Parallel to:
All sections
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 CHAPTER
FIVE:Those Who don’t Fit the Model: Family Situations and Status
in Judaism and the Jewish World
C: EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
19. Thinking (Jewish) Families [All the sections]
(An hour and a half to two hours)
- Before the speaker comes in, brainstorm and list all sorts of associations
for the Jewish family on a board or large sheet of paper – trying
for as many as possible.
- Note whether there are more positive or negative associations. Briefly
sum up the positive associations and the negative associations of the
group.
- Invite the speaker in. This will be someone who represents an orthodox
perspective, preferably a Rabbi, who has been asked to address the value
of the family in traditional Judaism and to present an ideal family
model.
- After the speaker leaves, ask every individual to make a private
list of as many Jewish people over the age of 30 as they can, whom they
know do not fit into the family model but, rather, represent exceptions
to what has been put forward as the model. Examples can be from the
world of media, or closer to home.
- Ask if there is anyone willing to share an example "anonymously",
so that each volunteer brings one of the “cases” on his
or her list. As the examples are given, someone should write up the
kind of cases that are appearing, after which they can be grouped into
categories suggested by participants.
- Finally, add to the categories listed any of the following that may
be missing that you wish to address: singles, widow(er), divorced, intermarried
(of various types), gay.
- Basing yourself on the material of the chapter, speak for a few minutes
about each of those categories and the part they play in Jewish life
today.
- Review with the group the implications for the Jewish collective
of the fact that the traditional Jewish marriage is giving way to a
host of other models:
Can Judaism and the Jews survive the decline of the ideal
Jewish family?
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