

TORAH: This has elements of all the above: Genesis contains a simplified description of the physical universe; The stories of the forefathers have many deep morals and values that have been adopted by millions of people worldwide; It has kashrut laws and other moral recipes for a healthy and well adjusted lifestyle.

- Truth: conformity to fact; honesty, sincerity; genuine, accurate; accepted by many as true (Penguin English Dictionary). Which of the four books is most true on this definition? The main point is that truth has many facets and the Torah is easily included in this category.

God's proposition

If you know your audience well and are comfortable with them, you could try this. Ask them to shout out the 'chat up lines' that they know. Or ask: How would you ask someone to marry you? You could make a few up and write them up on the board if you think that will work better. Analyse the lines and phrases that they come up with. Do they have anything in common? You should find that they contain more feelings than facts, and more hopes than guarantees. Now show the similarities to God's proposition.

Making a commitment

- Scruples games. Use these questions to challenge your audience and explain the idea of commitments:

- What would you do if a friend phoned you in a panic saying: 'Come round now I need you!' and then hung up? Go immediately or phone back to ask why?

- How far would you trust a friend to look after you?

- Do you always need to know why you are going to do something before you are willing to do it?

- Are you willing to take risks? How big?

- Have you read or seen the film version of 'The Commitments'? If you have, it's very useful. Their band name reflects what they want to be, but they are doomed because they are not yet able to be.

- If your audience is familiar with the biblical story of Ruth, you could use that to describe which it means to make a commitment.

- Covenant not Testament: Explain the mistake and the correct meaning to show that, even in its name, the Torah is about committing to a relationship.

Forgetting the question

- Draw up a two column table on the board. Title one: What do I want?; the other: What does God want? Ask your audience to fill it in. Do they see God as hindering or helping their desires? Does God want things from us or for us?

- Discussion: How often do people think about God in their everyday lives? Do we only think about God when we are in trouble? Do we obligated by God?

The Ten Utterance

- Can they guess all ten? In order? Write them up as they say them. Surveys have shown that English Christian priests and secular Israelis can't get more than seven of them!

- Ask your audience to try and think of everyday situations when each commandment would apply.

- Show how each commandment encapsulates a basic Jewish belief.

- Most synagogues have an artistic version of the two tablets above the ark. Why? Are they for decoration or to make us think?

- Ask for suggestions of what is missing from these ten. With a bit of thought, can their ideas be derived from what is there?

Shavuot

- Brainstorm everything they know about Shavuot. How do the customs relate to the themes of the day? How would they celebrate Revelation if they had to think up a festival?

- Does an all night Jewish learnathon take place in your area on the first night of Shavuot? Is there a special young people's programme? Find out and ask for one if there isn't. Encourage your audience to go.

Sinai specifics

- Is Revelation more realistic if it was miraculously or naturally explainable? This is one argument between Rashi and Hirsch. What does your audience think? What do they find more convincing?

- Can they explain how God, a non-physical infinite being, can communicate with humans who are completely finite and physical? What are their theories of how it happened?

- Maimonides explained how different intelligences understand things on different levels. Moses got it all but the people only got varying amounts. How does this relate to modern Judaism? Do we need to learn more if we are to really understand what it means to be a Jew?

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