,transcriber's note3    ,text enclosed  
by underscores is in italics 7italics74 
,small capital text has been replaced   
with all capitals4    ,text enclosed by 
equal signs is in bold face 7bold74     
99       99       99       99       99  
,a ,,manual      ,,for ,,teaching       
,,biblical ,,history      ,,by          
,,eugene ,,kohn      ,rabbi of          
,congregation ,chizzuk ,emunah          
,baltimore1 ,md4      ,,new ,,york      
,,the ,,united ,,synagogue ,,of         
,,america      #efgg--aiag              
,,copyright1 #aiag      ,,by      ,,the 
,,united ,,synagogue ,,of ,,america     
,to the memory of      ,,solomon        
,,schechter             this book is    
reverently inscribed                    
,,acknowledgement      ,the author      
cannot permit this book to go to press  
without  acknowledging his indebtedness 
to the ,education ,committee of the     
,united ,synagogue for their            
encouragement and assistance4 ,he is    
especially grateful to ,dr4 ,julius ,h4 

,greenstone for his many helpful        
suggestions and his careful reading of  
the text1 both in manuscript  and in    
proof4 ,to ,dr4 ,cyrus ,adler and       
,professor ,mordecai ,m4 ,kaplan  his   
thanks are also due in large measure for
 their aid in removing  crudities and   
improving the form and content of the   
work4          ,,introductory ,,note    
,jewish pedagogic literature is still in
 its infancy4 ,while  text-books for    
children1 more or less satisfactory1    
have been  produced by many authors     
during the past century1 the effort to  
provide the teacher with proper material
 for his guidance in  instruction is of 
very recent origin and the supply has   
thus far  been very slight4 ,the        
students in our several normal schools1 
and  especially the large army of       
teachers1 scattered throughout the      
country1 who have not had the advantage 
of a normal school training1  are often 
obliged to resort to works by ,christian
 authors for  information and guidance4 

,while these may supply them with the   
facts  and with the most approved method
 of presentation1 they cannot give  them
 the ,jewish point of view which is so  
essential to the ,jewish  teacher4 ,as  
the late ,dr4 ,schechter once remarked1 
,we cannot have  our love letters       
written for us4 ,we must write them     
ourselves1 even  at the risk of bad     
grammar4 ,we must place in the hands of 
our  teachers books which will inspire  
them with loyalty and devotion to       
,judaism1 which will give them the      
proper attitude to the ,bible and  to   
,jewish tradition1 and which will       
provide them with an adequate           
understanding of ,jewish strivings and  
ideals4    ,it is with this object in   
view that the ,committee on ,education  
of the ,united ,synagogue requested     
,rabbi ,eugene ,kohn to prepare  the    
work which is now given to the ,jewish  
public4 ,the author has  succeeded      
admirably in his undertaking and has    
produced a work  which contains valuable

 aids to the earnest teacher who is     
anxious  to become more proficient in   
his calling4 ,this volume1 which is the 
result of considerable class-room       
experience1 intimate knowledge  of the  
sources of ,jewish history1 and arduous 
labor1 gives correct  and adequate data 
of the lessons treated1 stimulating     
suggestions  as to the manner of        
imparting each individual lesson to the 
average  child1 and1 what is perhaps of 
greatest importance1 an exalted         
attitude that the teacher should assume 
towards his work4 ,while  the           
responsibility of the work rests        
entirely upon the author1 the           
,committee feels gratified in being able
 to present1 as its first  publication1 
a work that so fully responds to an     
urgent need4 ,it is  hoped that this    
book will be followed by many other     
volumes which  may help in the better   
equipment of the ,jewish teaching       
profession4      ,,julius ,h4           
,,greenstone1 ,chairman1    ,committee  

on ,education of the    ,united         
,synagogue of ,america4                 
,,philadelphia1 ,june #aa1 #aiag4       
,,contents                              
,,page      ,introduction               
#ac        ,,part ,i      ,,from ,,the  
,,creation ,,to ,,the ,,death ,,of      
,,joseph      ,,chapter      ,i4        
,creation                               
#ce      ,,ii4 ,adam and ,eve           
#ch      ,,iii4 ,cain and ,abel         
#da      ,,iv4 ,noah                    
#dd      ,v4 ,the ,tower of ,babel      
#dg      ,,vi4 ,the ,choice of ,abram   
and the ,choice of ,canaan       #di    
,,vii4 ,beginning of ,abram's ,greatness
                    #ec      ,,viii4    
,hagar and the ,birth of ,ishmael       
#ef      ,,ix4 ,abraham ,entertains the 
,angels                      #fb        
,x4 ,the ,destruction of ,sodom and     
,gomorrah               #fg      ,,xi4  
,the ,divorce of ,hagar                 
#gj      ,,xii4 ,the ,sacrifice of      
,isaac                            #gc   

,,xiii4 ,the ,death of ,sarah and the   
,marriage of          ,isaac and        
,rebekah                                
#gh      ,,xiv4 ,the ,sale of the       
,birthright                        #hj  
,,xv4 ,jacob ,secures the ,blessing     
#hi      ,,xvi4 ,jacob's ,dream         
#ic      ,,xvii4 ,jacob in ,aramea      
#if      ,,xviii4 ,jacob ,returns to    
,canaan                         #ii     
,,xix4 ,joseph ,sold into ,slavery      
#ajd      ,,xx4 ,from ,slave to ,viceroy
                             #aji       
,,xxi4 ,joseph ,meets ,his ,brothers    
#aac      ,,xxii4 ,joseph ,reveals      
,himself to ,his ,brothers          #aag
      ,,xxiii4 ,the ,death of ,jacob and
 of ,joseph               #abj          
,,part ,,ii      ,,israel ,,under ,,the 
,,leadership ,,of ,,moses      ,,chapter
                                        
,,page      ,i4 ,the ,birth of ,moses   
#abg      ,,ii4 ,moses1 the ,friend of  
the ,weak and the ,oppressed   #acc     
,,iii4 ,god ,sends ,moses to ,save ,his 

,people               #ace      ,,iv4   
,moses' ,first ,appearance before       
,pharaoh            #adj      ,v4 ,the  
,plagues                                
#ade      ,,vi4 ,the ,exodus            
#adi      ,,vii4 ,israel at the ,red    
,sea                            #aef    
,,viii4 ,from the ,red ,sea to ,sinai   
#afj      ,,ix4 ,the ,revelation        
#afd      ,x4 ,the ,golden ,calf        
#agc      ,,xi4 ,the ,tabernacle and its
 ,service                    #ahc       
,,xii4 ,trials of ,moses and ,israel in 
the ,wilderness     #aij      ,,xiii4   
,the ,spies                             
#aig      ,,xiv4 ,more ,trials of ,moses
                             #bja       
,,xv4 ,israel ,arrives at the ,border of
 the ,promised          ,land           
#bji      ,,xvi4 ,the ,death of ,moses  
#baf          ,,introduction            
,purpose of ,manual4 ,in recent years   
some attention has been  given to the   
improvement of ,jewish educational      
method so far as  instruction in the    

,hebrew language is concerned1 but the  
teaching  of ,biblical history1 although
 it holds an important place in the     
curricula of our religious schools1 has 
received relatively little  attention   
from our educators1 at least from those 
of orthodox and  conservative           
tendencies4 ,from the reform point of   
view some recent  publications1 though  
exhibiting the faults which all early   
efforts  in any direction necessarily   
show1 do mark a decided pedagogic       
advance on the older unmethodical way in
 which the subject was  taught4 ,but    
from the point of view of traditional   
,judaism they are  inadequate1 however  
helpful some of their pedagogic         
suggestions  may be1 since they are     
guided by a different ideal4 ,this      
manual  attempts to assist the teacher  
of ,biblical history from the point  of 
view of ,traditional ,judaism4 ,for     
whoever considers from this  point of   
view the way in which ,biblical history 
is taught must come  to the conclusion  

that not only are we not realizing to   
the full  the educational values which  
the study of ,biblical history affords1 
but we are often giving our children    
very false notions of the  ,bible       
characters and of the lessons which the 
story of their lives  is intended to    
teach ,israel4 ,to develop a good course
 of study in  ,biblical history cannot  
be the work of one man nor can it be    
done  at one time4 ,it is hoped however 
that the suggestions contained in  this 
book may assist the earnest teacher to  
make his instruction  more fruitful of  
good results for ,judaism4    ,three    
factors determining method of           
instruction4 ,every discussion  of      
pedagogic method as applied to a        
particular branch of study must  take   
three factors into consideration3 the   
aim of instruction1 the  subject to be  
taught1 and the child--his mode of      
thought1 interests  and capacity4       
,,the ,,aim4 ,the first thing that we   
must bear in mind is that the aim  of   

all ,jewish education must be a ,jewish 
life2 that the aim of each  branch of   
,jewish study must be formulated not    
primarily in terms  of information to be
 conveyed1 but of ,jewish habits of     
thought and  action to be cultivated4   
,it follows that ,biblical history as   
taught  by a ,jew who believes in the   
authority of the ,torah and the mitzvoth
  over our lives must be very different 
from the same subject as  taught by one 
to whom ,judaism is merely a number of  
moral maxims  and the dogma of the      
unity4 ,this book1 attempting as it does
 to  treat the problem from the point of
 view of traditional ,judaism1          
considers that the main object of       
instruction in ,biblical history is  to 
inspire the child with an appreciation  
of the religious ideals  that have      
moulded ,israel's life in the past1 with
 an understanding  of how these same    
ideals express themselves in the        
religious  institutions of the present  
day1 and with the desire to further the 

historic aims of ,israel's existence    
through identification with the         
institutional life of ,israel1 that is  
through the observance of the  mitzvoth1
 affiliation with the synagogue1 etc4   
,particularly must  we create in the    
child the sense of his personal identity
 with his  people1 for this is the lever
 by which the events of the ,biblical   
narrative can move the ,jew to active   
interest in ,judaism4 ,he must  feel    
that ,god's choice of ,israel means that
 ,god has chosen him to  live a certain 
life1 the life of the ,torah1 and that  
if he fails  to live this life1 he sins 
against ,god and betrays his people4 ,he
  should feel proud of the heroes of his
 nation and inspired with a  sense of   
the obligations that his noble descent  
imposes4 ,he must be  made to discover  
the spiritual kinship that links him    
with the rest  of ,israel in the past1  
present and future4 ,unless we can      
accomplish  this we have not succeeded  
in our teaching of ,biblical history4   

,wrong and right conception of aim      
illustrated4 ,a lack of  appreciation of
 these aims has often led to the        
treatment of the  ,biblical narrative as
 if it were merely a series of moral    
stories  or1 at any rate1 of stories    
into which a moral can be read4         
,according to this method the connection
 of the ,jewish people today  with the  
people of the ,bible is almost wholly   
ignored and there is  no appreciable    
difference in the way the events of the 
,biblical  narrative are taught and1 let
 us say1 the incidents of some highly   
moral fairy tale or folk-lore of other  
peoples4 ,to give an example ,i  quote  
the following summary of a lesson on    
,moses' ,return to ,egypt3    ,so then  
we can learn these two noble things from
 our lesson2  modesty adorns everybody  
even the greatest people1 yes very often
  the greatest people are the most      
modest4 ,and further1 when we have      
begun to do something1 let us do it with
 all our might and stick  to it till it 

is finished1 no matter what it is1      
whether a school  lesson or setting a   
people free2 whatever is worth doing at 
all is  worth doing well4    ,one could 
imagine the same moral attached to the  
story of ,george  ,washington or of     
,cincinnatus and brought home as        
effectively by it4  ,the difference     
between the right and the wrong method  
of treating  the ,biblical narrative    
from the point of view of the aim of    
such  instruction can be seen if we     
contrast the above with the simple      
summary of the same lesson in the       
,passover ,haggadah3    ,slaves were we 
unto ,pharaoh in ,egypt and the ,lord   
our ,god brought  us forth thence with a
 strong hand and with an outstretched   
arm4 ,and  if the ,holy ,one1 ,blessed  
be ,he1 had not brought forth our       
fathers  from ,egypt behold we and our  
children and our children's children    
might still be bondmen to ,pharaoh in   
,egypt4 ,and again3 ,in every           
generation one is obliged to regard     

himself as if he in person had  come    
forth from ,egypt1 as it is said1 ',and 
thou shalt tell thy son  in that day    
saying1 ,it is because of that which the
 ,lord did for me  when ,i went forth   
from ,egypt4' ,not our fathers alone did
 the ,holy  ,one1 ,blessed be ,he1      
redeem but us also did ,he redeem with  
them1 as  it is said1 ',and us did ,he  
bring forth thence in order to bring us 
hither to give us the land which ,he had
 sworn to our fathers4'    ,according to
 the method of the former quotation     
,biblical history is  no more related to
 the child than the story of the ,iliad1
 according  to the latter it is his own 
history1 the study of which helps him to
  self knowledge1 to the knowledge of   
his ,jewish self1 the knowledge  of the 
ties that bind him to his fellow ,jews  
and the ,jewish people  to its ,god4    
,much more might be said of the effect  
upon the method  of instruction of a    
clear conception of the aim of          
instruction in  ,biblical history when  

thus conceived in terms of ,jewish life1
 but a  study of the lessons given in   
this book will suffice to explain this  
without the need of further             
amplification1 so we may pass to the    
consideration of the subject-matter to  
be taught as a determining  factor in   
the method of instruction4    ,the      
subject-matter3 ,biblical history4 ,i   
have throughout referred  to the        
subject-matter under the name not of    
,jewish history but of  ,biblical       
history and ,i have done so advisedly4  
,for the term ,jewish  history does not 
commit one to that interpretation of the
 early  history of our people which is  
to be found in the ,bible4 ,from the    
,jewish point of view the ,bible1 in its
 narrative portions as well  as in its  
laws1 is ,torah1 that is authoritative  
teaching4 ,it does  not merely recall   
the early events of ,jewish history but 
it takes  a distinct attitude to these  
events1 seeing in them the revelation   
of a divine purpose2 it not only tells  

the deeds of ,biblical  heroes but it   
passes judgment upon them1 here         
approving and there  disapproving2 and  
it is precisely this attitude to ,jewish
 history1  this interpretation of the   
significance of historic events1 which  
must be made an influence in the life of
 the child4 ,if we were  merely teaching
 ,jewish history as such and looked upon
 the ,bible  merely as the source book  
of this history we might tell the story 
of  the ,exodus somewhat in this        
fashion3    ,the children of ,israel who
 had at the beginning of their sojourn  
in  ,egypt been well treated by the     
,egyptian rulers1 owing to a change  of 
dynasty were subjected to oppression and
 forced to do servile  labor for the    
,pharaohs4 ,they took advantage however 
of a series of  calamities that visited 
,egypt1 which their leaders ,moses and  
,aaron  interpreted to the ,egyptians as
 signs of the divine wrath incurred  by 
her because of her oppression of the    
,israelites1 and so left  ,egypt in a   

body4    ,the above account is ,jewish  
history but it is not ,biblical history 
for it has nothing to say about the     
significance of these events  as the    
,bible regards them4 ,it does not tell  
us that ,moses was sent  by ,god1 it    
does not know anything of the covenant  
with ,abraham of  which these events are
 the fulfillment1 it does not therefore 
see  in the ,exodus one link in a chain 
of events having its beginning in  the  
election of ,abraham and its            
consummation in the revelation at       
,sinai4 ,in the ,biblical narrative what
 is most conspicuous is the  ,eba'      
,elohim1 the finger of ,god1 in the     
merely historic account  this may       
altogether be omitted4    ,must give    
,biblical moral to ,jewish history4     
,very few teachers  in our ,jewish      
schools1 if any1 would make the mistake 
of teaching  the events narrated in the 
,bible merely as cold facts without any 
attempt at giving them religious        
significance1 though frequent  efforts  

at rationalization tend in this         
direction4 ,for the most  part1 the aim 
in teaching the early history of our    
people is felt to  be a religious one   
and to call for a religious             
interpretation of the  events recorded4 
,we are not loath to attach a moral to  
the stories  we tell our children1 but  
where we fail is that we imagine any    
moral  which we can read into the story 
is satisfactory4 ,we have already  shown
 how the consideration of the aim of    
instruction in ,biblical  history1 from 
the point of view of traditional        
,judaism1 opposes this  method and      
limits the moral which should be taught 
in connection  with any given story1 but
 the consideration of the subject-matter
  to be taught limits it still further4 
,we must not only give a  ,jewish moral 
to each episode in the ,biblical        
narrative but we must  give the child   
the specific moral that the ,bible      
itself attaches  to that episode4 ,if we
 take our ,bible seriously1 if we regard

 its  interpretation of the events of   
our history as essentially true1  as    
indeed part of the ,torah1 a divine     
revelation1 then it becomes  our duty to
 give this interpretation of events and 
not another to  our children4 ,we       
sometimes excuse to ourselves the       
perversion of  the ,biblical moral on   
the ground that because children are    
children  they frequently cannot grasp  
what is really the ,biblical lesson4 ,if
  in any given instance this is the     
case1 it is better not to teach  that   
story at all to the child than to       
falsify it4 ,but usually the  ideas of  
the ,bible can be brought home to the   
child if we but take  the trouble to    
translate them into the language of     
childhood and  illustrate them out of   
the child's own experience4 ,it is      
largely  due to indolence on the part of
 the teacher that we so frequently  sin 
against the ,biblical sense of a story4 
,i have heard the story  of ,abraham's  
divorce of ,hagar told as if it were a  

mere family  squabble in which ,sarah1  
by shrewish persistence finally prevails
  upon the meek and submissive ,abraham 
somewhat reluctantly to send  away      
,hagar1 who had aroused her jealousy4   
,abraham was made a rather  doubtful    
hero who represented the virtue of      
loving peace--peace  at any price as the
 narrative showed--and ,sarah was       
regarded as  acting in a mean and       
ungodly capacity4 ,had that teacher read
 her  ,bible carefully and intelligently
 before coming to class she could  not  
have been guilty of such grotesque      
distortion of the ,biblical  story1 by  
which it is made not only trivial but   
ludicrous4 ,she would  then have        
realized that ,ishmael had to be        
separated from ,isaac for  the same     
reason that ,lot had to be separated    
from ,abraham and ,esau  from ,jacob1   
because they were not of the seed from  
which ,israel was  destined to spring2  
that even before the birth of ,ishmael  
we have  the prophecy told to ,hagar1   

,and he shall be a wild ass of a man2   
his hand shall be against every man and 
every man's hand against  him 7,genesis 
#af4 #ab74 ,she would have observed that
 in the words  of the ,rabbis ,abraham  
was subordinate to ,sarah in prophecy1  
that  just as ,isaac showed a mistaken  
preference for ,esau so ,abraham when   
the birth of ,isaac is predicted to him 
pleaded1 ,oh that ,ishmael  might live  
before thee61 and that the ,bible       
recognizes the superior  prophetic      
insight of ,sarah by telling us that    
,god commanded ,abraham  explicitly1    
,let it not be grievous in thy eyes     
because of the  lad and because of thy  
bond-woman2 in all that ,sarah may say  
unto  thee1 hearken to her voice2 for in
 ,isaac shall thy seed be called4       
,surely1 though the story undoubtedly   
presents difficulties of a  pedagogic   
nature1 it is not impossible to teach a 
child that ,god  foresaw that ,ishmael  
would be a pere adam 7a wild ass of a   
man71  that he did not wish the chosen  

people1 who were to inherit the         
promised land1 to be possessed of such  
traits1 and that therefore  ,ishmael had
 to be sent away so that ,isaac and his 
descendants might  become the great     
people he had promised ,abraham they    
would become4  ,in this way the ,bible  
speaks for itself and tells a story that
 is  quite as intelligible to the child 
as the one that the teacher ,i  have    
mentioned told1 quite as intelligible   
and infinitely more  edifying4 ,i have  
given this instance at some length      
because it seems  to me typical of the  
mischief that can be done by reading    
into the  ,biblical narrative any moral 
that may come to hand instead of the    
moral that the ,bible itself intended4  
,need of ,bible study for teacher4 ,this
 manual will endeavor in each  lesson to
 point out to the best of its author's  
understanding what  the ,biblical moral 
of the lesson is4 ,but1 as              
interpretations are  always subject to  
differences of opinion1 a study of the  

suggestions  contained in its chapters  
cannot relieve the teacher of the       
responsibility of a careful independent 
study1 before entering the  class-room1 
of the ,biblical passages whose story he
 wishes to teach4    ,the child as      
determining method4 ,and after he has   
mastered for  himself the meaning of the
 ,biblical narrative1 he must study how 
to impart this to the child in a way    
that shall make it not only             
comprehensible but interesting1 and all 
this without sacrifice  of the aim of   
instruction4 ,an adequate treatment of  
method in  teaching ,biblical history   
from the point of view of the interests 
and capacities of the ,jewish child is  
at present impossible4 ,we  need years  
of study and experimentation in this    
direction before  we can do it complete 
justice1 but a few universally          
recognized  pedagogic principles may    
briefly be considered here in their     
bearing  upon our subject4 ,we have     
spoken of the need of effort on the part

  of the teacher to make the lesson     
comprehensible and interesting1  and we 
shall therefore give some attention to  
two questions3 7#a7  ,how can the lesson
 be made comprehensible8 7#b7 ,how can  
it be made  interesting8 ,we shall treat
 the questions separately for the sake  
of convenience1 though1 as a matter of  
fact1 they are inseparable2  for neither
 can a child be expected to interest    
himself in what  he cannot understand   
nor can he be made to understand        
anything  that involves the least       
difficulty without giving that sustained
  attention which only interest can     
elicit from him4    ,how to make lesson 
comprehensible4 ,proceed from known to  
unknown4  ,the most important rule to   
bear in mind in order to make the       
teaching comprehensible is the familiar 
truism that one must  proceed from the  
known to the unknown and keep constantly
 defining  the unknown in terms of what 
is already known to the child4 ,as is   
the case with most truisms1 the truth of

 this statement is more  frequently     
recognized than applied4 ,take for      
instance the very first  sentence in one
 of the ,biblical histories intended for
 the use of  children4 ,it reads1 ,in   
the beginning ,god created the heaven   
and  the earth1 that is the whole       
visible world4 ,was there ever a human  
being who did not know what heaven and  
earth meant and yet knew what  the whole
 visible world meant8 ,contrast with    
this the following from  another        
text-book3    ,once a long1 long time   
ago there was no one living on this     
earth  that is now so full of people4   
,there were no living things at all     
here3 no cattle1 no wild beasts1  no    
birds1 no butterflies or insects of any 
kind and no fishes in the  sea4         
,before that there were no green growing
 things here2 no grass1 no  trees1 no   
flowers4    ,in the beginning ,god made 
the heaven and the earth4    ,in the    
beginning was a time so long ago that no
 one knows when it  was4    ,how much   

better is this way of beginning the     
story of creation from  what the child  
has experienced of created objects than 
to begin with  non existence and chaos4 
,few of us realize how many terms that  
are  commonplaces with us mean nothing  
to the child4 ,particularly is this     
true of terms used in the ,bible and    
descriptive of things familiar  in the  
primitive orient but little known in the
 modern occident1  such as altar1       
sacrifice1 tabernacle1 caravan1 to name 
but a few4    ,avoid formal definition4 
,but at this point a word of caution is 
necessary against a too pedantic        
application of this principle of        
defining the terms that are used in the 
child's instruction4 ,for  example one  
book of ,bible stories for young        
children prefixes to  the story of      
creation a vocabulary which includes    
explanations of  such words as ground1  
dark1 light1 sky1 under1 above1 good1   
rest4  ,but it must be apparent that a  
child who cannot without previous       

explanations understand such simple     
words as these is not in a  position to 
profit by instruction in ,biblical      
history at all4 ,it  is possible so to  
overload a story with definitions that  
the whole  thread of the narrative is   
lost4 ,we must be cautious lest our     
pupils  fail to see the forest by very  
reason of the trees4 ,ample allowance   
must be made for the constructive       
imagination of the child1 which  builds 
up its own definitions out of the       
material of the narrative  itself4      
,children have always had an            
understanding of fairy tales  without   
ever having had the terms fairy1 witch1 
king and princess  defined for them4    
,when you tell a child that the king sat
 on a high  throne with his crown on his
 head1 his sceptre in his hand1 while   
all the people bowed down to him1 the   
child1 though he has never  seen a      
throne1 will recognize that it is       
something on which kings  sit1 that a   
crown is something that a king wears on 

his head1 a  sceptre something that a   
king holds in his hand1 and that a king 
is  a man who is distinguished from     
other men and to whom they bow1  a very 
good working definition of a king which 
would make quite  unnecessary any       
elaborate attempt to define for a child 
the concept  of royalty4 ,in fact1      
formal definition should be avoided     
wherever  possible1 and the skilful     
teacher will know how to make a story   
define its own terms in the same way as 
the sentence that we just  gave as an   
instance defined for the child the four 
unknown terms3  king1 throne1 crown1 and
 sceptre4 ,indeed the most important    
idea of  all1 that we have to give to   
the child cannot be defined otherwise   
even to ourselves1 namely the idea of   
,god4 ,the general rule to be  followed 
may be laid down in these words3 ,never 
define for the child  any term that the 
story itself can be made to define but  
do define  every necessary term that the
 story itself cannot be made to define4 

,it is worth while noting in this       
connection that the best definition  for
 a concrete object is the object itself 
or a picture of it4    ,how to make the 
lesson interesting4 ,oral instruction   
preferable4  ,so much for the question  
how to make the lesson comprehensible to
  the child4 ,as has already been said1 
this in itself goes a great  way toward 
answering as well our second question1  
how to make it  interesting1 but other  
considerations must also be taken into  
account4 ,the art of teaching history is
 in great part the art of  story        
telling4 ,children love stories and     
particularly true stories  if they are  
well told1 but this love of a child for 
a good story is  limited1 especially in 
earlier years1 to a story that is told4 
,the  mere technical difficulties of    
reading1 the physical inconvenience  of 
the posture demanded1 the absence of    
that commentary which voice  and gesture
 supply to the story1 the impossibility 
of asking  a book questions1 and a      

number of other similar considerations  
make it undesirable that the first      
acquaintance of a child with a  lesson  
shall come from a text-book4 ,text-books
 have their uses1  particularly in the  
higher grades1 for purposes of review1  
to aid  the memory in retaining what has
 already been taught by word of  mouth1 
but the practice that obtains in some   
schools of expecting  the child to learn
 the lesson from the book before he     
comes to class  is bad and should be    
avoided4    ,some suggestions as to     
story telling4 ,if then the first       
presentation of a lesson must be given  
orally by the teacher1 it  follows that 
the teacher has to perfect himself in   
the art of story  telling4 ,like all    
other arts1 the art of story telling    
cannot be  imparted by rule and         
particularly not within the small scope 
of  this introduction4 ,a few           
suggestions however may be helpful4     
,lewis  ,carrol1 whose ,alice in        
,wonderland shows a rare insight into   

the  childish mind1 makes his ,alice    
express a preference for books with     
plenty of illustrations and             
conversation4 ,there are two hints here 
that are of value to the teacher of     
,biblical history1 the first  is to use 
pictures to illustrate a story and the  
second always to  prefer direct         
discourse to indirect4 ,to take up the  
second of these  suggestions first1     
compare the following accounts of the   
same event  and ask yourself which      
appeals more to you3         #a4 ,then  
,joseph could not refrain himself before
 all them that       stood by him and he
 ordered every man to leave him4 ,and   
there       stood no man with him while 
,joseph made himself known to his       
brethren4 ,and he wept aloud and the    
,egyptians heard and the       house of 
,pharaoh heard4 ,and ,joseph told his   
brethren who he was       and asked     
whether his father was yet alive4 ,and  
his brethren       could not answer him1
 for they were affrighted at his        

presence4       ,joseph told them to    
come near1 and they came near1 and he   
told       them that he was ,joseph whom
 they had sold into ,egypt and that     
they should not be grieved nor angry    
with themselves for having       sold   
him thither1 for it was in order to     
preserve life that ,god       had sent  
him before them4 ,for the famine had    
been in the land       for two years and
 there yet remained five years during   
which       there would be neither      
plowing nor harvest1 and so ,god had    
sent       him before them to give them 
a remnant on the earth and to keep      
them alive for a great deliverance4     
#b4 ,then could ,joseph not refrain     
himself before all them that       stood
 by him2 and he cried1 ,cause every man 
to go out from       me4 ,and there     
stood no man with him when ,joseph made 
himself       known unto his brethren4  
,and he wept aloud1 and the ,egyptians  
heard and the house of ,pharaoh heard4  
,and ,joseph said unto       his        

brethren1 ,i am ,joseph2 doth my father 
yet live8 ,and his       brethren could 
not answer him for they were affrighted 
at his       presence4 ,and ,joseph said
 unto his brethren1 ,come near to me1   
,i pray you4 ,and they came near4 ,and  
he said3 ,i am ,joseph your             
brother whom ye sold into ,egypt4 ,and  
now be not grieved1 nor       angry with
 yourselves1 that ye sold me hither2 for
 ,god did send       me before you to   
preserve life4 ,for these two years hath
 the       famine been in the land2 and 
there are yet five years in which       
there shall be neither plowing nor      
harvest4 ,and ,god sent me       before 
you to give you a remnant on the earth  
and to save you       alive for a great 
deliverance4    ,the reader will at once
 recognize in the second citation the   
exact  language of the ,bible4 ,the     
first is the same passage turned into   
indirect discourse with no other change 
in its wording1 yet how much  it loses  
in force even for us adults and even in 

print2 for children  and in actual      
narration the story would lose even     
more4    ,the advantage of using        
illustrations4 ,as for the advantage  of
 using illustrations whether in the form
 of pictures that  are distributed and  
passed around the class or in the form  
of  stereoptican views1 we have already 
suggested one advantage in  that they   
help define for the child the meaning of
 some of the  concrete terms not yet in 
his vocabulary1 but they perform a still
  more important function in helping him
 to visualize the narrative4  ,for what 
we see seems always a more intimate part
 of our experience  than what we have   
merely heard4 ,when ,job wants to       
express the deeper  intimacy of his new 
knowledge of ,god after ,god had        
appeared to him  he declares1 ,i had    
heard of ,thee by the hearing of the    
ear1 but now  mine eye seeth ,thee4     
7,job #db4 #e47    ,when to use         
illustrations and what illustrations to 
use4 ,though  the use of illustrations1 

particularly of stereoptican views1     
which  have the advantage of focusing   
the attention of the class on one       
thing1 are a decided help1 they should  
be used only in reviewing the  lesson4  
,the reasons for this are3 #a4 that the 
picture distracts the  attention of the 
class from what the teacher is saying1  
#b4 that it  prevents the smooth flow of
 narrative by the necessity of          
explaining  details of the picture that 
are often irrelevant1 #c4 that the      
interest in the dramatic dialogue of the
 characters which reveals  their motives
 and1 in most cases1 the actual moral of
 the story is  sacrificed to the        
interest in picturesque details of      
dress1 scenery1  etc41 #d4 that the     
teacher is at the mercy of the artist's 
conception  of the ,biblical narrative  
which rarely does it justice from a     
,jewish or from an artistic point of    
view1 and often does violence  to the   
nobler conception of the story that the 
unaided imagination1  stimulated by the 

teacher's narrative1 would have         
constructed4  ,pictures that represent  
,god in human form should of course not 
be  allowed in a ,jewish school4 ,nor   
should the school use such pictures  as 
represent anything of a mystical        
character in images so definite  and    
familiar that they dispel the whole     
mystical atmosphere4 ,when1  for        
instance1 the revelation on ,mount      
,sinai is represented by two  tablets of
 stone falling from heaven into the     
waiting hands of  ,moses1 as in one     
familiar picture1 it is hardly likely to
 instil  the highest form of reverence4 
,or when1 as in another picture1 the    
ascension of ,elijah is represented by a
 chariot drawn by horses of  a brilliant
 red1 meant to suggest fire but too     
definite in outline  to permit of such  
suggestion1 the child will in all       
probability  merely be amused at the    
peculiar color of the horses and the    
picture  will not have illustrated the  
story for him at all4 ,it is therefore  

apparent that the teacher must exercise 
some sort of censorship over  the       
illustrations used in teaching4    ,self
 activity of child4 ,we have several    
times referred to the  activity of the  
child's own imagination in working over 
in his mind  the material supplied by   
the teacher1 and the recognition of the 
fact that the child's mind is not       
passive but active leads us to the      
acceptance of a principle of the most   
far reaching importance in all          
education1 namely1 that the teacher     
cannot impart a lesson unless  he can   
get the child's mind of its own accord  
to seek that very  knowledge that he    
wishes to impart4 ,this is the wisdom of
 the homely  proverb1 ,you can lead a   
horse to water but you cannot make him  
drink4 ,we must stimulate an appetite   
for the mental food we wish to  give the
 pupil even before we give it4 ,how can 
this be done8    ,jewish symbols and    
ceremonies a stimulus to self activity4 
,when  discussing the aim of instruction

 in ,biblical history we took a  hint   
from the ,haggadah for ,passover1 the   
reading of which was  mainly intended   
for pedagogic purpose since it is in    
fulfillment  of the commandment1 ,and   
thou shalt tell to thy son in that day2 
we may take another hint from it in this
 connection4 ,the child  at table on    
,passover eve sees before him a number  
of curious  objects and ceremonials to  
which he is not accustomed4 ,he sees the
  maot1 the maror1 and other symbols1 he
 also notices the  reclining attitude   
instead of the usual erect posture1 and 
so  he very naturally exclaims mah      
nishtannah6 ,how different is  this     
night from other nights6 ,then when his 
own curiosity has  been stimulated he is
 given the answer to his questions and  
the  lesson has been impressed upon him4
 ,the symbols and ceremonies  of ,jewish
 life which have their origin or        
explanation in the  ,biblical narrative 
are excellently adapted for this        
stimulation  of intellectual curiosity  

which should precede the telling of the 
story4 ,a reference to the ,sabbath and 
how it is observed might  well precede  
the story of creation which explains its
 origin and  significance2 a reference  
to the ,passover observances might well 
precede an account of the ,exodus2 a    
reference to the synagogue might        
precede an account of the construction  
of the tabernacle1 etc4 ,these  serve   
the double function of interesting the  
child in the narrative  and of          
interesting him in those things in      
,jewish life which the  narrative helps 
to explain4 ,where an object of ,jewish 
ceremonial  life cannot be found with   
which to stimulate his curiosity1 some  
other fact of his experience may be     
taken instead4 ,thus the story  of ,noah
 might well be introduced by reference  
to the rainbow1 the  meaning of which   
the teacher will then undertake to      
explain to the  child by the story4     
,the teacher's question as a stimulus to
 self activity4 ,inasmuch as  there are 

in every class those of the type        
mentioned in the ,haggadah  who know not
 how to question1 it often becomes      
advisable for the  teacher himself to   
put to the class the question that he   
wishes to  have answered4 ,and indeed an
 occasional question from the teacher   
in the very midst of the story may go a 
great way toward arousing  interest and 
securing a clearer comprehension4 ,thus 
it may be that  the teacher is telling  
the story of ,joseph4 ,he reaches the   
point  where ,joseph's brothers come to 
him to buy corn and explains how        
,joseph1 having recognized them without 
their having recognized him1  had them  
wholly in his power4 ,he then asks1 ,now
 what do you think  you would do if you 
were ,joseph and your brothers had      
treated you so  cruelly and then they   
come to you for food and you have them  
in your  power8 ,at once he has the     
class interested in the question of what
  ,joseph actually did and their        
interest in the rest of the story as    

well as their better comprehension of   
the motives that underlie it  is        
secured4    ,the pupil's recitation4 ,so
 much for the teacher's original        
presentation of the lesson4 ,this       
completed1 the child must be  called    
upon to recite it1 not primarily1 as    
most teachers seem to  think1 in order  
to give the teacher a chance to find out
 whether  the child had learned the     
lesson1 but because the necessity of    
telling it over to the teacher forces   
the child to think about the  subject of
 the lesson and once more appeals to his
 self activity4  ,the questions asked by
 the teacher should not be merely such  
as  call for items of information but   
such as require the exercise of         
intelligence on the pupil's part and    
give evidence not only of his           
remembering the story but of his        
understanding it4 ,if for example  the  
teacher wishes to question the child on 
the story of creation1  such formal     
questions as ,in how many days did ,god 

make the world8  ,what did he make on   
the first day8 ,what did he make on the 
second  day8 etc41 are not enough1 as   
they test the memory only4 ,he should   
ask such questions as these3 ,why do we 
rest on the seventh day of  each week8  
,what was the last thing ,god made8 ,why
 did ,god make man  last8 ,for these    
test not only the memory but the        
understanding as  well4 ,the story that 
the children tell when thus asked to    
repeat the  lesson will give the teacher
 an idea of what points have impressed  
themselves on them and what have not1   
and on the basis of these he  must      
question further4 ,in general there     
ought to be fewer questions  beginning  
with what and more beginning with why4  
,dramatization of lesson4 ,beside the   
repetition of the lesson  by the child  
in the form of a recitation and the     
answering of  questions1 there are many 
stories1 in which the interest centers  
chiefly in the dramatic dialogue1 that  
children might be encouraged  to        

dramatize in class4 ,the dramatization  
must be made by the  children themselves
 in the spirit of free play1 the teacher
 merely  offering general suggestions   
but the dialogue being the spontaneous  
creation of the children4 ,the natural  
imitative instinct of children  which   
makes so much of their play the mimicry 
of the activities  and occupations of   
their adult environment1 takes very     
kindly to  this sort of make-believe4   
,at the same time this exercise enables 
them to enter into the motives of the   
,biblical characters and to  understand 
and remember the incidents of the       
,biblical narrative  as few exercises   
can4 ,nor need the teacher be           
discouraged by the  lack of accessories 
to dramatization such as scenery and    
costume4  ,the child's imagination1     
which can convert a rocking chair into a
  boat or a table into a mountain1 can  
easily dispense with those  accessories 
which the sophisticated mind of the     
adult requires4  ,stories that lend     

themselves to such treatment are ,esau's
 sale of  the birthright1 ,isaac's      
blessing of ,jacob and ,esau and the    
various  episodes of the ,joseph        
narrative4    ,the teacher's            
preparation4 ,it follows from the above 
discussion  that the teacher of         
,biblical history who wishes to do      
justice to  his subject must give       
careful preparation to each lesson1 not 
only1  as we have already suggested1    
with a view to understanding the        
significance of the ,biblical passages  
that he wishes to teach1 but  also with 
a view to teaching them effectively to  
the child4 ,this  preparation must      
include #a4 inquiry as to object in     
teaching that  particular lesson to the 
child1 #b4 the effort to find some point
 of  contact between the theme of the   
lesson and the previous knowledge  and  
experience of the child such as would   
appeal to his interest1  #c4 the study  
of the subject from the point of view of
 literary and  oratorical effectiveness 

in the presentation1 #d4 the attempt to 
find  the best possible illustrations   
and applications of the lesson to  the  
life of the child1 #e4 preparation of   
questions and other devices  by which   
the child is made to work over the      
lesson in his own mind  and give proof  
of having assimilated it4 ,in the       
chapters of this  manual the object of  
each lesson according to the author's   
opinion  will be pointed out and        
suggestions will1 from time to time1 be 
given as to the other points that have  
been here enumerated4 ,this  book       
refrains1 however1 from giving a        
detailed plan of each lesson  as it is  
deemed important not to put restraints  
on the originality  and initiative of   
the teacher but on the contrary1 to     
encourage  free and spontaneous         
expression of personality both on the   
part of  teacher and of pupil4          
,summary4 ,much more might be said about
 the method of teaching  ,biblical      
history1 but this will have to suffice  

by way of  introduction to the more     
concrete suggestions that are to follow 
in  the chapters of this book4 ,it may  
be well1 however1 before closing  to    
summarize the more important conclusions
 reached3    #a4 ,that the aim in       
instructing the child in ,biblical      
history is not  merely to teach him a   
moral such as he might learn from any   
edifying  story but to influence his    
life through the consciousness of his   
spiritual identity with the ,israel of  
the ,bible2    #b4 ,that the events     
narrated must be given the same         
significance that  the ,bible itself    
gives them and not any convenient moral 
that we may  wish to append to them2    
#c4 ,that teaching shall be so adapted  
to the child as to make the  lesson 7a7 
comprehensible1 7b7 interesting2    7a7 
,that in order to be comprehensible it  
must proceed from the  known to the     
unknown and must define the unknown in  
terms of the  known1 avoiding however1  
so far as possible1 all formal          

definition1  and leaving large scope for
 the exercise of the child's            
imagination2    7b7 ,that in order to be
 interesting the lesson should first be 
presented by the teacher orally in a    
style made vivid by plenty of           
conversation quoted directly1 and that  
this may well be followed up  by        
illustrations such as the showing of    
pictures or stereoptican  views2 that   
the teacher stimulate the curiosity of  
the child before  beginning the lesson  
preferably by the introduction of some  
relevant  object of ,jewish ceremonial1 
but1 in the absence of that1 by some    
other appeal to the child's experience2 
and finally1 that the  teacher encourage
 self activity and self expression on   
the part of  the child by tactful       
questions both in the course of         
presenting the  lesson and when the     
child is asked1 as he should be1 to     
recite the  lesson he has learned4      
,these suggestions it is hoped may prove
 of some help to the  earnest teacher of

 ,biblical history4 ,in the chapters    
which  follow1 an attempt is made to    
give them more concrete and  definite   
illustration4 ,each chapter will        
therefore contain #a4  the              
interpretation of the subject-matter of 
the lesson1 #b4 a  brief discussion of  
the aim in teaching it1 and #c4         
miscellaneous  suggestions as to the way
 it can best be made to appeal to the   
child4          ,,part ,i    ,,from     
,,creation ,,to ,,the ,,death ,,of      
,,joseph          ,,chapter ,i          
,,creation ,genesis #a4a to #b4c        
,note4--,the lessons in this book are   
necessarily divided somewhat            
arbitrarily1 that is without exact      
reference to the amount       that can  
be taught at a single session of the    
school4 ,this is       unavoidable at   
present as periods vary in length in    
different       schools1 and classes    
vary in age and in the mental           
development       of their pupils4 ,the 
division therefore has been purely on   

the       basis of the subject-matter   
and not of the time to be spent in      
instruction4 ,some lessons may require  
two or even three hours       for their 
complete presentation4                  
,interpretation4 ,the early narratives  
of ,genesis serve as an  introduction to
 ,biblical history by giving the ,jewish
 view of the  origin of the world in    
general and the human race in           
particular1  preparatory to discussing  
the role that ,israel was destined to   
play  in the world4 ,the following are  
some of the most significant ideas  that
 the narrative of the creation has to   
tell us with regard to the  world and   
man's place in it3    #a4 ,that ,god is 
the creator and consequently supreme    
over matter1  nature and the world2     
#b4 ,that man is the highest being in   
the order of creation by reason  of his 
being possessed of the divine attributes
 of reason and  conscience as intimated 
in the words in our image according to  
our  likeness2    #c4 ,that ,god loves  

,his creatures    whom  he hath created 
in accordance with the attribute of     
mercy2    #d4 ,that ,god in return      
desires man's love and his recognition  
in  worship as is implied in the        
institution of the ,sabbath4    ,aim4   
,in teaching this lesson to the child   
the aim should be to  inspire him with  
the sense of reverence and worship1     
particularly in  connection with        
,sabbath observance4 ,the message of    
this as of all  the earlier chapters of 
,genesis is a universal one1 but1 like  
most  other universal aspects of        
,judaism1 it has found concrete         
expression  in a specifically ,jewish   
institution1 namely the ,sabbath1 and1  
as  our aim is to affect the ,jewish    
life of the child it is through         
association of the ideas of the lesson  
with the institution of the  ,sabbath   
that we must endeavor to make them      
effective4    ,suggestions to the       
teacher4 ,in accordance with the        
principle  which demands that we proceed

 from what is known to what is not yet  
known1 it at once becomes apparent that 
we cannot begin this lesson  with an    
account of primal darkness out of which 
chaos and then the  world was formed4   
,in the introduction 7page #bb7 we      
quoted an account  of creation which    
began by a reference to created objects 
in the  child's experience4 ,in         
consideration however of the            
desirability  of stimulating the child's
 intellectual curiosity before beginning
  the lesson1 it would be well to       
introduce the lesson with a few         
questions regarding the distinction of  
the ,sabbath from the other  days of the
 week1 culminating in the question1 ,why
 do we act so  differently on the       
,sabbath than on other days8 ,then      
proceed to  answer by telling the story 
of creation in the way suggested in the 
introduction4 ,when the narrative is    
completed1 again discuss the  ,sabbath  
and how it is to be observed1 as in this
 way the moral of  the narrative can    

best be enforced4    ,it is a well known
 fact that children are attracted by the
 exact  repetition of certain phrases   
somewhat in the nature of a refrain4    
,it is well therefore to utilize the    
refrain1 ,and there was evening  and    
there was morning with each of the      
successive days of creation4            
,,chapter ,,ii    ,,adam ,,and ,,eve    
,genesis #b4d to #c4bd                  
,interpretation4 ,this is one of the    
narratives of the ,bible whose  real    
meaning in its entirety it is impossible
 to teach the child4 ,to  understand it1
 would require an experience that in the
 very nature  of the case the child     
cannot have had4 ,a partial             
understanding of  its moral can1        
however1 be imparted to him and the     
significant facts  of the story be so   
impressed on his mind that he will      
remember them  and1 in later years1     
perceive their deeper meaning in the    
light  of acquired experience4 ,the     
story of ,adam and ,eve is the story  of

 man and woman as exemplified in the    
progenitors of the human  race4 ,the    
,eden of blissful innocence is lost when
 there awakens in  man the appetite for 
a forbidden knowledge1 for an experience
 of  evil as well as of good1 an        
experience which in the end leaves him  
conscious of his nakedness1 conscious of
 having sinned1 and of being            
disillusioned1 conscious of being       
altogether in a worse plight than  if he
 had never sought after the forbidden   
knowledge4 ,obviously this  deeper      
meaning cannot be realized by the child1
 but certain elements  of it can be     
brought home to him2 he can be made to  
feel that the  enjoyment of the good    
things in life is dependent upon an     
implicit  obedience to the laws that    
,god has laid down as conditioning their
  enjoyment1 so that disobedience means 
the loss of these joys4    ,aim4 ,the   
aim of the story of ,adam and ,eve must 
then be1 from  the point of view of the 
child1 the recognition of the duty of   

implicit1 unquestioning obedience to    
legitimate authority4 ,so far  the moral
 is universal and not specifically      
,jewish4 ,were we to rest  here1 we     
would not be realizing to the full the  
aim of instruction  in ,biblical history
 that we had set before us in the       
introduction4  ,but1 though the moral of
 the story of ,adam and ,eve is a       
universal  one1 it can be associated1 as
 was done in the case of the story of   
creation1 with certain aspects of       
,jewish life4 ,thus the legitimate      
authority for which we claim implicit   
obedience from the child can  and should
 be made the ,torah1 and particular     
emphasis should in this  connection be  
laid on the dietary laws because of     
their analogy to  the divine commandment
 in the lesson1 of every tree of the    
garden  thou mayest freely eat2 but of  
the tree of the knowledge of good and   
evil1 thou shalt not eat of it4 ,in this
 way the moral of the lesson  is1 so to 
speak1 dramatized in the daily life of  

the child and is  made to increase his  
loyalty to ,judaism as a whole4         
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,after what
 has been said with regard  to the aim  
of this chapter1 little remains to be   
noted by way of  suggestions regarding  
method1 as the story in its ,biblical   
form  is already admirably adapted to   
satisfy the child's love of a  good     
story4 ,the moral1 as we have suggested 
it1 while it should  receive due        
emphasis at the end of the story        
particularly when it  is being repeated 
by the children and so has become the   
subject  of class discussion1 should not
 be made too obtrusive in telling  the  
story itself4 ,the words of the serpent 
in tempting ,eve and  the conversation  
in which ,god rebukes ,adam1 ,eve and   
the serpent  should be quoted as nearly 
as possible in the ,biblical language4  
,in pointing out the connection between 
the story and its moral as  given above1
 do so by questioning the child rather  
than by simply  stating it yourself4    

,questions that may be suggestive are   
the  following3    ,when ,god gave ,adam
 and ,eve so many trees to eat from and 
everything  else that they needed1 was  
it right that they should eat the fruit 
of the one tree that ,god had told them 
not to eat of1 just because  they wanted
 to know how it tasted8    ,if your     
parents1 who give you so many things1   
your food and your  clothes and your    
toys1 sometimes tell you to do this or  
that which  at the time you don't feel  
like doing1 how ought you to act8    ,do
 you know of any things that we ,jews   
don't eat because ,god1 who  has made   
everything we eat1 told us not to eat   
them8          ,,chapter ,,iii    ,,cain
 ,,and ,,abel    ,genesis #d4a to #ae   
,interpretation4 ,the story of ,cain and
 ,abel is a study of sin1  remorse and  
repentance4 ,there is a suggestion in   
verse #g1 of evil  passions existing in 
,cain's heart even before the murder of 
his  brother1 and1 though the verse is  
obscure1 it may be interpreted  as      

giving a reason for ,god's not accepting
 ,cain's offering4 ,not  until after the
 deed is done is ,cain made fully to    
realize the  significance of his act and
 then he is stirred by remorse and fear 
until ,god reassures him of his         
protection4 ,the sign that ,god gives   
,cain is sometimes construed as part of 
his punishment but in the  ,bible it is 
mentioned rather as evidence of ,god's  
acceptance of his  repentance4    ,aim4 
,the teacher should endeavor through    
this lesson to impress  on the child the
 danger of yielding to envy and anger   
and the  desirability of repentance and 
of confession of our sins to ,god       
whenever we have done wrong4            
,suggestions to the teacher4            
,sentimentalists sometimes object to    
teaching this story to young children   
because of the sordid crime  that it    
relates4 ,this objection however is not 
valid1 because the  very ignorance and  
innocence of childhood rob the story of 
most  of its horror4 ,indeed1 the       

teacher must rather guard against the   
child's utterly losing the sense of the 
tragedy of the crime1 the  universal    
tragedy by which passion leads men to   
commit acts which  they would later     
gladly retrieve if they could4 ,in order
 to impress  this on the child the      
teacher must describe what the narrative
 of  the ,bible but barely suggests1 the
 wayward character of ,cain before  the 
sacrifice which made it unacceptable4   
,devote some time to  characterizing    
,cain and ,abel in such a way that the  
child pictures  the former as a sullen1 
discontented1 envious man1 who showed no
  true appreciation of ,god's goodness  
to him and whose offering  was therefore
 not acceptable to ,god1 while that of  
,abel1 who was  sincerely grateful to   
,god1 was accepted4 ,as this is the     
first time  that sacrifice is mentioned1
 explain the meaning of sacrifice as a  
way in which men long ago used to show  
,god that they were thankful  for his   
goodness in giving them their food1 by  

not using all that  he gave them but    
burning some on a heap of stones called 
an altar4  ,use some illustration from  
the child's life of how a gift is more  
or less acceptable according to the     
motive which prompts it4 ,you  might ask
 the children1 ,which would please you  
more2 if somebody  would give you a     
present on your birthday because he     
loves you1 or1  because he thinks that  
when his birthday will come you will    
give  him one also8 and continue1 ,now  
when ,cain and ,abel brought their      
offering to ,god1 ,god knew that ,abel  
loved ,him and always obeyed ,him  and  
gave his offering because he was really 
grateful to ,god in his  heart1 but     
,cain1 who was always discontented and  
not very obedient1  ,god knew brought   
his offering only because he thought    
that if he did  so ,god might be pleased
 and so send him the rain necessary to  
make  his corn grow1 that he would have 
plenty to eat during the year4          
,therefore ,god accepted ,abel's        

offering but did not accept ,cain's4    
,lay stress on ,god's warning to ,cain1 
,sin croucheth at the door1  which is to
 be explained as meaning that ,cain must
 be very careful  how he acts and that  
if he feels like doing wrong to ,abel1  
he must  keep back the feeling and not  
do it1 or he might be doing something   
which he would later feel very sorry    
for1 after he could no longer  undo it4 
,remember that the very young child has 
no concept of death  and so relate the  
climax of the story somewhat in this    
manner2 ,now  when ,cain saw that ,abel 
lay on the ground bleeding and could not
  move or speak to him he knew that he  
had committed a great sin and  was      
afraid4 ,the dialogue between ,god and  
,cain after ,abel's death  should be    
quoted as nearly as possible in the     
language of the ,bible1  particularly   
,cain's attempt at first to evade       
responsibility in the  words ,am ,i my  
brother's keeper8 followed later by his 
complete  confession1 ,my guilt is      

greater than ,i can bear4 ,in enforcing 
the  aim of the lesson as we have given 
it1 guard against merely making         
didactic statements and rather bring out
 the point by questions1  after having  
concluded the narrative4 ,the following 
are suggestive  questions3    ,why did  
,god accept ,abel's offering and did not
 accept ,cain's8    ,how did ,cain feel 
when he saw that ,god did not accept his
 offering8    ,what did ,god say to     
,cain to warn him not give way to anger8
    ,when ,cain saw that he had killed  
,abel how did he feel8    ,did ,god     
forgive ,cain8 ,how did ,god show that  
,he forgave him8          ,,chapter ,,iv
    ,,noah    ,genesis #f4e to #i4a     
,interpretation4 ,the story of ,noah is 
so simple as scarcely to need           
interpretation4 ,the world had become   
corrupt1 and1 as ,god cannot  abide     
moral corruption1 it seemed better to   
destroy what he had  created4 ,out of   
the universal destruction1 however1     
,god's providence  singled out ,noah1   

because of his moral superiority1 to be 
saved  and to start human life on a     
higher plane4 ,he therefore bids ,noah  
take with him into the ark his family   
and enough of the animals to  assure the
 preservation of the different species1 
taking more of the  clean animals which 
are fit for food1 and1 when ,noah       
finally leaves  the ark1 ,he makes a    
covenant with him1 the terms of which   
are that  ,noah1 is to observe certain  
moral laws1 including the prohibition   
of murder1 and that ,god would never    
again destroy all life with a  deluge   
and would guarantee the orderly         
succession of the seasons as  necessary 
to man's existence4 ,as a token of this 
covenant ,god shows  ,noah the rainbow4 
,aim4 ,the aim in teaching this lesson  
to the child should be to  give him the 
idea of ,god's control over all the     
forces of nature and  of ,his special   
providence exercised over each          
individual1 rewarding  the good and     
punishing the evil4 ,as it is our       

purpose1 wherever  possible1 to find    
some distinctively ,jewish way in which 
the child  can give expression to the   
ideals taught this lesson should be made
  the occasion for teaching the child   
the berakah 7blessing7 on  seeing a     
rainbow which is associated with the    
,noah story4    ,suggestions to the     
teacher4 ,to connect this story with the
 child's  own life begin with a         
reference to the rainbow4 ,let children 
tell  what colors they have seen in the 
rainbow1 call their attention to  the   
fact that it appears always after a     
storm1 and then tell them  that you are 
going to relate a story which will      
explain to them why  ,god makes a       
rainbow in the heavens after it rains4  
,and when you have  finished the story1 
again connect the moral of it with the  
rainbow  somewhat as follows3    ,and   
so1 children1 whenever we see a rainbow 
it should remind us of this  story of   
how ,god saved ,noah from the flood     
because of his goodness1 and  how ,god  

promised never to destroy the whole     
world again by a terrible  flood4 ,and  
whenever we see a rainbow we should all 
of us say this little  prayer or        
iberakah_/i which ,i will teach you1    
1 which means1 ,blessed be  thou1 ,o    
,lord our ,god1 ,king of the world1 who 
remembers ,his covenant and  is faithful
 to ,his covenant and keeps his promise4
    ,the term covenant must be explained
 to the child in this chapter as  an    
exchange of promises4    ,the story of  
,noah contains many appeals to the      
child's interest  which the skillful    
teacher will know how to make the most  
of4 ,a  ,noah's ark with all manner of  
queer little wooden animals that could  
be put in and taken out again has been a
 favorite toy with many  a child now    
grown to manhood4 ,a child is naturally 
interested in  animals and1 when you    
tell of how the animals came into the   
ark1  ask the children to tell you the  
names of animals they have seen in  the 
zoo or circus4    ,to emphasize the     

moral of the story use the haggadic     
elaboration  of it according to which   
the period that the ark was in process  
of  construction gave the sinners an    
opportunity to repent1 of which  however
 they did not avail themselves but      
instead merely mocked  ,noah for        
trusting in ,god and obeying him4 ,this 
haggada is in full  accord with the     
spirit of the ,biblical narrative and   
gives content  to the statement3 ,noah  
was in his generation a righteous and   
whole-hearted man2 ,noah walked with    
,god4#a      #a whenever a haggadah is  
useful as explaining a biblical         
passage1 it may be taught as part of the
 biblical lesson4 but the    teacher    
should avoid teaching such legends as   
may misrepresent the    biblical meaning
 and even such as are merely extraneous 
to the    subject1 as1 for example1 the 
legend of abraham's persecution by      
nimrod1 for we must be careful that     
these legends do not usurp the    unique
 place which the bible as torah must    

hold in jewish life and    thought4 the 
haggadah is not authoritative2 the bible
 is4    ,the episode narrated in        
,genesis #i4ba to #bi had better be     
omitted as  not adapted for children4   
,,chapter ,v    ,,the ,,tower ,,of      
,,babel    ,genesis #aa4a to #i         
,interpretation4 ,these verses tell how 
the descendants of ,noah in  the pride  
of a new civilization and the           
acquisition of the new art  of building 
with bricks endeavor to defeat the      
divine purpose of  scattering them over 
the world and are frustrated in their   
plans  through ,god's confusing their   
language4 ,its moral is the vanity of   
any attempt on the part of man to defeat
 ,god's purpose4    ,aim4 ,this lesson  
is not one that yields a moral which the
 child  is able to apply immediately in 
his own life4 ,its moral is rather  for 
society than for the individual in its  
exposure of the vanity  of reliance on  
the mere material elements in           
civilization4 ,inasmuch  however as it  

can be made interesting to the child and
 appealing to  his imagination it is    
well to teach it that it may become a   
part of  his store of ,jewish           
information which will receive added    
meaning as  his experience grows4       
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,this      
lesson should be introduced by a        
reference to the different languages    
with which the child has come  in       
contact4 ,he can then have his attention
 called to the fact that1  as all men   
are descended from ,noah1 they must all 
originally have  spoken one language4   
,this at once raises the question how it
 came  about that there are now many    
languages1 and1 when the child is       
interested in this question1 he has the 
proper mental attitude for  hearing the 
story4    ,the motive for the building  
of the tower is not given very clearly  
in the ,bible and1 in the form in which 
it is given1 is hardly  calculated to   
impress the story on a child's mind4 ,it
 is well1  therefore1 to amplify the    

story in accordance with the haggadah   
that suggests as motive the attempt to  
avoid the consequences of  another such 
flood as at the time of ,noah4 ,the sin1
 therefore1 of  the generation of the   
dispersion lies in the fact that instead
 of  trying to avoid ,god's displeasure 
they tried to render themselves  immune 
to its consequences1 a moral that       
carries out the idea of the  ,biblical  
narrative only stating it in more       
explicit terms4          ,,chapter ,,vi 
,,the ,,choice ,,of ,,abram ,,and ,,the 
,,choice ,,of ,,canaan    ,genesis #ab4a
 to #aj and #ac4a to #ah                
,interpretation4 ,with this lesson the  
history of our people  begins4 ,the     
,bible wishes us to see in the          
separation of ,abram and  his clan from 
the parent tribe1 and their migration to
 ,canaan1 not  a fortuitous             
circumstance1 but the fulfilment of a   
divine plan  according to which ,god was
 to make of the descendants of ,abram   
the  chosen people and of the land of   

,canaan the chosen land4 ,why ,abram    
was selected of all people is not       
clearly stated1 but one trait of  his   
character is made very conspicuous here 
and in all subsequent  chapters1 his    
implicit faith and obedience4 ,the      
,rabbis emphasize  that1 in bidding him 
to leave his land1 ,god tells him merely
 to go  to the land that ,i will show   
unto thee1 without indicating what  land
 was meant4 ,again ,he promises him1 ,to
 thy seed will ,i give this  land1      
though ,abram is childless4 ,nor was    
,abram permitted to believe  that his   
nephew ,lot might have been intended by 
the promise1 for1  when ,abram's        
herdsmen and ,lot's herdsmen quarrel1   
,lot chooses the  land of ,sodom and not
 the promised land4 ,in a word1 ,god    
seems to  have selected ,abram to be the
 father of the chosen people because  of
 his faith1 his unquestioning           
willingness to submit to divine         
guidance4 ,a second trait of character  
that is made conspicuous is  his love of

 peace as illustrated in his relations  
with ,lot4    ,aim4 ,the primary aim in 
teaching this lesson to the child should
  be to inspire him with the thought    
that he is one of ,god's chosen  people1
 a descendant of ,abram1 and should     
prove himself worthy  of his descent by 
emulating ,abram's obedience to ,god    
through his  obedience to ,jewish law4  
,the whole point of this narrative is   
lost  if the teacher fails to emphasize 
the fact that ,abram is the father  of  
the ,jewish people4    ,the secondary   
aim may well be to stimulate interest in
 ,palestine as  the chosen land4    ,a  
third lesson that can be taught in this 
connection is the lesson  of the        
desirability of peace4    ,the last two 
aims however must be brought in         
incidentally1 the  former as an         
indication of ,god's love for ,abram and
 his descendants1  the latter as showing
 wherein ,abram was worthy of being     
chosen4    ,suggestions to the teacher4 
,as the whole point of the narrative is 

lost if the child is not made to feel   
the connection of the ,jewish  people   
with ,abram1 take pains to explain what 
is meant by descent  and how a whole    
people can be descended from one man1 by
 showing how  a man's grandchildren are 
usually more numerous than his children1
  etc4 ,it might be of advantage to use 
the blackboard for a graphic            
illustration of this idea4 ,then1 after 
having explained how ,god  expected to  
make a great nation of ,abram's         
descendants1 ask1 ,do  any of you know  
what people today are the descendants of
 ,abram8  ,well1 ,i will tell you4 ,you 
and ,i and all who call themselves ,jews
  are descended from ,abram4 ,that is   
why we always speak of him as  our      
father ,abram4 ,now don't you want me to
 tell you more about our  father ,abram 
and about the great people that came    
from him and to  which we belong8       
,hereafter always call ,abram our father
 ,abram1 as he is almost  invariably    
called in ,jewish literature  4 ,this   

will  keep the child conscious of his   
descent from ,abram1 increase his       
interest in him and make him feel that  
,biblical history is the  history of his
 own people4    ,as the motives for     
,god's choice of ,abram are but vaguely 
suggested  in the ,bible1 the teacher   
must make them more explicit4 ,call     
attention to the fact that the world had
 again become corrupt1 that  idolatry   
prevailed--and here it becomes necessary
 to explain what  idolatry means--in the
 ,house of ,terah as elsewhere 7see     
,joshua #bd4  #b71 but that there was   
one man1 ,abram1 who always obeyed ,god 
and  who1 ,god knew1 would instruct his 
children to do so4 ,and therefore  ,god 
told him to leave his family and his    
people because he wanted to  make of him
 a great people that would always do as 
he told them and  not a foolish and     
wicked people like those among whom he  
lived4    ,the various haggadic tales of
 the persecutions to which ,abram was   
subjected by ,nimrod and even by his own

 father1 while beautiful in  themselves 
and interesting to children should not  
be taught as part  of the lesson4 7,see 
foot-note to page #df47    ,in order to 
make the narrative more vivid and       
impressive1 ,god's call  to ,abram and  
his promise 7,genesis #ab4 #a to #c7    
should be quoted in  the language of the
 ,bible1 as also ,abram's words to ,lot 
7,genesis #ac4  #i7 and ,god's promise  
when ,abram settled in ,canaan 7,genesis
 #ac4 #ad to  #ah74    ,when speaking of
 ,god's promise to give ,abram the land 
of ,canaan1  the teacher may digress    
somewhat to describe the main           
geographical  features of ,palestine1   
showing children on the map where it is 
situated and pointing out its main      
topographical characteristics1 if  the  
children are of an age when they know   
how to interpret maps4 ,the  description
 of the land should be such as to create
 an attachment  to it1 dwelling on the  
variety of its climate1 the beauty of   
its  scenery1 and its fertility4        

,pictures of ,palestine particularly of 
the places associated with the life of  
,abram1 should be shown4                
,,chapter ,,vii    ,,beginning ,,of     
,,abram',s ,,greatness    ,genesis #ad  
,interpretation4 ,abram's blessing      
begins to become manifest through  his  
military success in the campaign to     
rescue ,lot and his family4  ,he is     
accorded recognition by ,melchizedek1   
king of ,salem 7to be  identified with  
,jerusalem71 and priest of ,god the     
,most ,high1 who  gives him bread and   
wine and to whom he gives a tithe of the
 booty4  ,the king of ,sodom also       
recognizes his greatness and the value  
of his  services1 which he wishes to    
reward1 but ,abram rejects the proffered
  reward in order to be able to maintain
 his independence and assert  his       
reliance on the divine promise4    ,aim4
 ,the aim in teaching this lesson should
 be to awaken an  appreciation of the   
heroic virtues of courage1 loyalty and  
independence1 and1 by associating them  

with the founder of the  ,jewish people 
and the ,jewish faith to arouse the     
,jewish self respect  of the child4     
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,it is very
 important in telling such  stories the 
moral of which is to be enforced through
 the child's  imitation of the virtues  
of the characters whose deeds it        
narrates1  not to tag on a moral at the 
end of the tale4 ,if the child is       
impressed by the story1 imitation is    
sure to result1 and1 by adding  a moral 
stated in abstract terms1 one only gives
 the child the  feeling that the events 
of the story did not really happen but  
were  made up to point the moral4 ,but  
the child must be impressed by the      
story1 and the skillful teacher will    
know how to make the details  of the    
story itself so impressive as to bring  
home their moral4 ,for  instance1       
instead of saying at the end of the     
story1 ,this teaches  us what a brave   
man ,abram was since he was willing to  
risk his life  for ,lot and his family1 

the teacher might begin the story       
somewhat  as follows3    ,now when      
,abram was sitting one day at the door  
of his tent1 a man  came running to him 
all out of breath and1 as soon as he had
 gained  breath enough to speak1 he     
said1 ',there has been a terrible battle
  in ,sodom4 ,i and a few others have   
escaped but your nephew ,lot and  his   
family have all been taken away captive 
and no one can say what  will be done to
 them4' ,thereupon ,abram called        
together his few  followers to the      
number of #cah and1 together with his   
friends and  neighbors1 ,aner1 and      
,eshcol and ,mamre and their soldiers1  
followed  after the enemy1 trusting that
 ,god would help him1 though he knew    
the enemy had many more men than he4    
,the interesting detail of how the enemy
 fell into the slime pits  in the valley
 of ,siddim should not be omitted as it 
gives greater  vividness and reality to 
the narrative4    ,the child can be     
depended upon to respond to the appeal  

for his  appreciation of ,abram's       
martial virtues1 but the full           
significance  of ,abram's refusal of a  
share of the spoils and his statement   
,thou  shalt not say ,i have made ,abram
 rich he will not grasp without  the    
teacher's help4 ,bring out his point by 
asking1 ,why did not  ,abram want to let
 the king of ,sodom make him rich8 and  
if1 as will  probably be the case1 the  
child will have no answer ready1 explain
  as follows3    ,the reason is this4   
,abram had joined the war not to get    
money or  other riches from the enemy1  
for that would have been mere robbery4  
,he had fought to save ,lot and his     
family1 and1 when they were safe1  he   
was satisfied4 ,but the people of ,sodom
 were1 as you know from our  last       
lesson1 very wicked and their kings were
 all the time making  war1 even when    
there was no good reason1 in order that 
they might  become rich by what they    
took from the enemy4 ,and ,abram        
thought1 if  ,i take money now from the 

king of ,sodom1 some time later he may  
say1  ',abram1 it is ,i who made you a  
rich man2 now you must help me fight    
against my enemies and rob them'4       
,therefore ,abram would have nothing  to
 do with him and would not even take a  
shoestring from him4 ,he  knew1         
moreover1 that if he obeyed ,god1 ,god  
would give him all that  he needed1 and 
therefore he did not have to take       
presents from one  whom he could not    
respect and honor4    ,be sure to make  
clear that ,melchizedek's tribute to    
,abram was  in recognition of the fact  
that his victory was a sign of ,god's   
favor1 and that ,abram's giving the     
tithe was an expression of his          
recognition of ,god's help in the       
battle4    ,the lesson might be         
concluded by some such summary as the   
following3    ,so our father ,abram     
became great and famous in the new land 
to which  he had come1 because ,god     
blessed him in all that he did so that  
he  came to be called by the people     

about him a prince of ,god4             
,,chapter ,,viii    ,,hagar ,,and ,,the 
,,birth ,,of ,,ishmael    ,genesis      
#ae4af4ag      ,interpretation4 ,in     
chapter #ae the faith of ,abram is once 
more  given emphasis4 ,god promises     
,abram great reward1 but1 being         
childless1 he is indifferent to a reward
 which must ultimately  pass to         
strangers1 the descendants of ,eliezer1 
but ,god explains to  him that he is to 
have a child of his own to whom the     
reward is to  descend1 and he has faith 
in ,god's promise though for many years 
it  remains unfulfilled4    ,the vision 
of ,abram1 recorded in verses #ab to #af
 is significant as  showing the         
providential character of the ,egyptian 
bondage4 ,we need  not1 however1 discuss
 it here in detail1 since its           
significance  is only apparent in the   
light of later lessons and it is not    
intrinsically interesting to the child4 
,for the interpretation of the main     
theme of this lesson1 the reader  is    

referred to the introduction of this    
book1 pages #ai-bj4 ,it is to  be noted 
that in giving to ,abram her servant    
,hagar as wife1 ,sarai  is doing an     
unselfish act in the hope that she may  
thereby help  realize the promise made  
to ,abram1 and it is little wonder that 
she  resents the arrogant attitude of   
,hagar1 who is the chief beneficiary  of
 her unselfish act and yet vaunts it    
over her as though ,sarai's  barrenness 
were a mark of inferiority and perhaps  
even of the divine  disfavor4    ,the   
fact that1 when ,hagar flees from ,sarai
 before the birth of  ,ishmael1 she is  
asked by the angel to return1 and that  
after the  birth of ,isaac1 ,god not    
only sanctions but commands the         
separation1  shows distinctly that the  
motive for the separation was that      
expressed in the words1 ,in ,isaac shall
 seed be called to thee1 and  that1     
meanwhile1 ,abram was to have his faith 
put to the test through  his attachment 
to ,ishmael1 as later through his       

attachment to ,isaac4    ,it is also to 
be noted1 here as elsewhere1 that the   
patriarchs and  their wives themselves  
had only a dim and often incorrect idea 
of  ,god's purpose in his dealings with 
them4 ,thus ,sarai1 realizing  that she 
is barren1 at first reasons that ,god's 
promise to ,abram  was intended to apply
 to him alone and not to her and        
therefore  necessitated his taking      
another wife4 ,when ,ishmael is born1   
,abram  thinks that he is to be the     
child of destiny and it is one of the   
tests to which his faith is put when1   
after the birth of ,ishmael1  ,god tells
 him that not this son but another1 who 
is to be born to  ,sarai1 is to be his  
heir4 ,the point of all this is that the
 history  of the patriarchs is not      
merely personal biography but that its  
real significance is to be understood as
 showing the care that  ,god exercised  
in selecting the material out of which  
the chosen  people was to be moulded4   
,not all of ,abram's descendants were to

 be  deemed fit for this election1 but  
he was to become the father of a        
multitude of nations of which only one  
was to be chosen4    ,in teaching of the
 covenant that is recorded in ,genesis  
#ag1 the  ceremony of circumcision      
cannot for obvious reasons be dwelt on  
in  class1 but the change of ,abram's   
and ,sarai's names should be1 and       
therefore its significance needs to be  
interpreted4 ,to give a new  name is a  
sign of ownership and interest4 ,god    
shows his love for  ,abram and ,sarai   
and his intention to enter into closer  
relations  with them by giving them new 
names4 ,it is to be noted that ,god also
  gives ,isaac his name 7,genesis       
#ah4ba7 and changes that of ,jacob to   
,israel after he shows himself worthy of
 the title4    ,aim4 ,this lesson is one
 of a series of incidents which should  
impress on the child faith in the truth 
of ,god's words1 which in  the end are  
verified1 though at first they often    
seem impossible of  realization and more

 particularly1 faith in ,god's election 
of ,israel4    ,suggestions to the      
teacher4 ,there are two main            
difficulties to  overcome in teaching   
this chapter2 first1 that the moral is  
such  an abstract one1 the whole story  
as we have interpreted it being         
conceived as a glimpse into the workings
 of providence in the  history of       
,israel and the world1 and second1 that 
the incidents  hinge upon family        
relations of a sort that a child with   
his  ignorance of the facts of sex      
cannot easily comprehend4    ,the first 
of these difficulties can be largely    
overcome by giving  much more emphasis  
than is usually given to the human and  
personal  aspect of the story           
particularly to ,abram's desire for a   
son and  his repeated disappointments   
before the final realization of ,god's  
promise to him2 and a little tact can   
overcome the second difficulty  as well4
 ,to show how these two difficulties may
 be met1 it will be  necessary here to  

tell a great part of the story as it may
 be told  to a class of children between
 the ages of seven and eight4 ,after    
telling of ,god's promise to ,abram to  
make of his seed a great nation  as     
numerous as the stars in heaven and of  
,abram's rejoicing that  he would have a
 son who would become after him the     
father of this  great people1 the       
teacher might continue somewhat as      
follows3    ,but year after year passed 
and ,abram and ,sarai were already      
growing  old1 and yet ,god had not      
fulfilled ,his promise to ,abram to give
 him  a son out of whose children and   
children's children ,he would make  a   
great and good nation4 ,and ,oh6 how    
,abram did want to have a son4  ,when he
 would see the children of his neighbors
 at play with their  bright eyes and    
laughing faces1 he would think1 ,if only
 ,i had a  little child like that how   
happy ,i should be and what delight it  
would be to watch him grow big and      
strong6 ,how ,i would thank ,god  for   

such a son and how ,i would teach my    
little boy to thank ,god and  to love   
and obey ,him and to be kind and good to
 all people as ,god  wants us to be so  
that through him and his children and   
children's  children all the nations of 
the earth would be blessed4 ,and he     
would often tell his wishes to ,sarai   
and they would try to comfort  each     
other and one would remind the other of 
,god's promise and  would say1 ,we must 
be patient4 ,god has promised us a son  
and in  ,his time ,he will send us one4 
,but one day an idea came to ,sarai4    
,she thought to herself1 ,maybe it is my
 fault that ,abram has no  children4    
,god promised a son to ,abram but he did
 not make any  promise to me4 ,maybe if 
,abram married someone else1 ,god would 
let  ,abram have a son from this other  
wife4 ,now ,sarai had a servant  whose  
name was ,hagar1 and she told ,abram to 
marry ,hagar too1 for in  those days men
 often had more than one wife4 ,and     
,abram did as ,sarai  suggested and1    

surely enough1 not long after they were 
married it  was told to ,hagar that in a
 few months she would bear a child to   
,abram4 ,now you would think children1  
would you not1 that after  ,sarai had   
been so kind to her servant ,hagar and  
had let her marry  ,abram that ,hagar   
would love ,sarai for it and show       
kindness to her in  return4 ,but ,hagar 
showed herself at this time very mean4  
,she felt a  foolish pride because ,god 
was going to give her a son and had     
given  none to ,sarai and she used to   
say to her1 ,see1 you are married to    
,abram these many years and yet ,god has
 not given him any children  from you1  
but ,i have been but recently married to
 him and now ,i  shall soon bear him a  
son4 ,doesn't this show that ,god loves 
me more  than you8 ,doesn't this show   
that ,i am better than you8 ,do you     
think  ,i will be your servant any more8
 ,no indeed1 ,i am not only as good  as 
you but better4 ,when ,sarai heard these
 words day after day she  was deeply    

grieved and angry and she complained to 
,abram1 and ,abram  told ,hagar that she
 must continue to serve ,sarai as       
before4 ,but when  ,sarai wanted to make
 ,hagar do her work1 she ran away and   
fled into  the wilderness4    ,the above
 will suffice to show how the           
difficulties which we mention  can be   
overcome4 ,the passages that have been  
italicized suggest how  the child can be
 given the feeling that the birth of    
,isaac was part  of a divine plan for   
the good of the world4 ,this can be     
still more  clearly brought home by the 
latter part of the narrative in which   
,god rejects ,ishmael as a ,wild ass of 
a man4 ,the teacher must make  this     
quite clear to the class by asking1 ,do 
you think that this boy  ,ishmael of    
whom ,god knew that he would be wild and
 wicked was the  one whom ,god meant    
when ,he told ,abram he would have a son
 who was  going to be a blessing to all 
the world8 ,he must also emphasize      
,abram's affection for ,ishmael1 which  

made him mistake him for the  son of    
promise1 for ,abram presumably did not  
know of the prophecy  with regard to    
,ishmael's future4 ,this will give the  
child the idea  contained in the        
narrative that ,there are many devices  
in a man's  heart1 but the counsel of   
the ,lord that shall stand4             
,,chapter ,,ix    ,,abraham ,,entertains
 ,,the ,,angels    ,genesis #ah4a to #af
      ,interpretation4 ,these verses    
have given no little difficulty  to the 
ancient ,hebrew commentators4 ,the first
 verse contains a  statement of ,god's  
appearing to ,abraham but does not give 
any  content to this revelation1 and    
then the three angels are introduced    
into the narrative as if another        
revelation were here intended4          
,moreover the number of angels that     
appeared to ,abraham when one  might    
have served the purpose as well also    
presented its difficulty1  since        
,christian theologians1 connecting this 
verse with the  preceding1 tried to     

employ it as an argument for the        
trinity4 ,there  are furthermore in     
these verses frequent changes of number 
which  are difficult to account for4    
,thus in verse #c1 ,abraham addresses   
the angels in the singular1 in verse #d 
in the plural4 ,in verse #i1  we read   
va-yomeru ,and they said while verse #aj
 which seems a  continuation of this    
conversation begins va-yomar ,and he    
said4  ,in verse #ac ,god himself       
suddenly breaks into the conversation4  
,a  comparison with other parts of the  
,bible in which angels appear  shows    
that they too exhibit similar           
peculiarities of style4#b      #b ,see  
for instance ,genesis #ai4 #af1 #ag2    
#ca4 #aa to #ac2 #cb4 #be to #ca2       
#dh4 #ae to #af4 ,exodus #c4 #b1 etc42  
#bc4 #bj to #bb4 ,judges #b4 #a to #b2  
#d4    #ab to #ad2 #ac4 #ag to #ah1 #ba 
to #bb4    ,the study of these passages 
shows the following characteristic      
features of the ,biblical conception of 
angels which will help to  clear up the 

difficulties of our text4 ,the angel1 as
 the name both  in ,hebrew and ,english 
implies1 is the messenger of ,god4      
,inasmuch  as he exists only to do      
,god's bidding his words are the words  
of ,god and may be introduced by the    
words ,god said as well as  by the angel
 7or angels7 said4 ,this accounts for   
the apparent  inconsistency in the use  
of singular and plural in our passage4  
,the  angel has no discretionary power1 
as appears from the statement in        
,exodus #bc4 #ba1 that the angel cannot 
forgive sin4 ,inasmuch as he  has no    
individual personality or will of his   
own but is merely a  manifestation of   
,god's will1 he has no name of his own1 
the name  being a mark of individuality1
 but bears the name of ,god1 which      
being a mystery1 he may not reveal4#c   
7,genesis #cb4 #c4 ,exodus #bc4  #ba4   
,judges #ac4 #ah47 ,this idea of the    
impersonality of the angels is  carried 
a step further by the ,rabbis1 who      
insist that no angel ever  executes more

 than one message and account for the   
number of angels  that appeared to      
,abraham by assigning to each a separate
 mission2  one to predict to ,abraham   
the birth of ,isaac1 another to rescue  
,lot1  and a third to destroy ,sodom4   
,but such an explanation is scarcely    
necessary as there are other passages in
 the ,bible where a number of  angels   
are mentioned for no clear reason1 as   
for instance in ,jacob's  dream4 ,as for
 the difficulty that we found in verses 
one and two1 it  can now be made clear  
by understanding the appearance of the  
angels  in verse two as the explanation 
of the revelation referred to in  verse 
one4      #c ,the significance of this  
cannot be gone into here4 ,an           
interesting treatment of it is to be    
found in ,wiener's ,essays in           
,pentateuchal ,criticism4 ,pages #dg-ec4
    ,regarding the significance of      
angels in general1 we may consider the  
accounts of their appearances as        
intended by the ,biblical author to     

convey his appreciation of the mystery  
of how ,god can communicate  with       
mortals without loss to ,his divine     
majesty4 ,they certainly  do convey     
something of this appreciation to the   
child1 for the  imagination of children 
notwithstanding their natural tendency  
to  conceive of ,god in anthropomorphic 
terms1 is impressed by these  mysterious
 heralds of an invisible kingdom with a 
sense of the  majesty of ,god's rule4   
,aim4 ,this episode has always been made
 use of1 and rightly so1 to  impress the
 pupil with an appreciation of that     
courteous interest  in the stranger and 
deferential attention to his wants and  
desires  which constitute the true grace
 of hospitality1 but an equally         
important educational value1 perhaps    
from the point of view of the  child an 
even more important one1 is its power of
 impressing him  with a sense of the    
mysterious possibilities of this world1 
in which  any passing stranger that we  
entertain may turn out to be an angel   

in disguise1 who will reveal himself to 
us and bless us if we do  not turn him  
from our door4 ,the story should leave  
the child with  the feeling expressed in
 the exclamation1 ,is anything too hard 
for  the ,lord4 ,the teacher must of    
course not lose sight nor permit the    
child to lose sight of the story's      
connection with the main theme  of the  
birth of ,isaac1 the significance of    
which we have already  pointed out in   
the previous lesson4    ,suggestions to 
the teacher4 ,this is a story whose     
educational  value would only be lost by
 analyzing its moral as the beauty of a 
flower is destroyed by pulling it apart 
to show its structure4 ,tell  the story 
simply and1 as nearly as possible1 in   
the language of  the ,bible itself4 ,be 
careful to give the story its           
characteristic  picturesque setting1 and
 begin therefore by contrasting modern  
conditions of housing and travel with   
those of ,abraham's days1 thus          
establishing a point of contact with the

 child's present experience4  ,the      
following facts should be impressed on  
the child3    #a4 ,that ,abraham's      
nomadic life1 which was also the life   
led by many  of his contemporaries1     
necessitated his dwelling in a tent     
which  could be pitched wherever he     
wanted to make his home1    #b4 ,that   
traveling was to a large extent on foot 
over hot sand or  stones1    #c4 ,that  
travelers were not sure of obtaining    
food at regular  intervals1 and    #d4  
,that it was consequently a great       
kindness to offer them rest and         
refreshment4    ,after this             
introduction1 tell the story of how     
,abraham one day saw  three tired       
travelers on the road approaching in the
 direction of  his tent and invited them
 to rest1 refresh themselves and partake
 of  food4 ,then1 in a manner which     
would suggest that you are confiding  to
 the class a great secret1 tell them    
that these men whom ,abraham  had       
invited were not really men at all but  

angels of ,god4    ,the incident of     
,sarah's laughing when the angel        
delivers his message  and then denying  
that she had laughed should not be      
omitted as it  affords an interesting   
human touch to the story and still more 
as it  gives the occasion for the       
angel's reply which contains the moral  
of the story1 ,can anything be too      
wonderful for ,god8 ,there is no  need  
of glossing over ,sarah's prevarication 
and certainly no need  of giving it     
undue emphasis1 but the incident should 
be told in  such a way that her motive  
is made clear4 ,say1 for instance2 ,now 
as you know1 ,sarah was very old1 so old
 that she thought herself  too old to   
have a little baby1 and when she heard1 
from behind the  curtain of the tent1   
the angel telling ,abraham that in a    
year's time  she should have a son she  
laughed1 just as you would laugh if ,i  
told  you that a rose bush would have   
roses in mid-winter4 ,but the angel     
said to ,abraham1 ',why does ,sarah     

laugh8 ,is there anything that ,god     
cannot do8' ,then ,sarah was ashamed and
 said1 ',i did not laugh'4 ,but  the    
angel said1 ',nay but thou didst laugh  
and ,sarah was more ashamed  than ever1 
for she knew that she had not told the  
truth1 and she  said no more4           
,,chapter ,x    ,,the ,,destruction ,,of
 ,,sodom ,,and ,,gomorrah    ,genesis   
#ah4g to #ai4bi      ,interpretation4   
,the incident of the destruction of     
,sodom and  ,gomorrah1 like that of the 
destruction of the generation of the    
deluge1 is meant as an assertion of     
,god's justice4 ,the insistence on  the 
justice of ,god is made the more        
emphatic by the recognition of  the fact
 that ,his dispensations are such as may
 lead us at times to  call ,his justice 
into question4 ,when1 therefore1        
,abraham exclaims1  ,shall not the judge
 of all the world do justice8 he is not 
rebuked  for his presumption1 but1 on   
the contrary1 ,god seems to prefer his  
attitude to one that would accept       

apparent injustice with complacent      
resignation1 and ,god does not disdain  
to justify ,himself to ,abraham  in very
 much the same spirit as the ,book of   
,job represents ,him  as preferring the 
blasphemous accusations of ,job to the  
pious  apologetics of his friends4 7,job
 #db4 #g47    ,the particular crime     
assigned as an instance of the          
wickedness  of ,sodom was a form of     
immorality of which strangers were the  
especial victims4 ,lot's offer to       
surrender to the men of ,sodom his      
daughters instead of the strangers was  
not only prompted by a sense  of the    
obligation of hospitality but by the    
consideration of the  different degree  
of immorality involved in the two acts4 
,it goes  without saying that the       
specific crime of the men of ,sodom     
cannot  be explained to the children    
otherwise than as a disposition to      
abuse strangers1 the antithesis to the  
attitude of ,abraham and ,lot  towards  
them1 and1 inasmuch as the nature of the

 crime cannot be  taught1 ,lot's offer  
to substitute his daughters for the     
strangers  cannot be taught since this  
act would then appear as an attempt to  
remedy one injustice by perpetrating    
another4    ,aim4 ,this lesson yields   
more than one moral for the child4 ,the 
style of ,abraham's plea for ,sodom and 
,gomorrah is a very fine  example of    
devotion in prayer and should affect the
 child's attitude  in prayer4 ,the      
lesson of hospitality taught in the     
story that  preceded is given further   
emphasis by the contrast between the    
reception of the strangers by ,abraham  
and by ,lot1 who was reared in          
,abraham's household1 on the one hand1  
and by the people of ,sodom on  the     
other4 ,this contrast between the       
character of ,abraham and that  of the  
people of ,sodom should appeal to the   
,jewish pride of the  child as a        
descendant of ,abraham1 the value of    
which pride we have  had occasion to    
point out before4 ,the transformation of

 ,lot's wife  into a pillar of salt is  
an excellent lesson in the value of     
prompt  obedience and the danger of     
hesitation and inordinate curiosity4    
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,in        
teaching of ,abraham's plea for  ,sodom 
and ,gomorrah1 do not merely give the   
substance of ,abraham's  prayer but     
thoroughly assimilate and impart the    
reverential spirit  contained in such   
introductory phrases as ,behold now ,i  
have  taken upon me to speak unto the   
,lord1 who am but dust and ashes1       
peradventure1 etc4 ,oh1 let not the     
,lord be angry and ,i will  speak1 and  
again1 ,let not the ,lord be angry and  
,i will speak but  this once4 ,in order 
that this part of the lesson shall      
affect the  child's attitude in prayer1 
speak of ,abraham's plea as a prayer  by
 saying ,then ,abraham prayed1 etc41    
rather than simply ,then  ,abraham said1
 but do not1 of course1 go into a       
dissertation on  prayer2 let the child  
draw his own moral4    ,in telling of   

the reception of the angels in ,sodom it
 is well to  emphasize the contrast     
between the way the men of ,sodom       
treated  strangers and the way that     
,abraham and ,lot treated them4 ,the    
accusation of the men of ,sodom1 ,this  
one fellow came in to sojourn  and he   
will needs play the judge is a fine     
involuntary tribute to  ,lot's moral    
superiority and should be quoted4 ,the  
final picture in  verse #bh should not  
be omitted as it emphasizes the         
connection of  ,abraham with these      
events and furnishes1 so to speak1 a    
concluding  tableau to the story4    ,a 
description of the ,dead ,sea region of 
,palestine1 accompanied by a  good      
picture showing its present desolation1 
might furnish a good  conclusion to the 
lesson4 ,the following questions will   
test the  child's comprehension of the  
story's moral3    #a4 ,how did our      
,father ,abraham treat strangers8 ,how  
did ,lot8 ,where  did ,lot learn always 
to be kind to strangers8 ,how did the   

people of  ,sodom treat strangers8      
,why did ,god want to destroy ,sodom and
 ,gomorrah8 ,when ,god told  ,abraham   
that he would destroy ,sodom and        
,gomorrah1 was ,abraham glad  or sorry8 
,what did he do8 ,can you repeat his    
prayer8    ,what did the angels tell    
,lot and his family not to do8 ,did they
 all  obey8 ,why did ,lot's wife look   
back8 ,what happened to her because she 
did not obey8          ,,chapter ,,xi   
,,the ,,divorce ,,of ,,hagar    ,genesis
 #bj and #ba      ,interpretation4 ,the 
incident recorded in ,chapter #bj is    
intended  to show the care exercised by 
,god in preserving the purity of the    
chosen seed1 but it cannot be taught to 
children because of their  ignorance of 
the facts of sex4 ,chapter #ba verses   
#ba to the end of  the chapter may be   
omitted since they offer nothing of     
interest to  the child4    ,for the     
interpretation of the main theme of this
 chapter see  introduction pages #ai-bj 
and ,chapter ,,viii4 ,it is to be noted 

that  ,god's choice of ,isaac does not  
mean that ,his providence does not      
extend over ,ishmael as well4 ,not only 
is ,ishmael's life saved but  ,god's    
promise to ,abraham regarding ,ishmael  
is kept as well as ,his  promise        
regarding ,isaac4    ,aim4 ,the aim in  
this lesson is practically the same as  
in ,chapter  ,,viii1 to inspire faith in
 ,god's providential interest in human  
affairs in general and in ,israel's     
destiny in particular4 ,the child  need 
not understand all the implications of  
the narrative at the  time it is taught 
him but if it be taught properly the    
story will  make its impression and he  
will understand them more completely    
later4 ,god's hearing the voice of      
,ishmael should suggest to the  child   
the value of prayer and thus influence  
his immediate life4    ,suggestions to  
the teacher4 ,before beginning the      
narrative of  this story recall to the  
children1 by well directed questions1   
the previous history of the relations of

 ,abraham1 ,sarah1 ,hagar and  ,ishmael1
 as we have explained them in ,chapter  
,,viii4 ,then point out  the            
complications which the birth of ,isaac 
introduced since ,god  had promised that
 ,isaac was to be the son to inherit the
 blessing  of ,abraham together with the
 possession of the promised land1 and   
,ishmael1 who was now beginning to grow 
up into the wild ass of a  man according
 to the prophecy that had preceded his  
birth1 would  dispute this with him4 ,it
 therefore became necessary for ,hagar  
and ,ishmael to be sent away after the  
birth of ,isaac4 ,inasmuch  as the idea 
of inheritance and the idea of national 
destiny are  too abstract for children1 
the story must be adapted to their      
comprehension by putting it on a more   
personal plane somewhat as  follows3    
,now when ,hagar saw that ,god had given
 a son to ,sarah also as the  angel had 
promised and that this son ,isaac and   
not her own ,ishmael  was the one to    
whom ,god told ,abraham he would give   

the land of  ,canaan and whose children 
would be the great ,jewish people1 she  
became jealous and hated ,sarah very    
much and even ,sarah's little  baby     
,isaac4 ,and ,ishmael too1 who was now  
grown up into a big wild  boy--you      
remember the angel had said he would be 
a wild man when  he grew up--also was   
jealous of ,isaac4 ,and ,hagar tried to 
persuade  ,abraham to give her son part 
of this land of ,canaan that ,god had   
promised to ,isaac4 ,now ,sarah saw all 
this and she knew that it would  not be 
good for ,isaac to grow up together with
 this wild and wicked  ,ishmael and so  
she told ,abraham to send ,hagar and her
 son away to  some other country where  
they could not do any mischief to ,isaac
  whom ,god had chosen to be the father 
of the ,jewish people4#d      #d ,to    
speak of our race as the ,jewish people 
at any time before    the exile of the  
ten tribes is1 to be sure1 an           
anachronism1 but we    employ it because
 the child knows that he and his friends

 are ,jews    before he knows that they 
are ,israelites or ,hebrews4    ,in     
concluding the story one might interest 
the child by telling  him that there are
 descendants of ,ishmael alive today who
 like us  feel proud to be descended    
from ,abraham1 and describing some of   
the  habits of the ,bedouin ,arabs1     
their nomadic life1 their pastoral      
occupation similar to that of the       
patriarchs and also their tribal  feuds 
and not infrequent raids for pillage    
which still would justify  the prophecy1
 ,his hand shall be against every man   
and every man's  hand against him1 but  
one should in justice say that this is  
not true of the large number of ,arabs  
who have settled in more  civilized     
communities4 ,a picture of ,bedouins in 
modern times would  be of interest to   
the class and help give a sense of      
reality to the  ,biblical story4        
,,chapter ,,xii    ,,the ,,sacrifice    
,,of ,,isaac    ,genesis #bb4a to #ai   
,interpretation4 ,the story of the      

',akedah1 that is the intended          
sacrifice of ,isaac1 represents the     
supreme test to which ,abraham's  faith 
was put4 ,after ,ishmael has been sent  
away and ,isaac has been  definitely    
declared to be the son of promise1      
,abraham is commanded  by ,god to       
sacrifice ,isaac4 ,the test to          
,abraham's faith is not merely  of the  
willingness to sacrifice sentiment and  
affection in obedience  to ,god1 but    
this latest command is a direct         
contradiction of ,god's  previous words 
to him and yet he obeys4    ,the story  
can only be understood fully in the     
light of the religious  customs of      
,abraham's day1 according to which human
 sacrifice was not  uncommon4 7,see ,,ii
 ,kings #c4 #bg1 also #ba4 #f1 #bc4 #aj 
and ,jeremiah #cb4  #ce47 ,viewed in    
this light ,god's asking ,abraham to    
sacrifice his son  meant nothing which  
to a contemporary of ,abraham would have
 seemed  essentially inconsistent with  
the divine character4 ,it is ,god's     

forbidding the consummation of this act 
which is the innovation1 so  that this  
lesson teaches in a narrative form the  
same idea which  later received its     
legal formulation in ,leviticus #ah4 #ba
 and #bj4  #b-e4 ,the chapter has       
therefore a twofold message2 7#a7 that  
to be  the elect of ,god requires of us 
the willingness to sacrifice any        
personal desire and even natural        
affection in obedience to him1 and  7#b7
 that ,god's will1 to which ,he claims  
obedience1 is a benevolent  one and does
 not demand or desire human sacrifice4  
,the idea that ,god does not desire     
human sacrifice was a great moral       
discovery and this narrative in our     
,bible gives us an interesting          
illustration of how such new spiritual  
insights in general are born2  namely   
through the willingness to commit       
ourselves completely to  whatever vision
 of truth is ours at the time4 ,it was  
because ,abraham  was willing to        
sacrifice ,isaac in accordance with his 

previous  sense of what duty demanded of
 him1 that this new revelation of       
,god's will as opposed to human         
sacrifice was granted him4 ,had he1     
while sharing with his contemporaries   
the belief in the legitimacy  of human  
sacrifice1 hesitated to live up to this 
idea when it  involved suffering for    
himself1 he would never have been given 
the understanding that ,god does not    
desire human sacrifice4 ,our  standards 
of morality are at all times imperfect1 
but it is only  those who commit        
themselves without reservation to       
whatever standard  they really hold that
 are the discoverers of new moral       
truths4    ,the part that ,isaac played 
in the incident is but vaguely suggested
  in the ,biblical narrative4 ,the      
agadic elaborations of the story        
frequently represent ,isaac as knowing  
what fate was intended for  him and     
fully acquiescing in it4 ,that ,isaac   
probably had his  misgivings is         
suggested by the question1 ,behold the  

fire and the  wood2 but where is the    
lamb for a burnt-offering8 ,at all      
events  he must have known what         
,abraham's purpose with regard to him   
was  when he was being bound to the     
altar and1 as the narrative records  no 
protest1 the ,rabbinic conception of the
 part ,isaac played is  not             
contradictory to the ,biblical story4   
,the teacher is therefore  justified in 
imparting the story in a way which would
 imply that  ,isaac lent himself        
willingly to ,abraham's designs         
regarding him4    ,in the substitution  
of the ram for ,isaac one gets a glimpse
 into the  significance of animal       
sacrifice4 ,it probably meant to the    
ancients  a symbolic expression of the  
recognition that ,god had the right  to 
demand the sacrifice of human life in   
his service and that it  was a sign of  
his love and grace that no such demand  
was made4 ,it  suggests the important   
role that animal sacrifice played in    
history  in weaning mankind from the    

habit of human sacrifice4    ,aim4 ,the 
aim of this lesson is to make the child 
feel that as a  son of ,abraham his love
 for ,god should be such that1 like     
,abraham1  he should be willing to make 
any sacrifice that his religion may     
demand of him4 ,the traditional         
association of the shofar on ,rosh      
ha-,shanah with the ,ram of the ,akedah 
suggests that this story may be  used to
 give meaning to the ,new ,year         
celebration4    ,suggestions to the     
teacher4 ,the pathos of this narrative  
is so  deep and intense that many       
teachers1 laboring under the notion so  
common in our day that children should  
be reared only on what is  cheerful and 
bright and be kept far from a knowledge 
of any of the  more tragic aspects of   
life1 would like to omit teaching it to 
children all together4 ,when therefore  
the curriculum of the school  requires  
them to teach it1 they tell the story in
 as matter of  fact a manner as possible
 and seem anxious to get over it4 ,this 

is a mistake however1 for children have 
always had a fondness for  stories      
containing something of the tragic1 even
 of the weird and  uncanny1 as witness  
the popularity of ,little ,red ,riding  
,hood1 and  the story of the ,akedah is 
one which can1 by very reason of what   
to our modern mind appeals as weird1    
impress its lesson on the  child's      
imagination4 ,to pass over it           
slightingly is to spoil what  is        
undoubtedly the climax of the whole     
,abraham story and ignore one  of the   
best opportunities of deeply impressing 
the child with the  lesson of faith1    
obedience and self sacrifice4    ,begin 
the lesson by speaking of ,abraham's    
love for ,isaac1 now  the only son that 
was left him and of the hopes he        
cherished of  seeing him grow up to be a
 great man according to ,god's promise4 
,then tell how ,god resolved to test    
,abraham's obedience by seeing  whether 
he would be willing to give up that     
which he loved most if  so commanded4   

,before telling of ,god's command to    
sacrifice ,isaac  remind the child of   
the prevalent custom of animal sacrifice
 which  he had heard of in connection   
with ,cain and ,noah4 ,the fact of the  
general prevalence of human sacrifice at
 that time should not be  taught the    
child as it will be impossible for him  
to comprehend  such a practice and as   
the story only gains in force for him by
  making ,god's demand of ,abraham      
appear extraordinary4 ,we need not      
scruple that we are violating the       
,biblical moral in this instance1  since
 the ,bible's denunciation of human     
sacrifice is not a moral  that the child
 has need of4 ,a reference to animal    
sacrifice will  therefore suffice to    
make comprehensible the command to      
sacrifice  ,isaac4 ,all the conversation
 in this story should be quoted in the  
language of the ,bible1 not omitting    
,isaac's pathetic query1 ,behold  the   
fire and the wood2 but where is the lamb
 for a burnt-offering8  ,and ,abraham's 

evasive answer1 ,god will provide       
,himself the lamb  for a burnt-offering1
 my son4 ,in telling how ,isaac was     
bound to  the altar emphasize the fact  
that he did not rebel although he knew  
now that he was to be the sacrifice1    
because of his obedience to  ,god and   
his father and his confidence in them4  
,when telling how the  ram was found    
caught by its horns in the bushes1 ask1 
,how many  of you have ever seen a ram's
 horn8 ,there will probably be no       
response4 ,then show the class a shofar 
or a picture of one and  ask1 ,what is  
this8 ,the answer will be a shofar4     
,then continue2  ,well1 a shofar is the 
horn of a ram4 ,when we hear the shofar 
blown on ,rosh ha-,shanah it should     
remind us of this ram and of how        
,abraham was willing to sacrifice ,isaac
 and ,isaac was willing to be           
sacrificed when ,god commanded1 and we  
should think of how we1 who  are sons of
 ,abraham and ,isaac1 must be willing   
also to obey ,god and  our parents in   

everything even if it should be very    
hard to do so1  even if it should cost  
us our life4 ,in order to make sure that
  the child has understood the motives  
of the story the following  questions   
may be asked in reviewing it3 #a4 ,when 
,god asked ,abraham  to sacrifice       
,isaac1 did he really want him to kill  
his son8 #b4 ,why  did ,god ask ,abraham
 to sacrifice ,isaac8 #c4 ,when ,abraham
 tied ,isaac  to the altar did ,isaac   
rebel against his father8 ,when we hear 
the  shofar blown on ,rosh ha-,shanah   
what should we think of8                
,,chapter ,,xiii    ,,death ,,of ,,sarah
 ,,and ,,the ,,marriage ,,of ,,isaac    
,,and ,,rebekah    ,genesis #bc and #bd 
,interpretation4 ,the incident of the   
purchase of the ,cave of  ,machpelah    
need be mentioned only casually in      
connection with  the death of ,sarah as 
the political questions involved in the 
dialogue between the ,bene ,heth and    
,abraham are beyond the child's         
comprehension4#e      #e ,the teacher   

who is interested will find them        
discussed in    ,sulzberger's ,am       
,haaretz4    ,the care exercised in the 
selection of a wife for ,isaac from his 
own  kindred rather than from the       
daughters of ,canaan emphasizes again   
the interest of ,providence in selecting
 the stock out of which the  ,chosen    
,people was to come4 ,abraham's         
servant--presumably ,eliezer1  who is   
mentioned in ,genesis #ae4b--was not    
permitted to take ,isaac  out of ,canaan
 as that would have been equivalent to a
 desertion of  his historic mission     
which was connected with the ,promised  
,land4  ,significant are the            
qualifications of the ideal wife for    
,isaac  suggested in the prayer of      
,eliezer--kindness and hospitality4     
,aim4 ,the value of this lesson to the  
child1 apart from its  connection with  
the more general theme of ,god's        
selection of the  seed from which the   
,chosen ,people is to spring1 lies in   
the example  of faith in ,god and       

fidelity to his trust exhibited by      
,abraham's  servant1 and of the kindness
 and consideration shown by ,rebekah1   
which the child's sympathy with the     
characters of the story would  naturally
 lead him to imitate4    ,suggestions to
 the teacher4 ,by following the         
,biblical narrative  closely1 you will  
have little difficulty in imparting it  
to the  child4 ,when telling of the     
death of ,sarah1 dwell on her virtues a 
while and then explain ,abraham's       
concern that his son ,isaac should  have
 just such a wife as ,sarah had been1   
one that would be worthy  to be the     
mother of the great nation ,god had     
promised would be  descended from       
,isaac4 ,then relate how1 not finding   
such a wife among  his neighbors1       
,abraham sent to the land from which he 
and ,sarah  had come4 ,explain          
,abraham's refusal to let ,isaac go to  
,mesopotamia  because ,god had told     
,abraham to leave that place and had    
promised  that in ,canaan he would make 

of his seed a great nation4 ,emphasize  
the length and difficulty of the        
journey1 pointing out the route on  the 
map if the children are old enough to   
interpret a map4          ,,chapter     
,,xiv    ,,the ,,sale ,,of ,,the        
,,birthright    ,genesis #be4a to #cd   
,interpretation4 7,chapter #be4 #a to   
#aj may be omitted as containing        
nothing of interest to children1 except 
that ,abraham's death and  burial should
 be mentioned47    ,the story of ,jacob 
and ,esau in their contention for the   
birthright  and the blessing is one that
 is frequently misunderstood4 ,the      
tendency to idealize the forefathers of 
the race has lead many  teachers to     
attempt to justify the conduct of ,jacob
 in his efforts  to secure the          
birthright and the blessing1 totally    
ignoring the fact  that all the wretched
 consequences which followed naturally  
upon  his attempt would seem to indicate
 that ,god did not approve4 ,what  these
 consequences were will be discussed in 

subsequent chapters4  ,other teachers   
sin in the opposite direction and make  
out ,esau to  be the innocent victim of 
,jacob's cunning and avarice4 ,how they 
can  reconcile this with the choice of  
,jacob to be the patriarch rather  than 
,esau1 how they can conceive that ,god's
 will could confirm the  act of ,jacob  
and the hand of ,providence be1 so to   
speak1 forced  into blessing ,jacob     
though ,esau was the more worthy of     
blessing1 is  difficult to understand4  
,the mistake common to both these       
versions  of the ,biblical meaning of   
the story is that they look at it mainly
  as a character study of two           
contrasting types1 whereas the moral of 
the story lies not so much in the       
characters as in the incidents1  which1 
when given closer attention1 reveal the 
fact that the motive  underlying the    
whole story is not the personal contest 
between  ,jacob and ,esau but the       
carrying out of ,god's plan1 contained  
in  his promise to ,abraham1 the plan of

 bringing into existence the  people to 
whom ,he was to reveal ,himself4 ,and   
this idea is brought  out1 as in the    
story of ,abraham's relation to ,ishmael
 and ,isaac1  by contrasting the        
purposes of the human agents with ,god's
 purpose  and showing how ,god's purpose
 is made to triumph by ,his so shaping  
the incidents of ,jacob's life that they
 correct ,jacob's original              
misconception of his mission4    ,let us
 see how the incidents in this chapter  
cast light on our  theme4 ,note in the  
first instance the prophecy contained in
  ,genesis #be4bc which indicates in    
advance that ,jacob and not ,esau  was  
intended from the beginning to be the   
heir of the blessing of  ,abraham4 ,note
 also that the prophecy speaks of two   
nations and  two peoples1 showing       
distinctly that the events of the       
narrative  were shaped by ,god with a   
view to subsequent history not merely to
  the lives of ,jacob and ,esau as      
individuals4 ,the very fact that the    

elder shall serve the younger is to give
 emphasis to the divine  election of    
,jacob1 for1 according to the law and   
custom of those  days1 the elder was    
entitled to the obedience and service of
 the  younger4 ,had ,jacob been the     
older of the two brothers his subsequent
  preeminence and that of his           
descendants would have seemed but part  
of the natural course of events and     
would not have argued divine  election1 
but with ,esau the first born the       
subsequent elevation of  ,jacob does so 
argue4    ,this1 as well as much else in
 the story1 becomes clearer to us if  we
 understand what was meant by the       
birthright4 ,in patriarchal  times1 the 
father was absolute ruler over his      
descendants4 ,at  his death1 the oldest 
son took his place and inherited as even
 in  later times1 twice as large a      
portion of the estate as any of his     
other sons4 7,see ,deuteronomy #ba4ag47 
,but this is not all that was  involved 
in the birthright4 ,if it were all1     

,jacob's desire for it  would have been 
mere avarice and ambition and would have
 justified  that total condemnation     
which many a teacher has given him4 ,but
 we  must remember that the first born  
was also the religious head of the      
tribe4 7,see ,numbers #c4de47 ,it was   
therefore most natural for ,jacob  to   
assume that ,god's promise to ,abraham1 
with all its spiritual  implications1   
naturally went with the birthright4     
,now let us examine the characters as   
they appear in this chapter4  ,esau is  
not the consummate villain that he is so
 frequently depicted  as being in later 
,jewish agada4 ,but on the other hand1  
he is not  the injured hero4 ,the story 
characterizes him as a skilful hunter1  
interested in his woodcraft1 and caring 
little about either the  privileges or  
the responsibilities of his birthright4 
,to ,jacob  however the inheritance of  
the blessing of ,abraham was important1 
perhaps a knowledge of the prophecy that
 had preceded his birth  making it even 

more so4 ,esau had forfeited his moral  
right to the  blessing through his      
failure to appreciate it4 ,not too much 
stress  must be laid on ,esau's words   
,behold ,i am at the point to die and   
what profit shall the birthright do to  
me8 as these are to be  regarded not as 
a statement of sober fact but as the    
exaggeration of  a hungry man1 for the  
,bible takes pains to explain ,esau's   
attitude  in the words1 ,and he did eat 
and drink and rose up and went his  way4
 ,so ,esau despised his birthright1     
showing that he was at the  time        
perfectly satisfied with the bargain he 
had made4 ,this takes  from ,jacob the  
stigma of having forced the bargain on  
,esau when the  latter could not help   
himself4 ,he merely took advantage of   
,esau's  contempt for the birthright1   
which was sufficient evidence that he   
was not worthy to possess it4 ,at the   
same time1 ,jacob's employing  these    
means to secure the birthright does not 
seem1 as will appear  more clearly in   

later chapters1 to meet the divine      
approval1 because  7#a7 this attempt to 
wrest the birthright from ,esau through 
taking  advantage of ,esau's weakness in
 itself argues a lack of complete       
confidence in the realization of ,god's 
promise1 in other words1 a  lack of that
 quality of temimut1 of naive acceptance
 of ,god's  will1 which was so          
conspicuous a trait of ,abraham's       
character1 and  7#b7 because he does not
 fully understand the spiritual         
character of  his mission inasmuch as he
 regards its realization as dependent   
upon  the legal status of the           
birthright1 which he could1 so he       
thought1  secure by purchase4    ,aim4  
,the aim of this lesson is to teach the 
general truth that  a privilege which is
 not appreciated becomes forfeit1 and   
the  particular truth that to be a ,jew 
is to possess such a privilege1  which  
we must learn to appreciate4            
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,before    
beginning the narrative of this  chapter

 itself1 prepare the way by questions   
that will bring out the  fact of the    
election of ,abraham and his descendants
 and the choice  that ,god exercised in 
selecting from among his descendants    
only  those properly qualified4 ,such   
questions are the following2 ,do you    
remember1 when we were learning about   
,abraham and about how ,god told  him to
 leave his land and go to the land that 
,he would show him1  that ,god made     
,abraham a promise8 ,what was that      
promise8 7,note3 ,the  answer must      
include the idea that his descendants   
would be a great  nation1 a blessing to 
all the world1 and would inherit        
,canaan47 ,when  our father ,abraham    
died1 did this blessing go to both his  
children1  to ,ishmael and to ,isaac8   
,to whom did the blessing belong8       
,after having thus prepared the way     
proceed as follows3    ,now ,isaac and  
,rebekah also had two children4 ,the    
first born or  older was called ,esau   
and the younger ,jacob1 and it was known

 that  only one of the two was to       
inherit the blessing1 but for a long    
time  it was not known which one4       
,then contrast the two characters       
emphasizing the physical prowess of     
,esau1 which won him the more universal 
admiration and the preference  of his   
father with the quiet thoughtfulness of 
,jacob4 ,in order to  impress the child1
 the contrast must be given largely in  
terms of  their physical appearance4 ,we
 continue the narrative as a teacher    
might tell it in class3    ,these two   
sons1 ,esau and ,jacob1 were very       
different one from the  other4 ,esau was
 a big strong man1 rough and hairy in   
appearance1 who  delighted in all sorts 
of sport and exercise1 especially in    
hunting4  ,people admired him for his   
great strength and skill and most of    
them thought that surely this big1      
strong man was the one whom ,god  had   
chosen to be the father of ,his people4 
,and ,isaac himself loved  ,esau more   
than he did ,jacob1 because1 now that   

,isaac was growing  old1 ,esau used to  
hunt food for him in the forest and     
would tell him  wonderful stories of his
 strength and skill in catching the deer
 and  other game that he prepared for   
him for food4 ,but ,jacob was very      
different4 ,he was not above the average
 man in strength and he had  no         
particular skill in hunting as had      
,esau4 ,he was a quiet man1 who  used to
 sit for hours in his tent1 while his   
flocks were pasturing  nearby and think 
about the things he had learned from his
 father and  mother and from his        
grandfather ,abraham1 about how ,god had
 made the  world1 and about how he had  
told ,abraham to leave his country and  
go  to a new land1 and1 above all1 about
 the promise that ,god had given  to    
,abraham to make of his descendants a   
great people4 ,which of these  two sons 
of ,isaac and ,rebekah had ,god chosen  
to become the father of  the ,jewish    
people8 ,most people1 no doubt1 thought 
at the time that  ,esau was meant1      

because he was the stronger and more    
successful in  the hunt1 but there was  
one person who thought differently1 and 
that  was the mother of these two young 
men1 ,rebekah4 ,for she remembered  a   
prophecy that ,god had told her before  
either of the two children  were born1  
and this prophecy said1 ',two nations   
will come from thee  and two peoples    
will be born of thee and one will be    
stronger than  the other1 but the elder 
will serve the younger'4    ,the        
prophecy is introduced here rather than 
at the beginning of the  story because  
it is well to stimulate the child's     
curiosity as to  which of the two is to 
receive the blessing of ,abraham before 
giving  him any hint as to the answer4  
,by thus beginning with a statement  of 
the question1 the child's attention is  
at once directed to the  central theme  
of the narrative without which the      
incident of the  sale of the birthright 
is not comprehensible4 ,but now one     
comes  face to face with the subject of 

the birthright itself4 ,explain1  that  
beside ,esau's strength and skill1 there
 was another reason why  people thought 
that ,esau was to be the chosen son1 and
 that is  because he was the older1 for 
it was the custom in those days that    
the oldest son enjoyed what was known as
 the birthright4 ,the idea of  the      
birthright can be explained by saying   
that in the days of which  we are       
speaking the father used to be the king 
over all his children  and their        
families and servants1 that he used to  
lead them in war  and judge all their   
disputes in time of peace1 and that he  
was also  their priest1 who used to     
perform the sacrifices for them and lead
  them in their prayers and hymns to    
,god1 but that1 when the father  died1  
the oldest son got all these rights and 
this right of the  oldest son to become 
priest and king after the death of the  
father  is known as the birthright4     
,after the child has a clear idea of the
 meaning of the birthright1  tell how   

,jacob thought that the one who had the 
birthright was he  whom ,god meant to   
make the head of the great nation he had
 told  ,abraham about1 since whoever had
 the birthright would be king and       
priest over all the others after        
,isaac's death4 ,i continue the         
narrative as the teacher might tell it3 
,so ,jacob kept thinking to himself1    
',if only ,i had the birthright6  ,if   
only ,i had the birthright6' but ,esau1 
who had the birthright1  seemed to care 
very little about it4 ,so long as there 
was game  enough in the forest to keep  
him busy hunting1 he bothered his head  
very little about what he would do when1
 on ,isaac's death1 he would  have to   
rule the people and lead them in the    
service of ,god1 and the  promise made  
to ,abraham that some day his           
descendants would become  a great nation
 concerned him even less1 for he thought
 only of the  affairs of the day and to 
the future he gave no thought at all4   
,this brings us to the climax of the    

narrative1 the actual sale  of the      
birthright4 ,it must be told in such a  
way that the child  understands the     
point that ,esau lost his birthright    
because he did  not know how to         
appreciate it1 and that1 as a universal 
proposition1  a privilege not           
appreciated is lost4 ,this can best be  
done if1  before telling the story of   
the sale of the birthright1 one presents
  a hypothetical case somewhat as       
follows3    ,suppose1 children1 that a  
man owned a very valuable book which he 
wanted to leave when he died to one of  
his two children1 and suppose  that one 
of his children was a great lover of    
books and the other  did not care even  
to look at a book or to take the trouble
 to learn  to read1 which of the two    
children do you think ought to have had 
the book after the father's death8 ,of  
course1 the one who knew the  value of  
the book and how to appreciate it1      
because we only deserve  what we know   
how to appreciate4 ,now who do you think

 should have had  the birthright1 ,esau1
 who did not care about being the father
 of the  great people ,god had promised 
to make of ,abraham's descendants1 or   
,jacob who did care8 7,answer3 ,jacob47 
,well1 ,jacob thought so too and  so he 
began planning how he might get ,esau to
 give up the birthright  to him4    ,in 
quoting the dialogue between ,esau and  
,jacob1 paraphrase ,esau's  words in    
verse #cb so as to make it perfectly    
clear that they are an  expression of   
contempt for the birthright1 ,i am so   
hungry ,i could  die4 ,what do ,i care  
for the birthright6    ,after having    
told the story question the children    
with a view to  seeing whether they     
understand its leading ideas4 ,the      
following are  suggestive questions3    
,what promise did ,god make to ,abraham 
and to ,isaac8    ,was this promise     
meant for both of ,isaac's children8    
,which of ,isaac's children do you think
 ,god wanted to have the  promised      
blessing8 ,why8 7,note3 ,if the child   

gives the wrong answer1  the teacher    
must ask a number of leading questions  
until the right  answer is secured47    
,what does birthright mean8 ,who had the
 birthright at the beginning  of our    
story8 ,did ,esau care very much for the
 birthright8 ,did  ,jacob want it8 ,why 
did ,jacob want it8 ,what did ,jacob do 
to get the  birthright8    ,this lesson 
lends itself easily to dramatization by 
the children4  7,see ,introduction1 page
 #ca47          ,,chapter ,,xv          
,,jacob ,,secures ,,the ,,blessing      
,genesis #bf4a to #bh4i                 
,interpretation4 ,in the first part of  
this lesson which deals  with the life  
of ,isaac1 ,genesis #bf4c is significant
 as emphasizing  the idea of ,palestine 
as a chosen land1 an idea which is the  
more  significant because it suggests   
that ,jacob's flight from the land      
implied that he had somehow forfeited   
,god's favor and that his  flight was in
 reality a form of exile imposed on him 
as a punishment  and discipline4 ,verses

 #g to #ab must necessarily be omitted4 
,their  general significance is the same
 as that of ,genesis #bj4 ,isaac's      
patience and forbearance in the matter  
of the wells suggests  comparison with  
,abraham in his relations to ,lot4      
,with regard to the incident of ,jacob's
 securing the blessing1 we  have already
 in the last chapter discussed the      
significance of the  main theme of this 
story4 ,a few new elements1 however1    
enter into  it here4 ,one of these is   
the blindness of ,isaac1 which1 by      
making  him more dependent upon ,esau1  
keeps him from realizing ,jacob's       
superior qualifications for becoming    
heir to the blessing of  ,abraham4      
,another new element that enters into   
the story is ,esau's  marrying the two  
,hittite women who were a bitterness of 
spirit to  ,isaac and ,rebekah4 ,this   
gives an additional motive for          
,rebekah's  action in trying to secure  
the birthright to ,jacob1 since ,rebekah
  would otherwise1 at the death of      

,isaac1 become subject to ,esau and  his
 wives4 ,it moreover gives emphasis to  
the fact that ,esau was  not to be the  
father of the chosen seed1 since1 in the
 case of all  of the patriarchs care is 
exercised that their wives shall        
likewise  be of chosen seed1 of the same
 stock which produced the patriarchs    
themselves4 ,genesis #bg4cc is          
significant1 particularly the words1    
yea1 and he shall be blessed1 as        
implying ,isaac's recognition  that1    
though the blessing was secured to      
,jacob by a deception1 it  was still an 
indication of ,god's purpose1 and that  
he had hitherto  been mistaken in       
wanting to confer the blessing on ,esau4
 ,the same  thought is implied in his   
assenting to ,rebekah's suggestion that 
,jacob seek a wife from her kindred and 
in his repeating on that  occasion the  
blessing1 ,may he give thee the blessing
 of ,abraham1  etc4 ,as we have already 
explained1 this does not mean that the  
,bible  approves of the deception       

practiced by ,rebekah and ,jacob4 ,quite
  the contrary4 ,the one immediate      
effect is that ,rebekah has to lose     
,jacob2 that ,jacob1 instead of entering
 immediately into possession  of the    
land and the birthright1 is a fugitive  
and an exile2 that1  as we shall see in 
subsequent chapters1 ,rebekah's hope for
 ,jacob's  speedy return is not         
fulfilled2 and that as will likewise    
appear  later1 there is great danger of 
,jacob's remaining in ,aramea and       
totally forgetting his destiny until    
,providence forces him to  remember4    
,the circumstances related in this      
narrative as we have explained  them are
 significant by reason of what they have
 to teach us with  regard to ,israel's  
mission as the chosen people4 ,in the   
first place1  there is implied the idea1
 which we have frequently pointed out   
before1 that ,god's purpose with regard 
to his people is not fully  realized by 
them4 ,this is shown in our lesson by   
the fact that the  patriarchs are       

represented as acting in a way which    
would tend to  defeat ,god's purpose    
regarding them1 as1 for instance1 when  
,isaac  almost gives the blessing to    
,esau and when ,jacob1 through the means
  he chooses to secure the blessing1 is 
compelled to flee from the  ,promised   
,land which he was to inherit4 ,this is 
a very important  corrective to that    
arrogance which faith in divine election
 is  likely to bring with it1 for it    
contradicts the assumption that  the    
,jewish people is infallible4 ,there is1
 moreover1 implied in  this story the   
idea that when ,israel does not rightly 
conceive  its mission1 it must be taught
 through the discipline of hardship  and
 suffering1 as in the case of ,jacob1   
that election does not  mean immunity   
from punishment but1 on the contrary1   
stricter  accountability1 as expressed  
by ,amos1 ,you only have ,i known of all
  the families of the earth2 therefore  
,i will visit upon you all your         
iniquities4 7,amos #c4b47    ,aim4 ,the 

child will not be expected to grasp all 
the implications  of this narrative1 but
 neither will they all escape him1 and  
if the  story is well told1 without any 
undue idealization of the characters  or
 distortion of the narrative for the    
sake of reading a moral  into it1 the   
story will impress itself on him        
sufficiently to gain  added meaning as  
he reverts to it in later years4 ,it is 
a mistake  to imagine that a moral which
 is not formulated is of necessity not  
learned4    ,for the child's immediate  
benefit1 however1 it is well to         
emphasize  the punishment of ,jacob's   
deception in order to inculcate the     
ideal  of truthfulness4 ,but great care 
must be exercised in order not  to make 
,jacob so unsympathetic that ,esau      
becomes the hero of the  story1 for this
 would distort the ,biblical moral and  
give rise to a  misunderstanding of it  
which the pupil is not likely to correct
 in  later life4 ,it must always be made
 plain that ,jacob had a right to  want 

and expect the blessing1 but that he    
should have trusted ,god to  give it to 
him and should not have tried to get it 
through deception4    ,suggestions to   
the teacher4 ,inasmuch as the moral of  
this story is  dependent on an          
understanding of the motives on which   
the characters  act1 take particular    
pains to make your dramatic             
impersonation  of the characters as     
realistic as possible and not to delay  
the  movement of the plot by lengthy    
moralizing4 ,this story1 like the       
preceding one of the sale of the        
birthright1 lends itself very well  to  
dramatization by the class1 and the     
success of the children in  assuming the
 roles of the different characters will 
be an excellent  test of your success in
 imparting the story4    ,though one    
should avoid moralizing in such a way as
 would interrupt  the thread of the     
narrative1 the very complexity of the   
motives of  the characters gives a good 
opportunity to ask such questions as    

would necessitate the exercise of moral 
judgment on the part of  the class1 as  
for instance3 ,was ,jacob right in      
trying to get the  blessing from his    
father by taking advantage of his       
blindness8 ,was  ,jacob punished for    
having deceived his father8 ,how8 etc4  
,but though  the teacher may raise these
 questions1 they must not be left open  
questions4 ,the ,biblical moral must be 
kept clearly in mind and  convincingly  
presented2 otherwise such questions     
merely develop a  casuistical attitude  
on the part of the class1 which is      
morally bad4          ,,chapter ,,xvi   
,,jacob',s ,,dream    ,genesis #bh4aj-bb
      ,interpretation4 ,the story of    
,jacob's dream1 in order to be clearly  
understood1 should be considered in     
connection with the rest of  ,jacob's   
life4 ,his life may be divided into     
three periods4 ,during the  first       
period1 spent in his father's home1 he  
endeavors by his own  efforts1 partly   
through unscrupulous means1 to secure   

the birthright  and blessing1 with the  
result that instead of having the       
preeminence  over ,esau he must flee    
before him1 instead of inheriting the   
,promised ,land he is an exile from it1 
and instead of becoming the  father of a
 great people he becomes subject to the 
tribe which his  grandfather ,abraham   
had been commanded to leave4    ,the    
second period of ,jacob's life embraces 
his abode in ,aramea4  ,during this     
period1 his early ambitions become more 
and more  remote and unreal4 ,first     
love1 then the raising of his family and
  hard labor in the service of ,laban   
draw his mind from his earlier          
ambitions1 and it is with reference to  
this period that we are told1  ,a       
wandering ,aramean was my father4       
7,deuteronomy #bf4e47 ,but just  when it
 would seem that the hope with regard to
 his future1 which he  had tried at     
first in vain to realize and had then   
almost abandoned1  was wholly lost1 ,god
 intervenes to send him once more to his

 land4    ,the third period of his life 
finds him in undisputed possession of   
the land1 the prophecy of his youth     
fulfilled1 though in a way very         
different from his youthful             
anticipations of its fulfillment4       
,now ,jacob's dream at ,beth ,el is     
significant by reason of its  position  
at the beginning of the second period in
 his life1 during  which he increasingly
 forgets his mission4 ,it is intended to
 inform  the reader that1 though ,jacob 
might forget1 ,god would not and  that1 
though ,jacob's blundering devices could
 not secure him the  birthright and     
blessing1 ,god could secure them to him 
even when he  despaired of them4        
,aim4 ,the aim of this story should be  
to impress the child with a  sense of   
the watchful providence of ,god over our
 forefathers and  us1 and with the      
desire to express appreciation of this  
divine  guardianship in worship4 ,this  
story affords an excellent occasion  for
 urging upon children the saying of a   

prayer on going to bed  and on rising1  
in this way showing an opportunity for  
the child's  application of the lesson  
in his daily life4    ,suggestions to   
the teacher4 ,begin by contrasting the  
comfortable  feeling of the child when  
he goes to bed in his own room1 in his  
own bed1 with his mother to pull the    
blanket over him and all the  family    
nearby1 with the way he would feel if   
night overtook him in a  lonely         
wilderness with no one near except      
perhaps wild beasts1 and  he had to lie 
down on the ground with a stone for a   
pillow4 ,after  this description1 give  
the point of the story you wish to      
teach1  as follows3 ,and yet even if you
 would have to sleep alone in the       
wilderness1 you would not be really     
alone1 for ,god is always with us  and  
sees us even though we do not see ,him1 
and takes care of us1 as  the story ,i  
am going to tell you will show4    ,then
 proceed with the story of ,jacob1      
emphasizing his despairing  mood when he

 leaves ,beer ,sheba1 his fear of ,esau1
 his grief at  parting from his parents 
and home1 his disappointment at having  
to  leave the land ,god had promised to 
,abraham and ,isaac and the sense  of   
having failed after all to secure the   
birthright1 together with  the physical 
dangers and terrors of the wilderness4  
,then tell how  ,jacob lay down in the  
wilderness to sleep1 and how ,god1 who  
had been  watching him all the time and 
took pity on him1 sent him a beautiful  
dream to comfort him4 ,god's promise in 
verses #ac1 #ad1 #ae should be  quoted  
in ,biblical language1 as should also   
,jacob's exclamation  ,surely the ,lord 
is in this place2 and ,i knew it not 444
 this is  none other than the house of  
,god1 and this is the gate of heaven4   
,jacob's conduct in setting the place   
aside for worship and his vow  should   
also receive notice4 ,the significance  
of the name ,beth ,el  should be taught 
the children and its location pointed   
out on the  map4    ,when the story has 

been told and repeated by the class1    
ask1 ,how  many of you1 when you go to  
bed or when you get up in the morning   
think of how1 while you are asleep1 ,god
 watches over you and takes  care that  
nothing bad should happen to you8 ,do   
you say any prayer to  ,god when you go 
to bed or when you get up to show that  
you know ,he  takes care of you and     
thank ,him for it8 ,what do you say when
 you go  to bed8 ,when you get up8      
,several children should be questioned  
on  this as each child who does say his 
prayers will want to be given  a hearing
 and should be encouraged4 ,the children
 might be asked to  memorize in ,hebrew 
and ,english the verse         ,behold1 
,he that keepeth ,israel doth neither   
slumber nor  sleep and be asked to make 
it a part of their night prayer4        
,,chapter ,,xvii    ,,jacob ,,in        
,,aramea    ,genesis #bi4a to #ca4ed    
,interpretation4 ,the general           
significance of this period in ,jacob's 
life has already been discussed4 ,note  

that when1 after completing  his term of
 service for ,leah and ,rachel1 he      
thinks of returning to  his home1 the   
suggestion of a new contract with ,laban
 satisfies him  and he remains1 so      
remote is now the thought of the        
birthright to  him4 ,and yet through    
persistent1 persevering labor he does   
attain to  a certain measure of power   
and influence and to patriarchal        
dignity4  ,it is interesting to note the
 poetic justice which makes him during  
this period of his life the victim of   
just that sort of deceit  which he had  
himself practised4 ,nevertheless in     
spite of the deceit  practised upon him 
by ,laban1 ,jacob remains scrupulously  
true to  his side of the contract and   
serves the additional seven years for   
,rachel although he might have been     
tempted to shirk1 as he had been  paid  
in advance4 7,see ,genesis #bi4bg to    
#cj47 ,to be sure he has no  scruples   
about taking the full advantage of his  
superior mastery of  the shepherd's art 

in his dealings with ,laban1 but he was 
certainly  under no obligations to him  
after the treatment he had received     
from him4 ,one naturally omits in       
teaching this lesson to children1       
,genesis #bi4ca to #cj4bd1 except that  
the pupils should be taught the  names  
of ,jacob's children because of their   
significance as heads of  the tribes4   
,the incident of the theft of the       
teraphim may also be  omitted because   
the absence of positive knowledge as to 
what the  teraphim were and what part   
they played in the religious life of    
our ancestors prevents us from doing    
justice to this episode4    ,aim4 ,this 
lesson1 together with the ones that     
precede and follow  it1 is well         
calculated to impress on the child the  
superior  advantage of honest1 faithful 
labor over craftiness and deceit4 ,this 
was already taught negatively in the    
preceding lessons through the  failure  
of ,jacob to attain his ends by         
deception4 ,it is taught in  this lesson

 both negatively and positively2        
negatively by ,jacob's  being made to   
feel what it means to be deceived1 and  
positively  by the fact that when       
,jacob1 notwithstanding the deceit      
practiced  on him1 continues to render  
faithful service1 he is finally given   
the opportunity to return and claim the 
birthright4 ,the idea of  truthfulness  
is further enforced by ,god's example in
 redeeming ,his  promise to ,jacob at   
,beth ,el4    ,suggestions to the       
teacher4 ,before beginning this lesson  
review  briefly the preceding1          
emphasizing the change in ,jacob's      
attitude  since his dream at ,beth ,el1 
particularly his resolution not to      
attempt to secure the birthright through
 his own cunning but to  rely on ,god's 
promise and to try to live aright in the
 present1  trusting ,god as to the      
future4 ,the incident of ,jacob's       
lifting the  stone from the well to     
assist ,rachel in watering the flock    
should  be given due emphasis as        

children of this age are interested in  
feats of strength4 ,the romantic aspect 
of ,jacob's love for ,rachel  need not  
be emphasized as this is lost on the    
child4 ,in telling of  ,jacob's service 
as shepherd to ,laban1 attempt to give  
the child an  idea of what a shepherd's 
work actually was1 how it exposed him to
  all kinds of weather1 how he had to   
protect his sheep against wild  beasts1 
how he had to draw water for them1 to   
shear them1 etc41  so that ,jacob's     
serving ,laban for all these years shall
 have some  meaning to them4 ,as        
children have very peculiar ideas of the
 length  of time1 try to give some      
conception of how long a time seven     
years  is by asking one of the children 
how old he is and then explaining  that 
seven years is probably longer than all 
the time that he can  remember4 ,explain
 also how the time seemed shorter to    
,jacob because  of his happiness in     
being with ,rachel by a reference to the
 child's  own experience of how quickly 

time flies when he is enjoying  himself 
at play4 ,to emphasize ,jacob's         
perseverance tell of ,laban's           
deception1 then ask1 ,now if you had    
worked hard for a thing for  seven long 
years and then were cheated out of it1  
how would you feel  about it8 ,then     
point out the moral somewhat as follows3
    ,jacob too felt very angry and did  
not at all like to work seven  more     
years for what should rightly have been 
given him then4 ,but  no doubt the      
thought came to him1 after all1 was ,i  
any better than  ,laban8 ,did ,i not    
deceive my father ,isaac into giving me 
the blessing  when he wanted to give it 
to ,esau1 just as ,laban has deceived   
me8  ,maybe this is ,god's way of       
punishing me4 ,i must be patient and    
work  another seven years as ,i have    
promised ,laban even though it will be  
hard and unpleasant1 and then maybe ,god
 will let me go back home and  bless me 
as ,he has promised4          ,,chapter 
,,xviii    ,,jacob ,,returns ,,to       

,,canaan    ,genesis #cb to #ce         
,interpretation4 ,note the significant  
contrast between ,jacob's  leaving      
,canaan and his return4 ,when he left1  
he was nominally and  in his own esteem 
the possessor of the birthright and the 
blessing1  which he had secured through 
his own effort and which he thought     
entitled him to possession of ,canaan   
and the preeminence over  ,esau4        
,actually1 however1 he had gained       
nothing1 and was a fugitive  before     
,esau and an exile from the land4 ,on   
his return1 he makes no  demands        
whatever1 acknowledges ,esau as         
sovereign1 is ready to pay  him tribute 
and to placate him with gifts1 and prays
 to ,god only for  deliverance from     
,esau's vengeance4 ,and yet we find him 
at the end of  this episode1 by reason  
of his victory over ,shechem and of     
,esau's  departure to ,seir1 in actual  
possession of the ,promised ,land and a 
recognized ruler of a now important     
clan4    ,before entering on his more   

illustrious destiny1 however1 he must   
be put to the test and atone for the    
desertion of his mission in  his flight 
from the land in consequence of his     
efforts to wrest  the birthright and the
 blessing from ,esau4 ,this test is     
indicated  by his struggle with the     
angel on the very border of the         
,promised  ,land1 a struggle from which 
he does not escape unscathed4 ,just what
  the ,biblical author wished to express
 by this struggle of ,jacob  with the   
angel it is difficult to say4 ,it is    
sometimes interpreted  by teachers and  
preachers as an allegorical             
representation of a  purely subjective  
struggle in ,jacob's heart1 but such an 
explanation  is extremely far-fetched4  
,the episode suggests comparison with   
the incident recorded in ,exodus #d4    
#bd-bf and seems to imply that          
consecration to any high task involves  
exposing oneself to danger1  if1 in any 
way1 one is not thoroughly qualified for
 the task4  ,so long as ,moses has not  

taken upon himself the task of leading  
the children of ,israel from ,egypt his 
failure to circumcize his  children can 
be overlooked1 but once he has assumed  
that task1 he  is threatened with death 
for his failure to do so4 ,similarly1   
when  ,jacob is about to enter into the 
land promised in his father's  blessing 
and confirmed in the vision at ,beth    
,el1 he too finds  himself face to face 
with a divinely commissioned opponent4  
,his  victory over the angel is symbolic
 of his success in finally  qualifying  
for his mission as is implied in the    
change of his name  to ,israel with the 
explanation of its significance1 ,for   
thou  hast striven with ,god and with   
men and hast prevailed4 ,inasmuch  as   
there is not mentioned here any struggle
 with men1 the  thought is suggested    
that this victory is an omen of the     
future  success of the chosen people1   
while the shrinking of ,jacob's  thigh  
sinew suggests that this success is not 
to be won without  suffering and        

sacrifice1 an interpretation frequently 
found in  the ,midrash4 ,this           
representation of the experience of a   
nation  in terms of that of an          
individual who is the nation's founder  
is  much more in keeping with the spirit
 of ,biblical literature than  the      
allegorical representation of abstract  
truths in terms of  historic or         
biographical events4 ,note in this      
connection ,hosea  #ab4 #c-e2 ,the ,lord
 hath also a controversy with ,judah1   
and will  punish ,jacob according to his
 ways1 according to his doings will  ,he
 recompense him4 ,in the womb he took   
his brother by the heel1 and  by his    
strength he strove with a god-like      
being2 so he strove with  an angel1 and 
prevailed2 he wept1 and made            
supplication unto him3  ,at ,beth ,el he
 would find him and there he would speak
 with us4  ,the meaning of these verses 
is obscure but it is evident that the   
prophet makes ,jacob's experience       
typical of ,israel's as a people4       

,aim4 ,there is in this lesson1 as in   
almost all those that deal  with the    
patriarchs1 a remote aim and an         
immediate one4 ,the remote  aim is the  
impression which the incidents recorded 
will make upon  the pupil when they are 
brought back to his mind in later years4
  ,the moral of the story in this       
connection is that the election of      
,israel is not determined by the        
inherent superiority of our people1  but
 by ,god's purpose with regard to them  
and mankind1 which purpose  ,he         
accomplishes by so shaping their history
 that it instructs and  disciplines them
 through struggle and achievement and   
reveals ,his  will with regard to them  
and their place in the world4 ,but this 
moral is too abstract and complex for   
the child and must only be  kept in mind
 by the teacher in order that he should 
not teach the  lesson in such a way as  
would later becloud the true meaning of 
the story1 as1 for example1 would be the
 case if he made ,jacob  throughout his 

whole life the ideal religious hero4    
,the immediate  lesson that the child   
can be taught to derive from the story  
is that  humble trust in ,god and       
obedience to ,his will can achieve for  
us  what a cunning that does not scruple
 at deceit cannot achieve4              
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,begin this
 lesson by reminding the  class of the  
promise ,god had made to ,jacob at ,beth
 ,el4 ,then announce  that you are going
 to tell how ,god kept this promise4    
,but before  doing so1 question the     
children further as to why ,jacob had to
 flee  from ,canaan if ,god wanted him  
to return and rule over it4 ,question   
until you bring out the point that      
,jacob had not used the proper  means to
 get the birthright and blessing4       
,illustrate by analogy  with the child's
 own experience the idea that1 because  
,jacob had  attempted to secure the     
birthright and blessing by wrong means1 
he had to be deprived of them until he  
finally learned the proper  means on    

which to rely1 namely faith in ,god4    
,this thought might be  illustrated as  
follows3    ,suppose a teacher promised 
a reward to a child if he would write a 
composition about something the class   
had been taught in its lesson1  and this
 child copied his composition from a    
book1 thinking that in  this way he     
would get the reward without having to  
work for it4 ,what  would the teacher   
do1 accept the composition8 ,no1 she    
would make him  write it again in his   
own words1 and then1 perhaps1 if he had 
done  it in the right way1 the teacher  
might give the reward to him4 ,so  ,god 
had indeed promised that ,isaac's son   
would one day become the  father of a   
great people in the land of ,canaan1 and
 he meant ,jacob  to become such1 but   
because ,jacob tried to bring this about
 in the  wrong way1 by deceiving his    
father and ,esau1 he could not at once  
be made the head of this people in      
,canaan4 ,so ,jacob had to leave the    
land that had been promised to him and  

work hard those twenty years  that he   
was with ,laban1 and suffer from        
,laban's meanness to him in  order that 
he might learn that if he wanted ,god's 
blessing he must  be patient and        
obedient and work honestly and then ,god
 would give  him ,his blessing4    ,then
 tell the story1 emphasizing ,jacob's   
submission to ,esau and the  humility of
 his prayer to ,god4 ,the latter can    
best be brought out by  quoting the     
prayer in the language of the ,bible4   
7,genesis #cb4 #aj to  #ac47 ,in        
describing ,jacob's wrestling with the  
angel do not read a  far-fetched moral  
into it4 ,merely explain that ,god sent 
an angel to  wrestle with ,jacob and    
that if ,jacob could make the angel     
bless him  that would be the sign that  
he was strong enough and great enough   
and good enough to be the father of the 
,jewish people4 ,the blessing  of the   
angel should be given in direct         
discourse4 ,in teaching the  change of  
name from ,jacob to ,israel1 call       

attention to the fact  that we ,jews are
 sometimes called ,children of ,israel  
or ,israelites  because we are all      
descended from ,israel4    ,do not fail 
to record ,esau's departure to ,mount   
,seir1 leaving ,jacob  in possession of 
the promised land1 and ,jacob's         
fulfillment of his  vow at ,beth ,el4   
,whenever recalling anything from a     
previous lesson  as in this instance    
,jacob's vow1 try to get the children to
 tell it  to you rather than tell it    
yourself4 ,say for example1 ,so we have 
seen how ,god kept ,his promise to      
,jacob to be with him when he was  away 
from his land1 and to bring him back    
home in safety1 and to  give to him and 
to his descendants the land of ,canaan1 
but do any of  you remember the promise 
that ,jacob made when he awoke after    
that  wonderful dream8 etc4             
,,chapter ,,xix    ,,joseph ,,sold      
,,into ,,slavery    ,genesis #cg        
,interpretation4 ,in the narratives     
dealing with the history of the         

patriarchs1 we have constantly          
emphasized that the point of view  of   
the ,biblical author regarded their     
lives as significant not so  much as    
personal history1 but rather as a       
preparation for ,israel's  national     
existence4 ,in the story of ,joseph this
 point of view is  still discernible1   
though the chief interest has been      
transferred to  the personal history of 
,joseph4 ,it is discernible in that     
,joseph's  being sold into ,egypt and   
the settling of his father and brothers 
in ,goshen are conceived not as         
fortuitous circumstances but as  part of
 a divine plan which had already been   
revealed to ,abraham4  7,genesis #ae4   
#ac47 ,still the main interest is1 as we
 have said1 in  the personal career of  
,joseph4 ,this narrative is preeminently
 a  story4 ,it is not a story with a    
moral1 but a story abounding in  morals4
 ,perhaps the most important from the   
point of view of the  child is that     
which might be summed up in the words of

 the psalmist1  ,behold1 how good and   
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
  together in unity6 7,psalms #acc4 #a47
 ,this is taught negatively in  the     
first part of the story and             
affirmatively in the last4 ,but such    
ideas as the danger of unjust           
discrimination on the part of parents1  
the evil of tale-bearing and            
boastfulness1 the value of honest1      
faithful service1 the nobility of       
resistance to temptation under  the most
 trying circumstances1 and the beauty of
 forgiveness and  reconciliation are    
only a few of the many other morals     
taught by  this story4 ,the portion of  
,joseph's life that is covered by this  
chapter shows how ,jacob's partiality to
 ,joseph created hostility  between him 
and his brothers by arousing in them    
envy and in him  a certain vanity and   
sense of superiority4 ,these            
characteristics  of ,joseph at this     
period of his life are not given any    
attention  by most ,jewish school       

teachers because of the tendency to     
idealize  all ,biblical heroes1 thus    
overlooking the obvious significance of 
,genesis #cg4 #b1 but the story only    
gains in meaning when we see at  the end
 how completely ,joseph had outlived all
 such pettiness as is  here ascribed to 
him4    ,there is some ambiguity in the 
,hebrew text as to one essential point  
of the story1 namely as to who sold     
,joseph4 ,the verses in question  read3 
#be4 ,and they sat down to eat bread2   
and they lifted up their  eyes and      
looked1 and1 behold1 a caravan of       
,ishmaelites came from  ,gilead4444     
#bf4 ,and ,judah said unto his brethren3
 ,what profit is it if we slay  our     
brother4444    #bg4 ,come and let us    
sell him to the ,ishmaelites4444 ,and   
his brethren  hearkened unto him4       
#bh4 ,and there passed by ,midianites1  
merchantmen1 and they drew and  lifted  
up ,joseph out of the pit1 and sold     
,joseph to the ,ishmaelites  for twenty 
shekels of silver4 ,and they brought    

,joseph into ,egypt4444    #cf4 ,and the
 ,midianites#f sold him to ,egypt4      
#f ,the ,hebrew has ,medanites4    ,from
 verse #bh1 taken by itself1 it would   
seem that not ,joseph's  brothers but   
the ,midianites drew ,joseph from the   
pit and sold him  to the ,ishmaelites1  
and this theory is actually maintained  
by some1  who point out that not only   
would the traditional interpretation    
require a change of subject in the      
middle of the verse1 which is  not      
otherwise indicated1 but it would imply 
the identification of  ,ishmaelites and 
,midianites1 which is untenable inasmuch
 as ,midian  was a son of ,abraham and  
,keturah and ,ishmael the son of        
,abraham and  ,hagar4 7,genesis #be4 #a 
and #b47    ,but this view is also not  
without its difficulties1 and1 in my    
opinion1 the traditional interpretation 
of the verses is to be  preferred4 ,for 
verses #bf to #bg indicate clearly that 
,judah's plan  to sell ,joseph met with 
the approval of his brothers and we     

should  surely expect some expression of
 disappointment on their part if  in the
 end their plan had miscarried4 ,the    
change of subject in  verse #bh which   
the traditional interpretation would    
require need  not trouble us as such    
change of subject is not very unusual in
 the  ,bible4 7,see for instance        
,genesis #ad4 #ai to #bj1 #ae4 #ac1 #bb4
 #g47 ,as  for the identification of    
,midianites with ,ishmaelites the fact  
is  that racial names sometimes are     
extended to include other related  races
 whom history has brought into close    
contact4 ,the descendants  of ,hagar and
 ,keturah are thus classed together in  
,genesis #be4f4 ,ibn  ,ezra1 in his     
commentary to our passage1 calls        
attention furthermore  to the fact that 
this same identification of ,midianites 
and  ,ishmaelites is made in ,judges    
#h4bd where ,gideon1 after a victory    
over the ,midianites1 says1 ',i would   
make a request of you1 that ye  would   
give me every man the ear-rings of his  

spoil4' ,for they had  had golden       
ear-rings1 because they were            
,ishmaelites4 ,the reading  ,medanites  
in verse #cf may be a scribal error for 
,midianites or vice  versa1 as the only 
difference is in the omission or        
insertion of a   od4    ,aim4 ,the aim  
in teaching this lesson should be to    
create in the  child1 through his       
sympathetic understanding of the motives
 that  underly the action of the story1 
an appreciation of those moral  ideals  
which we have shown to be contained in  
it4    ,suggestions to the teacher4 ,the
 story of ,joseph is one which no       
teacher ought have any great difficulty 
in imparting to children1  for it is a  
natural favorite with them4 ,they like  
it because its  ideas are simple and    
come1 for the most part1 within the     
range of  a child's experience4 ,the    
attitude of ,joseph's brothers to him   
is not dissimilar to the resentment that
 children display at any  indication of 
favoritism on the part of a teacher1 a  

resentment  which is invariably visited 
on teacher's pet4 ,the story appeals  to
 them also because of the rapidity of   
its movement1 the constant  shifting of 
scenes and incidents1 each making a new 
bid for their  attention1 and the heroic
 nature of the action1 in which the     
motives  of the characters whether good 
or evil reveal themselves not in mere   
thoughts and words but in deeds4        
,there could be no greater mistake1     
therefore1 than to deprive  the story of
 all its force through interrupting the 
flow of the  narrative by tedious       
moralizing4 ,the ,biblical story does   
not stop  to moralize1 yet the moral is 
clear enough1 and so it will be to  the 
class if the teacher tells his tale with
 the proper feeling and  spirit4    ,but
 the teacher must be cautioned1 on the  
other hand1 not to take  for granted the
 child's comprehension unaided of even  
so simple a  story as this4 ,any        
addition of details inserted into the   
narrative  with a view to helping the   

child visualize the incidents told is   
always in order4 ,in telling of how     
,joseph was lowered into the pit1  speak
 of his ineffectual cries and struggles 
to escape1 for1 though  children have   
good imaginations1 they have not had    
enough experience  out of which their   
imagination could reconstruct the whole 
situation  from a mere hint or two4     
,similarly such words as pit or caravan 
need  descriptive epithets or phrases to
 bring them before the child's  eye4    
,moreover1 the motives of the characters
 must be made clear by  a casual        
reference to analogous experiences of   
the child1 as for  instance3    ,now1   
when his brothers saw that ,joseph was  
better loved by his  father than the    
rest of them they became very angry at  
him and  instead of trying to win their 
father's love for themselves also1  they
 tried to get even with ,joseph1 just as
 ,i have sometimes seen  boys at school 
get angry at a classmate of theirs and  
do all sorts  of mischief to him just   

because the teacher gave him higher     
marks  than the others who were not so  
successful with their lessons4    ,but  
all such comparisons must be made only  
in a casual way and in as  few words as 
possible lest they divert the mind of   
the child from  the main trend of the   
narrative4 ,one should not forget for   
this  lesson the usefulness of pictures 
as helping to visualize the story1  and 
there are many good illustrations of    
this story to be had4 ,a  still greater 
assistance in impressing this lesson is 
that obtained  by permitting the        
children to dramatize it and act it1 for
 this  necessitates their comprehension 
of the motives of the characters4       
,,chapter ,,xx    ,,from ,,slave ,,to   
,,viceroy    ,genesis #ci4a to #da4df   
,interpretation4 ,there are no surer    
tests of character than  transplantation
 to a strange country without hope of   
return and  degradation to a lower      
social stratum without hope of rising4  
,for a  great part of our moral strength

 comes from the consciousness that  the 
eyes of others interested in our life   
are on us1 that we dare  not disappoint 
their expectations of us1 and that our  
acts affect  their happiness and honor4 
,the person who finds himself alone in  
a strange land from which he does not   
expect to return and from  which he does
 not expect rumors of his deeds to reach
 his former  associates must have an    
iron character to maintain his loyalty  
to  the moral standards of his earlier  
environment in the face of new          
temptations4 ,and particularly is this  
true if1 at the same time as  he is     
transplanted into a strange land1 he    
finds his social status  also reduced4  
,for the ambition to rise in his new    
environment1  to achieve success and    
recognition there1 might be sufficient  
incentive for some to scorn delights and
 live laborious days1  but for the      
enslaved in a new land this incentive   
also is lacking4  ,both these tests of  
character ,joseph had to meet and he met

 them  successfully4 ,arrived in ,egypt1
 he wastes no time brooding over his    
wrongs but sets to work diligently at   
his tasks in such a way as  to win him  
the confidence of his master4 ,this     
confidence he will  not abuse even under
 the most seductive of temptations and  
even  though his fidelity to principle  
results in the very loss of his         
master's confidence in him and in his   
consequent confinement in  the royal    
prison4 ,note that what keeps ,joseph   
pure is the sense of  responsibility not
 only to ,potiphar1 but1 in the first   
instance1 to  ,god1 so that the very    
fact which might lead others to sin1    
namely  the fact that ,potiphar could   
not know of his misdeeds1 fortifies him 
against sin4 ,he refused and said unto  
his master's wife1 ',behold1  my master1
 having me1 knoweth not what is in the  
house and he hath  put all that he hath 
into my hand2 he is not greater in this 
house  than ,i2 neither hath he kept    
back any thing from me but thee1        

because thou art his wife4 ,how then can
 ,i do this great wickedness1  and sin  
against ,god8' ,in prison he shows the  
same qualities with  the same result of 
winning the confidence of people4       
,aim4 ,the aim of this lesson is to     
inspire the child with the  example of  
,joseph's patience1 cheerfulness and    
faithfulness under  difficulties1 all of
 which qualities were influenced by his 
trust in  ,god4    ,suggestions to the  
teacher4 ,the suggestions made in the   
preceding  chapter apply to this one as 
well4 ,help the child to visualize the  
narrative and to make more explicit the 
feelings and motives of the  characters4
 ,discuss1 for instance1 the loneliness 
of ,joseph in this  strange land1 far   
from his home and all that he loved1 and
 contrast  with his early dreams of     
rulership his present status as a slave4
  ,try to give the child some idea of   
what slavery means1 not by a  definition
 but by telling the different kinds of  
work that ,joseph  had to do for his    

master in field and home without any pay
 or fixed  hours of rest and labor1 and 
subject to unreasonable demands of  task
 masters1 etc4 ,then point out that1    
though many people under  such          
circumstances would waste their time    
grumbling1 ,joseph trusted  that ,god   
would help him and made up his mind to  
do the best work  that he could4    ,the
 incident of ,joseph's temptation by    
,potiphar's wife can1 of  course1 be    
told only in general terms1 the teacher 
relating how  ,potiphar's wife1 who was 
a very wicked woman1 wanted ,joseph to  
help her do something that was wrong1   
and he refused4 ,his refusal  should be 
given in direct discourse and follow the
 general line  of thought of ,genesis   
#ci4h to #i1 keeping as much of the     
,biblical  language as possible4 ,when  
,joseph is cast into prison the teacher 
must again help the child realize       
emotionally what it meant for  ,joseph1 
after all his faithful service of       
,potiphar1 to be thrown  into prison as 

the very result of his fidelity and     
teach the pupil  to admire ,joseph's    
resolution to make the best of this     
situation  too by patient and cheerful  
bearing and sympathetic interest in  the
 other prisoners4 ,it is also well to   
make the child realize the  sharp       
contrasts of which there are so many in 
this story and which  greatly enhance   
its interest4 ,when the king's butler1  
released from  prison1 also forgets     
,joseph and ,joseph's one hope of escape
 seems  doomed to complete              
disappointment1 ,god provides the       
opportunity  not only for his escape but
 for his elevation to the vice-royalty4 
,this can be further emphasized by      
suggesting something of the pomp  and   
circumstance of ,pharaoh's court4 ,i say
 suggesting1 because the  teacher should
 never indulge in pure description1     
which is always  a bore to children4 ,an
 occasional descriptive adjective or    
phrase  can do the work quite as well4  
,the narration of such incidents as  the

 removal of ,joseph's prison clothes and
 his being attired in  fine linen before
 gaining admittance into the royal      
presence goes  far to emphasize the     
desired contrast between prison and     
palace4  ,so too the new dignity        
conferred on ,joseph is made clearer to 
the  child by telling him how the king  
gave ,joseph his ring and necklace  and 
made him ride in the chariot next his   
own while all the people  bowed before  
him than by the description of his new  
official duties4  ,the story might be   
summarized and the moral pointed out in 
a brief  statement such as ,so the      
,hebrew slave boy1 through his          
faithfulness  and trust in ,god1 became 
the highest in rank of all of ,pharaoh's
  subjects4          ,,chapter ,,xxi    
,,joseph ,,meets ,,his ,,brothers       
,genesis #da4dg to #db4ch               
,interpretation4 ,in this chapter of the
 ,joseph narrative we find  that        
,providence has put ,joseph's brothers  
completely in his hand2  their physical 

sustenance is dependent on his providing
 them with  corn1 they are strangers in 
,egypt while he is the prime minister   
of ,pharaoh's court1 and1 moreover1 by  
reason of his ,egyptian dress  and      
speech and the change which the twenty  
years have made in his  appearance--he  
was but seventeen when he was sold--they
 cannot  recognize him and are therefore
 thrown altogether off their guard  as  
to any designs of vengeance that he may 
cherish4 ,the interest  therefore       
centers on the attitude that ,joseph    
would assume toward  them4    ,as the   
,bible merely tells us what ,joseph said
 or did but not what  he thought1 we are
 left to construe his motives from his  
deeds  and words4 ,accordingly1 it would
 seem that ,joseph is at first in       
doubt1 so he plans to detain his        
brothers in prison for a time on  the   
charge of being spies1 feeling that     
their actions under such an  accusation 
might give some clue as to how he should
 treat them1 and  hoping perhaps that   

the evil of their lot might possibly    
suggest  the evil that they had done    
him4 ,his first proposition is that one 
of them go back and bring ,benjamin1    
whom he is particularly anxious  to see1
 but he finally decides to let all but  
one return4 ,he is not  disappointed in 
the thought that their affliction might 
suggest  their sin1 as is seen from the 
dialogue in ,genesis #db4ba1bb1 which   
also gives him the information that     
,reuben had espoused his cause4  ,he    
therefore selects as his hostage not    
,reuben the eldest but  ,simeon the next
 eldest4 ,meanwhile1 he shows his real  
benevolent  intent by giving them the   
corn and secretly returning the money4  
,but  even this gives alarm to ,jacob   
and his other sons as seeming to be  but
 a pretext for further charges4    ,aim4
 ,the main object of this lesson is to  
prepare a way for the  next with its    
moral of the beauty of forgiveness4 ,it 
contains  however also a fine study of  
conscience in that the misfortune of    

,joseph's brothers revives at once the  
memory of their sin and brings  it to   
their minds in its proper colors4       
,suggestions4 ,begin by recalling       
,joseph's dreams to see whether the     
class remembers them and their          
significance4 ,then call attention  to  
the thought of ,joseph's brothers that  
they were putting an end  to his dreams 
in selling him to the ,ishmaelites4 ,and
 yet1 you  continue1 today's lesson will
 show how ,god really brought about  the
 realization of ,joseph's dreams4 ,this 
will excite the curiosity  of the       
children and you can then proceed with  
the story of the  famine and its effect4
 ,make the famine appear as a           
providential  circumstance and explain  
its meaning by saying that ,god1 after  
the  seven years of plenty did not let  
enough rain fall to water the  corn and 
wheat1 which shriveled up so that the   
people had no flour  to bake bread1 and 
there was not enough grass to feed the  
cattle so  that they had not enough     

meat1 etc4 ,the term famine will then   
not be  a mere abstraction to the child4
    ,at the point where ,joseph meets   
his brothers and they do not  recognize 
him but he recognizes them1 show how the
 dream has been  already in part        
fulfilled although ,joseph's brothers   
did not realize  it4 ,the chief         
difficulty of the teacher will be to    
make the children  clearly understand   
the motives of ,joseph's conduct towards
 his  brothers1 which is the most       
important thing in the lesson4 ,this    
can be facilitated by questioning the   
children in a way that would            
necessitate their imagining themselves  
in ,joseph's situation4 ,for  instance1 
one might speak to them as follows3     
,now when ,joseph saw his brothers      
bowing down before him1 he  remembered  
how cruel they had been to him1 and he  
thought of how  wonderfully ,god had    
brought about the fulfillment of his    
dreams so  that now he had his brothers 
in his power and could punish them  in  

whatever way he would1 for no one would 
question the acts of a  viceroy of      
,pharaoh toward a band of strangers whom
 nobody in ,egypt  cared about4 ,if he  
wanted to1 he could have ordered them   
all to be  killed1 as they had thought  
of doing to him2 or he could have sold  
them all as slaves1 as they had actually
 sold him2 or he could have  put them   
all in prison1 as he had been kept in   
prison in ,egypt for  so long a time2 or
 he could have simply refused to sell   
them grain  and they would have died of 
starvation4 ,now what do you think you  
would have done1 had you been in        
,joseph's place8    ,get a number of    
different answers from the class4 ,in   
all likelihood1  the answers will       
propose some severe punishment4 ,then   
give a number  of reasons why ,joseph   
rejected these severer penalties1 such  
as1 #a4  because his brothers were1     
after all1 his brothers and we should   
love our brothers1 #b4 because their    
punishment would hurt his father  ,jacob

 and his younger brother ,benjamin who  
were innocent1 #c4 because  it would    
affect the families of his brothers as  
well as themselves1  #d4 because they   
might have changed since then and become
 better and  felt sorry for their       
treatment of him1 #e4 because1 if he    
could find  some way of showing them how
 wickedly they had acted and how good   
he nevertheless was to them1 it might   
make them feel ashamed and  resolve to  
be better4 ,but1 continue your          
narrative1 though ,joseph  did not want 
to hurt his brothers1 he did want them  
to feel sorry  for what they had done to
 him1 so that they would never do such a
  thing again4 ,so he thought ',i am not
 going to tell them at once that  ,i am 
,joseph their brother and that ,i       
forgive them1 but1 without  doing them  
any harm1 ,i am going to frighten them  
with threats and  see whether1 when they
 themselves are in trouble1 they won't  
think  of the sin they did and feel     
sorry for it'4 ,it is necessary to      

explain the motive for ,simeon's        
detention as being to insure the  return
 of the brothers with ,benjamin4    ,in 
questioning the class about the lesson1 
try to find out whether  the children   
understand its underlying ideas by such 
questions as  these3 ,how was it that   
,joseph recognized his brothers and they
 could  not recognize him8 ,why did not 
,joseph at once make himself known to   
his brothers8 ,why did ,joseph speak    
harshly to them and accuse them  of     
being spies8 ,did ,joseph's brothers    
know that he understood them  when they 
spoke to each other8 ,why not8 ,what is 
a spy8 ,when ,joseph's  brothers thought
 that they would be treated as spies1   
for what  deed did they think this a    
punishment8 ,why did ,joseph keep       
,simeon  prisoner8 ,why did ,joseph     
return the money of his brothers8 ,what 
did  his brothers think was his reason  
for returning it8 ,why did not  ,jacob  
want to let ,benjamin go with his       
brothers to ,egypt8 ,it goes  without   

saying that one must tell the story in  
such a way that it  shall contain a     
clear answer to each of the above       
questions4    ,this episode has a great 
dramatic interest and should be acted by
  the children4          ,,chapter ,,xii
    ,,joseph ,,reveals ,,himself ,,to   
,,his ,,brothers    ,genesis #dc4a to   
#de4bh      ,interpretation4 ,little    
need be said in interpretation of this  
story4 ,its lesson of the beauty of     
forgiveness and reconciliation  is      
brought out so clearly as to need no    
further comment4 ,in the  attitude of   
his brothers to ,benjamin1 ,joseph is   
able to put to the  test any possible   
change of heart toward himself4 ,the    
favor which  he shows ,benjamin at the  
meal that he had prepared for them may  
be considered as a test of whether the  
spirit of envy is still  rife among     
them1 and1 inasmuch as they do not seem 
to manifest any  jealousy on this       
occasion1 they may be considered to have
 passed  this first test4 ,but the real 

test came when ,joseph proposed to      
retain ,benjamin as his slave4 ,on this 
occasion ,judah1 the very one  who had  
proposed selling ,joseph1 makes his     
eloquent plea in behalf  of ,benjamin1 a
 speech which reveals his deep sympathy 
with his  father's grief1 and           
appreciation of what the loss of ,joseph
 meant  to his father1 and the          
willingness to sacrifice his own liberty
 for  ,joseph's brother ,benjamin1 who  
had1 as the son of ,rachel1 taken       
,joseph's place in the heart of ,jacob4 
,joseph could wish no further  evidence 
of his brothers' change of heart and it 
is no wonder that  he could not refrain 
himself any longer4    ,aim4 ,the aim of
 this lesson is to provide a noble      
example of the  magnanimity of          
forgiveness and the beauty of filial and
 fraternal  love4    ,suggestions to the
 teacher4 ,the story of ,joseph as told 
in the  ,bible is so wonderfully        
impressive in its simplicity for the    
child  as well as for the adult that the

 only advice one feels inclined  to give
 to the teacher of this story is that he
 should model his  narrative as closely 
as possible upon the lines of the       
,biblical  story itself4 ,read and      
reread these chapters of the ,bible and 
try to  discover the means by which the 
,biblical author produces his effects   
on the reader's emotions4 ,do not permit
 to escape you the pathos  of such      
situations as when ,jacob reproaches his
 sons for having  told of their brother 
,benjamin's existence as though they    
could  have foreseen what would follow  
this disclosure2 or when ,joseph1       
brought face to face with ,benjamin1    
cannot control his feelings and         
withdraws to another room to weep2 or   
when his brothers1 conscious  of their  
innocence1 offer to give their lives if 
the divining cup  be found in their     
sacks and then to their consternation   
find it  in the sack of ,benjamin2 or   
when ,judah1 in pleading with ,joseph1  
mentions the effect of the loss of      

,joseph upon ,jacob2 or when the        
brothers bring the news to ,jacob of    
,joseph's glory and he refuses to       
believe it until he is given            
incontrovertible proof2 and a number of 
similar situations to which it might be 
possible to call attention4  ,after the 
preparation for this climax which the   
preceding lessons  afforded1 the teacher
 who has made himself fully at home with
 his  subject will have no difficulty in
 impressing the child4 ,in this  story1 
it is particularly important to report  
all conversation in  direct discourse4  
,suggestive questions to ask the        
children are the following3 ,why did    
not ,jacob want to let ,benjamin go with
 his brothers8 ,why did they  refuse to 
go without him8 ,why did ,jacob finally 
let them go8 ,why  did ,joseph give     
,benjamin a larger portion than the     
others at the  banquet8 ,why did ,joseph
 put his cup in the sack of ,benjamin8  
,why  was it ,judah in particular of all
 ,joseph's brothers who pleaded for     

,benjamin8 ,why do you think ,joseph    
sent all the ,egyptians from the  room  
when he made himself known to his       
brothers8 ,when his brothers  were      
afraid that ,joseph would punish them   
for their sin against  him and were     
ashamed of what they had done1 what did 
,joseph say to  console them8 ,what did 
,jacob say when they told him that      
,joseph was  alive and ruler of all     
,egypt under ,pharaoh8    ,this story   
too lends itself to dramatization by the
 children4          ,,chapter ,,xiii    
,,the ,,death ,,of ,,jacob ,,and ,,of   
,,joseph    ,genesis #df4a to #ej4bf    
,interpretation4 ,in these chapters the 
center of interest once  more shifts    
from personal biography to the destiny  
of ,israel as a  people4 ,one is        
conscious throughout that his attention 
is being  called to the close of one    
period and the beginning of another4    
,the  patriarchal period now draws to an
 end and the period of national         
existence commences4 ,god's purpose is  

no more to be shown in the  choice of   
individuals1 but in his dealings with   
the people as a  whole4 ,it is not      
accident that ,israel's national life is
 to begin in  ,egypt rather than in its 
own land2 for just as ,abraham1 the     
father  of the race1 was tested by his  
willingness to leave his home in        
obedience to ,god1 so the nation as a   
whole was to have a similar  experience4
 ,it had to be made to realize its      
election by being  taken as a nation    
from the midst of another nation1 by    
trials1 by  signs and by wonders and by 
war and by a mighty hand1 and by an     
outstretched arm and by great terrors4  
7,deuteronomy #d4 #cd47 ,in  these      
chapters we see the beginning of the    
fulfillment of ,abraham's  prophetic    
vision recorded in ,genesis #ae4 #ab-af4
    ,let us see how the ideas stated in 
the above paragraph are conveyed  in the
 chapters under our consideration4      
,observe first ,jacob's  apprehensive   
reluctance about going to ,egypt1 which 

needs the  assurance from ,god1 ,fear   
not to go down into ,egypt2 for ,i will 
there make of thee a great nation4 ,i   
will go down with thee into  ,egypt2 and
 ,i will also surely bring thee up      
again4 7,genesis  #df4c1 #d47 ,jacob    
before he dies reminds ,joseph of ,god's
 promise  given to him at ,beth ,el in  
anticipation of the exodus from ,egypt1 
,god ,almighty appeared unto me at ,luz 
in the land of ,canaan1 and  blessed me1
 and said unto me3 ,behold1 ,i will make
 thee fruitful1  and multiply thee1 and 
,i will make of thee a company of       
peoples2  and will give this land to thy
 seed after thee for an everlasting     
possession4 7,genesis #dh4c1d47 ,we may 
regard ,jacob's insistence on  being    
buried in ,canaan as implying the same  
idea4 ,his blessing to  his children and
 grandchildren further bears out this   
thought and  ,joseph's instructions with
 regard to the disposal of his own body 
show most clearly that the sojourn in   
,egypt was not intended to be           

permanent1 though1 as is seen from      
,joseph's words to his brothers         
7,genesis #ej4ai1 #bj71 it was divinely 
appointed4    ,but though1 as we have   
just shown1 the main interest of these  
chapters is from the point of view of   
,israel's destiny1 they are not  lacking
 in the personal interest as well4      
,there is a sublime pathos  in ,jacob's 
humble acceptance of the divine decree  
which makes him1  after life long       
struggle1 end his days in a strange     
land1 with those  ambitions that he had 
cherished throughout life still         
depending  on a remote future after his 
death for their realization4 ,in his    
meeting with ,pharaoh1 he maintains well
 his patriarchal dignity4  ,but he shows
 no sense of triumph in the honors      
accorded him and his  retrospective     
glance over his life reveals to him     
little that is  not disappointing2 ,few 
and evil have been the days of the years
 of  my life and they have not attained 
unto the days of the years of  the life 

of my fathers in the days of their      
sojournings4 7,genesis  #dg4i47         
,pathetic also is the reference of      
,jacob1 when about to bless  the sons of
 ,joseph1 to the death of ,rachel1 which
 had taken place so  many years ago1 as 
if the thought of ,joseph's prosperity  
awakened  anew his grief that ,rachel   
had not lived to see it3 ,and as for me1
  when ,i came from ,paddan1 ,rachel    
died unto me in the land of ,canaan  in 
the way when there was still some way to
 come unto ,ephrath2 and  ,i buried her 
there in the way to ,ephrath--the same  
is ,beth-lehem4  7,genesis #dh4g47 ,yet 
he preserves his patriarchal authority  
over  his children and grandchildren to 
the last1 blessing ,ephraim above       
,menassah1 and not failing in his       
blessings to his children to  recall    
their past sins as warnings for the     
future4 ,the devotion  of his children  
to him and the renewed relations of     
affection  between ,joseph and his      
brothers complete the picture of the    

ideal  patriarchal family where love and
 reverence and a common faith are  the  
ties that bind the units together4      
,genesis #dg4ac to #bf is interesting in
 the light of what we know of  ,egyptian
 history from other sources than the    
,bible4 ,the ,pharaoh at  the time of   
,joseph was1 it is generally agreed1 one
 of the ,hyksos  dynasty1 which belonged
 to a ,semitic tribe that had conquered 
,egypt4 ,the land before that time had  
been held in a sort of  feudal tenure by
 some of the old nobility4 ,these gave  
constant  trouble1 particularly in the  
south1 to the ,hyksos rulers4 ,joseph's 
policy therefore was aimed at securing a
 centralization of power  in the hands  
of ,pharaoh through his obtaining all   
the land and  reducing all others except
 the priests to the status of tenants4  
,this concentration of power in the     
hands of a single monarch1  intolerable 
as it would be in a modern state1 was   
often in ancient  times the very best   
means of securing that measure of peace 

from  constant strife between petty     
principalities which was an absolute    
prerequisite of progress and            
civilization4 ,of course the child is   
not interested in such problems and this
 whole incident should be  omitted1 but 
it is well for the teacher to bear these
 truths in  mind lest his modern        
political and economic theories         
prejudice him  against the character of 
,joseph4    ,aim4 ,there are two aims   
which the teacher should bear in mind in
  this lesson1 one relating to the      
historic interest we have shown  it to  
contain and the other to the personal   
interest4 ,in accord  with the former   
the teacher must give to the child those
 historical  and religious ideas        
contained in this chapter which         
summarize the  significance of the      
patriarchal period and prepare the way  
for their  next year's work1 namely the 
idea of how ,god was making a great     
nation of ,jews in accordance with his  
promise to the patriarchs by  permitting

 them to multiply in ,egypt1 at the same
 time reminding  them that they were not
 to become ,egyptians but would one day 
be  brought back to their land4 ,but the
 aspect of the lesson that can  impress 
itself most readily on the children is  
the more personal one  with its picture 
of the ideal family life as a sort of   
final tableau  to the drama of ,joseph  
that they have been learning4 ,of       
particular  value is the example of     
reverence for parents which it holds    
before  them4    ,suggestions to the    
teacher4 ,the most valuable help that   
the  teacher can get in teaching this   
lesson also comes from the study  of the
 ,biblical story itself4 ,note that in  
the ,bible although it  is made clear   
that the settlement in ,egypt was       
brought about in  accordance with a     
divine plan for the development of the  
chosen  people1 this is nowhere stated  
in abstract terms but we are allowed  to
 infer it from the words and acts of the
 characters and the events  as they     

shape themselves4 ,in teaching children1
 who have no power  of forming abstract 
notions1 no other method is possible4   
,it is  necessary1 however1 for this    
very reason to take more pains to make  
the meaning of the words and acts of the
 characters clear to the  child4 ,thus  
in speaking of ,god's appearing to      
,jacob at ,beer-sheba  with his         
reassuring message1 one must first state
 what the ,bible  leaves to our own     
power of inference1 ,jacob's reluctance 
to go to  ,egypt and the reason for his 
reluctance4 ,one might say for example3 
,so ,jacob made ready to leave ,canaan  
and go to meet his son ,joseph1  whom he
 so longed to see once more4 ,and yet1  
in spite of his anxiety  to meet        
,joseph1 he felt sorry to leave this    
land of ,canaan where  he was born1     
where his father and mother and his dear
 wife ,rachel  were buried1 and where   
,god had promised him that his children 
would become a great nation4 ,perhaps he
 also felt sorry because  he remembered 

hearing of a prophecy that ,god had told
 to ,abraham1  saying that his          
descendants would become slaves to a    
strange people  in a strange land1 and  
he thought ,maybe now my children will  
be  made slaves in ,egypt4 ,but that    
night as he slept ,god sent a dream  to 
cheer him4 ,he dreamt he heard ,god     
speak to him and say --etc4    ,again1  
when telling of ,joseph's going to meet 
his father1 emphasize  the love that    
made him hasten to welcome the patriarch
 and the pride  with which he introduced
 his aged father to ,king ,pharaoh1 as  
well  as the solicitude for his father's
 and brothers' comfort implied in  the  
preparations for their reception in     
,goshen1 the most fertile  part of      
,egypt1 in the delta of the ,nile4      
,in speaking of the desire of ,jacob and
 ,joseph to be buried in  ,canaan1      
explain the reason to be their wanting  
to remind their  descendants of ,god's  
promise to bring them out of ,egypt to  
their  own land1 ,canaan4 ,in telling of

 ,jacob's blessing of ,ephraim and      
,menassah1 it is not necessary to touch 
upon the preference given to  ,ephraim  
as this is only significant in the light
 of the subsequent  history of the      
tribes and1 by the time the child gets  
to that part  of the history1 he will   
have forgotten this incident since there
  is nothing in it intrinsically        
interesting to children1 but do  not    
ignore ,genesis #dh4bj1 ,and he blessed 
them that day saying3  ',by thee shall  
,israel bless1 saying3 ,god make thee as
 ,ephraim and  as ,menassah4' ,in this  
way it is possible to establish a point 
of  contact between the child's home    
life and the lesson by pointing out  to 
him that these very words are part of   
the blessing with which  his parents    
bless him on the ,sabbath4 ,this will   
serve to make him  realize that he is   
one of the people whose history he is   
learning4  ,it would also be well to ask
 how many children say ,ha-mal'ak       
ha-go'el in their night prayers and to  

explain that this is part of  ,jacob's  
blessing to ,ephraim and ,menassah4     
7,genesis #dh4af47    ,help the children
 visualize the imposing funeral rights  
in  connection with the burial of ,jacob
 as showing the honor paid to  him by   
the ,egyptians as well as by his own    
children4 ,they should be  given some   
idea from the map of the length of the  
journey and the  route taken4 ,do not   
take for granted the children's         
comprehension  of the renewal of the    
fear of ,joseph's brothers after their  
father's  death1 but explain that they  
thought perhaps ,joseph had failed to   
punish them until then merely in order  
to spare his father1 but  that after his
 father's burial he would have no more  
scruples1 just  as ,esau refrained from 
killing ,jacob while his father lived   
but  threatened to do so after his      
death4          ,,part ,,ii    ,,israel 
,,under ,,the ,,leadership ,,of ,,moses 
,,chapter ,i    ,,the ,,birth ,,of      
,,moses    ,exodus #a4a to #b4aj        

,interpretation4 ,the children of       
,israel1 settled in the rich  pasture   
land of ,goshen1 had become a numerous  
people4 ,at first  they prospered1 but  
then there came a change with the       
accession  to the throne of the ,pharaoh
 who knew not ,joseph4 ,this ,pharaoh   
was1 in all probability1 not only of a  
different dynasty1 but also  of a       
different race from the ,pharaoh of     
,joseph's day4 ,the ,pharaoh  of        
,joseph's day was probably a descendant 
of the ,hyksos invaders  of ,egypt1 a   
,semitic tribe of shepherds like the    
,israelites4 ,the  true ,egyptians1     
however1 who were an agricultural       
people1 and held  shepherds in          
abomination1 perhaps because many of    
their practices  conflicted with the    
religious notions of the ,egyptians1    
which  included the worship of sacred   
cattle 7see ,exodus #h4bb71 finally     
overthrew this ,semitic dynasty4 ,as a  
consequence1 the ,israelites  were      
looked upon with suspicion and hatred as

 a dangerous element  in the state4 ,the
 very services that they had rendered to
 the old  dynasty would now be held     
against them by the new1 and instead  of
 being a favored race1 they came to be  
looked upon1 in spite  of their long    
sojourn in ,egypt1 as alien and hostile1
 and were  subjected to persecution and 
oppression4 ,persecution1 at first took 
the form of enforced labor in the       
erection of the public works of  the    
,pharaohs but when the ,israelites      
seemed to thrive in spite of  this1     
resort was had to the drastic measure of
 murdering every male  infant4 ,at this 
point1 the ,biblical story shows us how 
,providence  prepared redemption for    
,israel by sparing the life of the      
infant  who was destined to become the  
liberator4 ,of the general religious    
significance of the ,egyptian bondage1  
as interpreted in the ,bible1  we have  
already spoken in preceding chapters4   
,aim4 ,the aim of this lesson is        
three-fold1 first1 to inculcate in  the 

child the ideal expressed in the words1 
,and a stranger shalt  thou not wrong   
neither shalt thou oppress him2 for ye  
were strangers  in the land of ,egypt2  
7,exodus #bb4bj72 second1 to encourage  
him to  maintain his national ,jewish   
aspirations in the diaspora1 as did his 
fathers in ,egypt1 and1 finally1 to     
inspire him with faith in ,god's        
providence1 as illustrated by the way in
 which ,god saved the infant  ,moses4   
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,begin by  
recalling the story of ,joseph  to the  
class2 how the ,israelites who settled  
in ,goshen--point out  its location on  
the map--became a numerous people1 and  
enjoyed1 for  a long time1 the favor of 
,pharaoh and the ,egyptians1 in         
gratitude  for all that ,joseph had done
 for ,egypt at the time of the famine4  
,then dwell on what the children of     
,israel1 who were1 for the most  part1  
simple shepherds1 learned from the      
,egyptians1 who were not  only skillful 
farmers1 but great builders as well4    

,this can best  be done by showing      
pictures of the ,egyptian monuments and 
pointing  to the skill required in order
 to erect them in an age before the  use
 of steam and electricity was known4    
,but1 the teacher should  emphasize1    
although the children of ,israel learned
 much from the  ,egyptians1 they did not
 copy them in everything4 ,in one       
respect1  they were far in advance of   
the ,egyptians1--in their religion4     
,they  knew that there was one ,god1    
whom they could not see1 who made the   
heavens and the earth1 and all that is  
in them1 but the ,egyptians  worshipped 
many gods4 ,they had sacred bulls and   
sacred cows and  sacred cats1 and even a
 sacred bug--a kind of beetle4 ,the     
,israelites  in ,egypt understood that  
they were not to become ,egyptians1 but 
that ,god would some day lead them out  
of ,egypt to their own land of          
,palestine1 as ,he had promised to      
,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob4 ,so they   
continued to speak their own language1  

,hebrew1 and to maintain their          
religion4    ,explain how the insistence
 on keeping up their own religious      
practices and their own language1 and   
the refusal to join in the  worship of  
the ,egyptian gods1 aroused the hatred  
of many of the  ,egyptians1 and paved   
the way for the edicts of the new       
,pharaoh1  that knew not ,joseph4 ,this 
can best be done by reference to modern 
instances of similar antagonism1 which  
may have come within the  range of the  
child's experience or observation4      
,speak1 for instance1  as follows3      
,when the ,egyptians saw that the       
children of ,israel would not become    
like them1 but kept up their own        
religion and language1 many of them     
came to dislike the ,jews1 for there are
 some people who never like  anybody who
 is very different from themselves4     
,some of you may know  boys who like to 
tease and annoy ,chinese1 because of    
their strange  appearance1 dress and    
language1 or who are unkind to negroes1 

merely because they are black1 or who   
like to torment foreign  children that  
cannot speak the ,english language4 ,you
 well know that  there are some people  
that are unkind to ,jews for no better  
reason4  ,in this free country nobody   
would think of doing us any real harm1  
nor would our laws permit it1 but there 
are some countries where  the very laws 
of the land try to make the life of the 
,jew unhappy1  merely because he is a   
,jew4 ,many of you may have heard       
something  about how ,jews used to be   
treated in ,russia not so long ago4 ,and
  that is exactly the way the ,egyptians
 began to feel towards our  forefathers1
 when they saw that they would not      
worship the gods of  the ,egyptians1 and
 that they kept up their own religious  
practices  and spoke their own language2
 and when a new ,pharaoh arose who had  
forgotten all about ,joseph and the good
 he had done to ,egypt1 a man  from an  
altogether different family than the    
,pharaoh of ,joseph's  time and from a  

different part of the country1 the      
,egyptians began  making laws against   
the ,jews4 ,pharaoh1 who particularly   
hated the  ,jews1 made a law that they  
should all have to work as slaves in the
  building of his great treasure cities1
 etc4    ,the rest of the story is      
simple and offers no difficulties to the
  teacher4 ,the only thing that needs to
 be emphasized is that1 in  telling of  
the birth and rescue of the infant1     
,moses1 the teacher  must remember that 
he is preparing the way for the story of
 the  ,exodus and must emphasize that   
,moses was saved because ,god meant  him
 to redeem ,his people1 not that his    
rescue was a lucky accident4  ,he can do
 this by speaking of ,god as suggesting 
the ideas upon  which the characters    
act4 ,for instance1 in telling how      
,miriam saw  ,pharaoh's daughter take up
 the basket1 one might say1 ,then ,god  
put  a wise thought into the heart of   
,miriam and she ran up to ,pharaoh's    
daughter and asked1 etc4 ,again1 one    

might say1 ,now when ,pharaoh's         
daughter saw the little crying baby ,god
 filled her heart with pity  for the    
helpless little infant1 and one might   
conclude the lesson  by saying1 ,in this
 way ,god saved the baby1 who1 when he  
was grown  up into a man1 was to deliver
 his people from the oppression of      
,pharaoh4    ,so much for the           
presentation of the lesson4 ,in         
discussing it with  the class           
afterwards1 do not fail to suggest by   
suitable questions  the duty of         
maintaining our ,jewish practices even  
in the face of  the ridicule and        
opposition that they sometimes call     
forth4 ,the  application of the story's 
moral should be given in terms of the   
child's own experience4 ,for instance1  
one might say3 ,when our  fathers in    
,egypt sacrificed to their ,god and     
would not sacrifice  to the ,egyptian   
animal gods1 did the ,egyptians like    
this8 ,did the  ,israelites1 when they  
saw that the ,egyptians hated them1     

because  they were different in race1   
language and religion1 give up their    
language and religion in order to appear
 like the ,egyptians8 ,do you  think the
 ,jewish child today ought to feel      
ashamed and give up his  ,jewish        
religious practices1 because his        
,christian friends may think  them      
strange or may not like them1 or may not
 treat him with as  much kindness if he 
shows that he is a ,jew8 ,sometimes     
,jewish boys  go to school on ,jewish   
holidays1 because their ,christian      
friends do  not stay at home4 ,do you   
think this right8 ,do you think it right
 to  sing ,christian songs in school1   
because you are afraid not to do  so8   
,no teacher will ever force you to sing 
a song that is ,christian  if you       
explain politely that you do not want to
 do so because your  religion forbids   
it4 ,if you were asked to take part in a
 ,christmas  celebration at school1 what
 would you do8 ,if a ,christian boy     
offered  you some of his luncheon to eat

 and you were not sure that what he     
gave you was kosher1 what would you do8 
,in those countries where  the ,jews are
 treated badly today1 merely because    
they are ,jews1  as their fathers were  
treated in ,egypt1 have they given up   
their  ,judaism on that account1 or do  
they still keep it up8 ,what would you  
do if you lived in one of those         
countries8    ,do not1 however1 dwell   
too much on anti-,semitism1 as it is not
  morally helpful to the child to feel  
resentment too keenly4 ,it  would be    
producing the very opposite effect to   
the one desired if  we were to arouse in
 our pupils a feeling of animosity      
towards the  ,gentile4 ,the emphasis    
must be put wholly on the positive      
virtue of  maintaining religious loyalty
 in spite of the hostility which it     
may1 at times1 arouse4                  
,,chapter ,,ii    ,,moses1 ,,the        
,,friend ,,of ,,the ,,weak ,,and        
,,oppressed    ,exodus #b4aa to #bc     
,interpretation4 ,the chief interest in 

the narrative contained in  these verses
 lies in the light they cast on the     
character of ,moses  and the traits that
 made him the ideal emancipator1 leader 
and  legislator of his people4 ,the     
first of these is his sympathy with     
their suffering and his sense of kinship
 with them1 which leads him1  though a  
prince of ,egypt by rank and education1 
to go out among his  brethren and look  
upon their burdens4 ,the second1 is his 
indignation  at anything in the nature  
of injustice1 whether perpetrated by  an
 ,egyptian or an ,israelite2 and1       
finally1 there is shown his  chivalrous 
zeal in the service of the weak and     
oppressed1 which  sends him on a mission
 like that of the ideal knight-errant1  
to  ride abroad redressing human wrongs1
 and which even in a strange  land1     
leads him to interfere in the cause of  
the shepherdesses of  ,midian against   
the rude shepherds4    ,aim4 ,the aim of
 this lesson is to cultivate in the     
child1 through  his admiration of       

,moses1 those traits in ,moses'         
character which we  have shown the      
narrative in these chapters to          
illustrate4    ,suggestions to the      
teacher4 ,try to bring out the nobility 
of the  course of action that ,moses    
took by calling the attention of the    
children to other possible courses that 
he might have taken4 ,moses1  having had
 wealth and luxury at his disposal1     
might have given up  his life to        
enjoyment2 because of his superior      
education1 he might  have looked down   
with contempt upon his more ignorant    
brethren and  held aloof from           
associating with them2 fearing the      
reproach of his  ,hebrew origin1 he     
might have avoided such association for 
prudential  reasons4 ,but he did none of
 these things4 ,he felt that if he had  
been so wonderfully saved1 and he alone 
been given advantages that  the rest had
 not received1 it was because ,god      
intended him to use  these for the good 
of all his people4 ,it is well1 in      

pointing out  the courses of conduct    
open to ,moses1 to use illustrations    
from  modern life1 thus3    ,how many   
children who receive all they need from 
their parents  and spending-money in    
addition1 think only of spending it on  
sport  and amusement1 and never stop to 
consider the needs of the poor  children
 who have not even food or clothing or a
 warm room and to  share their money    
with them4 ,but ,moses was not like     
that2 although1  being brought up as the
 son of ,pharaoh1 he might have lived a 
life  of ease1 idleness and pleasure1 he
 preferred to go about among his  poor  
brethren and help them with their       
burdens4 ,moreover1 though  ,moses had  
received the best education that an     
,egyptian could receive  in those days1 
he did not let that make him conceited4 
,no matter  how educated or how noble   
one may be by birth1 one should not keep
  aloof from the lowly and common       
people4 ,so ,moses1 though a learned    
prince1 was never too proud to associate

 with the ignorant slaves1  his people4 
,in teaching of how ,moses slew the     
,egyptian1 do not fail to bring  out the
 heroic character of the action by      
emphasis on the motive of  ,moses1      
namely1 his violated sense of justice1  
and on the perils to  which he must have
 known in advance that this act would   
expose him4          ,,chapter ,,iii    
,,god ,,sends ,,moses ,,to ,,save ,,his 
,,people    ,exodus #c4a-d4ca           
,interpretation4 ,the time now being    
ripe for ,god's fulfilling  ,his        
covenant to redeem ,israel from the     
bondage of ,egypt1 ,he makes  ,his      
purpose known to ,moses and entrusts him
 with the mission of  announcing the    
redemption to the elders of ,israel and 
demanding  it of ,pharaoh4 ,but ,moses  
hesitates4 ,he doubts his qualifications
  for the task1 asking1 ,who am ,i that 
,i should go unto ,pharaoh and  that ,i 
should bring forth the children of      
,israel out of ,egypt8  ,and ,god's     
answer is1 ,certainly ,i will be with   

thee4 ,but this  does not yet satisfy   
,moses1 he wants a guarantee of ,divine 
aid in  ,god's statement1 ,i am 4 ,for  
in asking ,god for his name1 ,moses  was
 not merely seeking information4 ,there 
is no space in this  book to take up a  
discussion of the critical questions    
raised by  these verses4 ,the           
interpretation given by ,wiener#g seems 
the most  reasonable4 ,he calls         
attention to the fact that among        
primitive  people--and the narratives of
 the ,pentateuch had to be made         
comprehensible to a primitive           
people--the name of a person1 and1  more
 especially1 of a god1 was regarded as  
having certain powers  which were       
conferred upon anyone to whom he        
revealed his name4  ,when ,moses asked  
for the name of ,god1 it was1 therefore1
 as a sort  of positive irrevocable     
guarantee of success1 but ,god1 at this 
juncture1 refuses to say directly1 ,i am
  and gives the evasive  reply1 ,i am   
that ,i am4 ,then ,moses1 dissatisfied1 

declares that  the people will not      
believe him1 and ,god replies by showing
 him  the miracle of the staff turning  
into a serpent1 etc4 ,still ,moses      
hesitates1 pleading lack of eloquence as
 an excuse for not going1  and ,god     
promises to inspire his utterances and  
to commission1 also1  his brother       
,aaron1 who was eloquent1 to assist as  
his spokesman4 ,the  significance of    
this dialogue of ,moses with ,god is    
usually explained  as contained in what 
it reveals to us of the characteristic  
meekness  of ,moses4 ,it does1 indeed1  
illustrate this conspicuous trait of his
  character1 but if it were the chief   
aim of the ,biblical author to  commend 
the meekness of ,moses we should        
scarcely be prepared for  the statement 
7,exodus #d4ad71 ,and the anger of the  
,lord was kindled  against ,moses4 ,the 
main purpose of the ,biblical author    
seems rather  to be to emphasize the    
apparent impossibility of the task which
  ,moses was asked to accomplish in     

order that the miraculous character  of 
the deliverance be the more evident4 ,it
 is significant that  before ,moses goes
 to speak to ,pharaoh1 ,god refuses the 
revelation of  ,his name1 but after he  
has gone on his mission ,god does reveal
 it  7,exodus #f4b74 ,it would seem that
 ,he resented ,moses' refusal to go     
without a special guarantee4 ,the moral 
of the narrative is perhaps  most       
clearly brought out in ,god's rejoinder 
to ,moses1 ,who maketh a  man dumb or   
deaf1 or seeing or blind8 is it not ,i1 
the ,lord8 ,exodus  #d4aa4      #g      
,essays in ,pentateuchal ,criticism     
pages #dg-ec4    ,aim4 ,the aim of this 
lesson should be to inculcate in the    
child  faith in ,god's power and        
providence as revealed in ,jewish       
history4  ,the teacher should endeavor  
to make the child1 through admiration   
of the heroism of ,moses in attempting  
the apparently impossible in  the       
service of ,god1 feel with deep         
conviction that in ,his service1  there 

can be no failure4 ,he should try to get
 not only the child's  intellectual     
assent to the idea that ,god can        
accomplish anything  that ,he purposes1 
but he should arouse an emotional       
appreciation of  that heroism begotten  
of faith which leads great men to       
undertake  what would1 to others1 seem  
impossible4    ,suggestions to the      
teacher4 ,inasmuch as we wish to inspire
 in  the child by means of this lesson1 
a faith in divine providence1  we must  
guard against any attempt at            
rationalizing the miracles  recorded in 
this and subsequent chapters4 ,it is    
faith in ,god's  power over nature and  
,his use of this power in the interests 
of  justice and righteousness that this 
lesson should teach1 and no  philosophic
 explanation can bring home this truth  
to the child so  well as the simple1    
impressive narration of the miracle4 ,a 
belief  in the supernatural and         
transcendent power of ,god is essential 
in  ,judaism1 and the miracle tale is   

the best means for emphasizing  this    
doctrine4 ,to be sure1 it may be        
necessary at an older age1 to  modify   
and deepen one's conception of the      
miraculous1 but the only  means by which
 the child can conceive of ,god's       
transcendent power1  providentially     
exercised1 is through the simple1       
straight-forward  narrative of miracles 
,he performed4 ,no attempt1 for         
instance1 should  be made to identify   
the voice that addressed ,moses from the
 burning  bush with the voice of        
conscience4 ,it must remain an objective
  voice4 ,god's reply to ,moses' inquiry
 as to ,his name1 ,i am that ,i  am1 is 
sometimes made the occasion for the     
teacher to indulge in an  attempt at a  
philosophical discussion of the nature  
of ,god4 ,we have  already suggested in 
our interpretation of the passage that  
these  words were probably never        
intended to convey such meaning4 ,they  
are  not an answer to the question1     
,what is ,thy name8 but a refusal to    

answer it1 and1 therefore1 it is not in 
place to interpret their  significance  
as revealing anything of the nature of  
,god4 ,apart from  this consideration1  
however1 such abstract theological      
discussion is  above the mental power of
 the child and should always be avoided4
 ,it  is1 therefore1 best to teach the  
verse without any comment1 as this  by  
itself tends to preserve the atmosphere 
of mystery and awe which  envelopes the 
whole episode4    ,in telling of the    
dialogue of ,god and ,moses1 the        
,biblical language  can be used almost  
throughout1 and1 at any rate1 the       
speeches should  be given in direct     
discourse4 ,be careful to aid the child 
to an  appreciation of the reason for   
,moses' hesitation1 both because this   
is necessary to a proper understanding  
of the character of ,moses1  and because
 it prepares the way for a better       
appreciation of the  miracle of the     
,exodus4 ,for instance1 in telling of   
the call of ,god  to ,moses1 one might  

continue somewhat in this wise3 ,when   
,moses  heard ,god say1 ',go and ,i will
 send thee to ,pharaoh1 and do thou     
bring my people1 the children of ,israel
 out of ,egypt'1 his heart  sank4 ,how  
could he1 one man1 and a stranger1 go   
before this cruel  and powerful king of 
a mighty nation1 surrounded by          
courtiers1  guards and soldiers1 and say
 to him1 ',let these thousands of slaves
  who are building your cities go free8'
 ,would ,pharaoh pay any  attention to  
him8 ,so ,moses said to ,god1 ',who am  
,i that ,i should  go to ,pharaoh1 that 
,i should bring forth the children of   
,israel  out of ,egypt8' ,the teacher   
can also make the emphasis of the       
narrative clearer by the questions he   
asks after the presentation  of the     
lesson1 as1 for instance3 ,what did ,god
 ask ,moses to say to  ,pharaoh8 ,do you
 think ,pharaoh would let ,israel go    
just because ,moses  asked it8 ,why not8
 7,draw out the idea that ,pharaoh was  
used to being  obeyed1 not commanded1   

and that the slavery of ,israel was     
profitable  to him47 ,did ,moses think  
that ,pharaoh would obey him8 ,what did 
,moses  say to ,god when ,god told him  
to go to ,pharaoh8 ,why did not ,moses  
want to go8 ,how did ,god answer ,moses 
when ,moses said that he was not  a good
 enough speaker8          ,,chapter ,,iv
    ,,moses' ,,first ,,appearance       
,,before ,,pharaoh ,exodus #d4bi to #f4h
      ,interpretation4 ,the first step  
that ,moses takes seems to contain a    
promise of success4 ,he and ,aaron      
succeed in interesting the elders  of   
,israel in the prospect of deliverance1 
but the hope which this  initial success
 raised in the heart of ,moses was soon 
destined to  be disappointed1 for       
,pharaoh not only refuses the moderate  
request  of a three days' journey into  
the wilderness1 but also imposes  new   
and impossible burdens upon the         
,israelites4 ,this has the  immediate   
effect of discrediting ,moses and ,aaron
 in the eyes of  the people1 even in the

 eyes of the ,israelite overseers1 who  
had  sought to intercede for their      
brethren with ,pharaoh1 and who now     
reproach ,moses and ,aaron as the       
enemies of the people4 ,in utter        
despair he lays his complaint before    
,god1 and at this juncture ,god         
vouchsafes to him that revelation of    
,his name1 which ,he had at first       
withheld1 and assures him of the        
fulfillment of the covenant with  the   
patriarchs4 ,moses was not to be        
discouraged by the hardness of          
,pharaoh's heart1 for even this was but 
to emphasize the miraculous  character  
of ,israel's escape4 ,this is the       
significance of the verses  in ,exodus  
#f4a and #g4c-e4    ,aim4 ,the aim of   
this chapter is the same as that of the 
preceding4  ,in addition1 it should be  
utilized to teach reverence for the name
  of ,god4    ,suggestions to the       
teacher4 ,before beginning this lesson  
recall  by a few questions the main     
points of the previous lesson1 laying   

especial emphasis on the difficulties of
 the task ,moses was called  upon to    
perform4 ,then tell how the hopes of    
,moses were raised by  his meeting      
,aaron1 and still more by the reception 
accorded him  by the elders of ,israel1 
who remembered hearing of the prophecy  
that ,israel was to be led out of ,egypt
 and go to the land promised  to        
,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob4 ,the       
conversation between ,moses and         
,pharaoh must be given in direct        
discourse1 and in the language of  the  
,bible4 ,the children must be made to   
realize the dilemma in  which the       
,jewish overseers of the work found     
themselves1 in that  they were held     
accountable for the impossible tasks    
that they were  required to exact from  
the people4 ,their petition to ,pharaoh 
and  ,pharaoh's retort must also be     
given in direct discourse and in        
language approaching that of the ,bible1
 but somewhat more explicit1  so that   
the motives are clear to the children1  

thus3 ,now1 when  the ,hebrew overseers 
of the work saw that they were being    
brutally  beaten because the children of
 ,israel could not do the impossible    
and make bricks without straw1 they     
thought that they would come  before    
,pharaoh and reason with him2 so they   
came and said3 ',oh king1  wherefore    
dost thou do so to thy servants1 no     
straw is given to thy  servants1 yet    
thou sayest to us1 see that they make   
bricks1 and when  they do not make the  
number of bricks thou dost require--for 
they  cannot make the same number if    
they must take the time to gather the   
straw themselves--the blame is put on   
us1 their overseers1 and we  are        
unjustly punished4' ,pharaoh would not  
listen to reason1 but grew  red in the  
face with anger and said in a blustering
 voice1 ',you are  idle fellows1 idle6  
that is why you look for excuses not to 
work1  saying3 ,come1 let us sacrifice  
to the ,lord6 ,and now1 go to your work 
and straw shall not be given to you and 

you shall furnish the same  number of   
bricks as before1 when the straw was    
given'4    ,this prepares the way for   
the explanation of the change in the    
people's attitude to ,moses1 as shown in
 ,genesis #e4 #ba4 ,the words of  the   
overseers to ,moses should be           
paraphrased somewhat1 because the       
children might not understand the       
figurative language1 thus3 ,may  the    
,lord appear and judge you1 for you have
 given us a bad name with  ,pharaoh1 and
 instead of keeping your promise to free
 us from ,egypt  you have given ,pharaoh
 an excuse to treat us worse than we    
have ever  been treated before4 ,then   
proceed to describe the feelings of     
,moses  when he heard these words1 how  
it must have seemed at the time that    
the goal for which he was striving      
seemed farther away than ever4  ,not    
only had ,pharaoh not granted his       
petition1 but the one effect of  his    
pleading was to add to the burdens of   
the people1 which he had  sought to     

relieve1 so that his own people now     
turned against him4    ,this brings the 
teacher to the narrative of ,god's      
revelation of  his name to ,moses1 the  
significance of which ,i explained in   
the  preceding chapter4 ,in teaching it 
to the child1 the chief aim1 as  already
 indicated1 should be to inspire        
reverence for the name of  ,god4 ,a     
second aim should be to impress the     
child with the greatness  of ,moses4    
,this can be very easily done by        
presenting this lesson  somewhat as     
follows3 ,then ,god told ,moses ,his    
name1 ,his name which  he had not told  
before to any other man1 not even to    
,abraham1 ,isaac  and ,jacob4 ,he had   
made himself known to them as ,god      
,almighty1 and  by many different names1
 but ,his real name he had not told     
them4  ,this name1 children1 you have   
never heard1 though you have probably   
all seen it4 7,the teacher then lets    
them open their prayer-books at  the  1 
or1 if they have no books with them1 he 

has a book  ready which he opens at that
 place4 ,he lets one of the children    
read  the first verse of the 47 ,now you
 all know that we read the third  word  
in this verse 'adonoy'1 but that is not 
what the four letters of  that word     
spell1 is it8 ,you would expect the word
 to be spelt   wouldn't you8 ,well1     
those four letters that make this third 
word  of the  spell the name that ,god  
told ,moses1 but we1 none of us1  say   
that name4 ,instead1 we say 'adonoy'1   
which means ',the ,lord'1  because it is
 not respectful to call ,god by ,his    
name4#h ,the  teacher then asks one of  
the children what his father's name is1 
his  mother's4 ,when you speak to your  
father and mother1 do you call  them by 
name8 ,what do you call them8 ,when     
people speak to a king  they never call 
him by name1 but they call him1 ',your  
,majesty4' ,a  judge in a law court is  
never called by name1 he is called1     
',your  ,honor4' ,the ,president of the 
,united ,states is not addressed by     

name1  he is addressed as ',mr4         
,president4' ,this is all done as a mark
 of  honor and respect1 and for the same
 reason we do not call ,god by ,his     
name but speak of ,him as the ,lord1    
,god1 the ,eternal1 and so forth1  in   
order to show our respect and reverence 
for ,god4 ,but when ,god saw  how       
faithfully ,moses had obeyed ,him1 even 
though this obedience had  brought him  
nothing but sorrow1 ,he loved ,moses so 
much that ,he told  him ,his name1 to   
show that ,he treated ,moses as a friend
 who might  call ,him by name as friends
 are used to call each other4 ,he wanted
  to let ,moses feel that it made no    
difference even if ,pharaoh was his     
enemy1 and if the ,israelites themselves
 turned against him1 because  ,moses    
still had one ,friend who would always  
stand by him1 ,god  himself4 ,he told   
him1 therefore1 ,his name1 and gave him 
permission  to use it in speaking to the
 children of ,israel that they might all
  know that ,god was with him and would 

help him1 and ,he said1 ',i am  the     
,lord2 and ,i appeared unto ,abraham1   
unto ,isaac and unto ,jacob1 as  ,god   
,almighty1 but by ,my name ,i made ,me  
not known to them'1 etc41  to the end of
 verse #i4 ,in discussing the lesson    
with the children1  point out the       
sinfulness of taking ,god's name in     
vain1 even as  applied to the other     
names of ,god beside the tetragrammaton 
774      #h ,do not illustrate this on  
the blackboard1 as ,jewish sentiment    
considers it irreverent to write the    
name of ,god on anything from    which  
it will be subsequently erased1 or which
 will be cast aside    and destroyed4   
,instead1 illustrate from printed books4
 ,if children    are required to write  
the name of ,god on the blackboard they 
should    be taught to write simply the 
initial ,g in ,english or   or  in      
,hebrew4          ,,chapter ,v    ,,the 
,,plagues    ,exodus #f4i to #aj4bi     
,interpretation4 ,the meaning of these  
chapters is plain4 ,they  contain the   

narrative of that contest between       
,pharaoh and his court  with all their  
magic devices on the one hand and       
,moses1 armed with  the name of ,god1 on
 the other4 ,the reader should not fail 
to note  the dramatic portrayal of the  
impotence of blind1 tyrannical rage     
which vacillates between half-hearted   
concessions that cannot  satisfy        
opposition and blind fury that merely   
invites opposition4  ,with the second   
plague ,pharaoh is ready to satisfy     
,moses' demand1  but he remains of this 
intent only until the plague is removed1
  then in his apparent security1 the    
habit of tyranny immediately  reasserts 
itself1 and he again refuses to let     
,israel go4 ,with the  fourth plague1   
,pharaoh offers as a compromise that the
 ,israelites  may sacrifice to their    
,god in ,egypt4 ,this compromise ,moses 
rejects1  stating boldly as his reason  
that such a course would involve        
slaying the abomination1 i4 e41 the     
gods1 of the ,egyptians1 a  thing which 

the ,egyptian people would not suffer4  
,thereupon ,pharaoh  consents to let the
 ,israelites go1 ,only do not go afar   
off1 but  with the removal of the plague
 this concession is again withdrawn4    
,after the seventh plague1 ,pharaoh1 in 
accordance with the insistent  demand of
 his court1 is ready for further        
concessions4 ,he is  ready to permit the
 men to go1 provided they leave the     
women and  children as hostages biding  
their return4 ,when this concession is  
rejected1 his fury leads him again into 
a mad defiance4 ,the ninth  plague makes
 him seek once more to appease ,moses   
and ,aaron4 ,he is  ready now even to   
let the women and children go1 only the 
cattle  must remain in ,egypt4 ,but     
,moses is firm2 the cattle were needed  
for  sacrifice4 ,nothing less than a    
complete exodus of all the people  with 
their possessions for a three days'     
journey into the wilderness  to worship 
,god on ,his holy mountain would satisfy
 ,moses4 ,indeed1  he even suggests that

 the king himself provide animals for   
the  sacrifice4 ,then ,pharaoh in a rage
 commits his final indiscretion1        
declaring to ,moses and ,aaron1 ,get    
thee from me1 take heed to  thyself1 see
 my face no more2 for in the day thou   
seest my face  thou shalt die4 ,this    
closes all negotiations between them4   
,moses  accepts his ultimatum4 ,thou    
hast spoken well2 ,i will see thy face  
again no more4 ,henceforth1 not even a  
three days' journey into the  wilderness
 will suffice4 ,pharaoh had pronounced  
his own sentence1 a  sentence which the 
arbitrary and tyrannical always         
pronounce upon  themselves when opposed 
by the protagonists of reason and       
justice4    ,aim4 ,the aim of this      
chapter1 as of all those leading to the 
event of the ,exodus1 is to inspire the 
child with faith in ,god's  providence  
as exercised over ,israel in particular1
 and over mankind  in general1 in the   
interests of liberty and justice4       
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,it is     

sometimes suggested in books on  the    
teaching of ,biblical history that the  
story of the plagues be  passed over    
lightly1 without much attention to      
detail4 ,this would  be a mistake4 ,the 
story of the plagues has a great        
fascination for  young children1 the    
same sort of fascination which the works
 of  fairies and witches in their       
favorite fairy tales exercise over      
them4 ,the skillful teacher will make   
the most of the native interest  in the 
marvelous by employing it to increase   
the spirit of reverent  awe which he    
must endeavor to associate with the     
thought of ,god4 ,in  telling each of   
these plagues1 it is not enough to      
describe what  happened1 but the teacher
 must assist in making the child realize
  what the plagues meant to ,egypt4     
,thus1 in teaching the first plague1    
dwell on how indispensable water is and 
what distress results if  people are    
deprived of water for any length of     
time4    ,the interest of the children  

in the plagues must not1 however1 be    
merely due to their interest in the     
marvelous4 ,endeavor to interest  them  
primarily in the contest between ,god   
and ,pharaoh4 ,all the  conversations   
between ,pharaoh and ,moses must be told
 as nearly as  possible in the language 
of the ,bible1 so that the child is made
 to  feel the strength of the firm      
insistence of ,moses and the weakness   
of ,pharaoh's vacillating and           
temporizing attitude4 ,unless at the    
end of the lesson the child is filled   
with admiration for ,moses and  contempt
 for ,pharaoh1 the teacher has not      
taught the lesson well4    ,inasmuch as 
there are so many allusions to the ten  
plagues in ,jewish  and general         
literature1 the child should be taught  
to remember them  in their proper order4
 ,this can be done best by naming each  
plague  in a single word or brief       
phrase1 as in the ,passover ,haggadah1  
and  writing them on the blackboard     
thus3      #a4 ,blood4                  

#f4 ,boils4    #b4 ,frogs4              
#g4 ,hail4    #c4 ,gnats4               
#h4 ,locusts4    #d4 ,flies4            
#i4 ,darkness4    #e4 ,pestilence among 
cattle4  #aj4 ,death of first-born4     
,,chapter ,,vi    ,,the ,,exodus        
,exodus #aa4a to #ac4af                 
,interpretation4 ,these chapters relate 
the climax toward which the  narrative  
from the birth of ,moses until this     
point has been leading1  the exodus from
 ,egypt4 ,they also contain the laws    
associated with  the commemoration of   
this event4 ,the narrative begins by    
telling  of ,god's promise that the next
 plague would be the last1 and ,his     
command to the people to prepare for the
 exodus4 ,before they  were permitted to
 leave1 some expression of their faith  
in ,god's  deliverance and their        
readiness to follow ,his guidance was   
required2  therefore1 we have the       
command to take a lamb on the tenth day 
of  the month1 which was to begin their 
new era1 and sacrifice it on  the #adth1

 and eat the flesh of it in family      
groups on that night1  together with    
bitter herbs and unleavened bread1 which
 thereafter  were to serve as symbols of
 the bondage and of the liberation from 
it4 ,the blood of this sacrifice1 they  
were to sprinkle on the  doorposts of   
their houses in order to testify by this
 ritual to  their desire to be included 
in the ,army of the ,lord that was to   
depart on the morrow1 and all who did   
not testify thus to their  adherence to 
,israel's cause were to meet with the   
same fate as the  ,egyptians with whom  
they had chosen to identify themselves4 
,the  ,israelites were to eat the lamb  
while standing with their loins girt    
and staves in their hands1 in readiness 
for the signal to depart4  ,the rabbis  
call attention to the fact that the     
sacrifice of the  ,paschal lamb in      
,egypt by the ,israelites was a very    
bold expression  of their faith1        
inasmuch as the sheep was among the     
sacred animals  of ,egypt4 ,when        

,pharaoh suggests to ,moses that the    
,israelites could  sacrifice to their   
,god in ,egypt1 he replies1 ,lo1 if we  
sacrifice  the abomination of the       
,egyptians before their eyes1 will they 
not  stone us8 7,exodus #h4 #bb47 ,but  
by this time ,pharaoh and ,egypt  had   
been so humiliated by the plagues which 
did not even spare  their sacred river  
,nile1 that the ,egyptians feared to    
attack the  ,israelites1 while the      
children of ,israel had recovered their 
lost  confidence in ,moses1 and in the  
,god in whose name he spoke to them4    
,among the laws and observances         
associated with the events of this      
chapter are3 #a4 ,the law ordaining the 
first of ,nisan1 as the ,new  ,year for 
months1 in commemoration of the         
inauguration of the new  era in         
,israel's history2 #b4 the annual       
sacrifice of the ,paschal  lamb which   
was eaten in the family circle together 
with bitter  herbs and unleavened bread 
to recall the similar observances of the

  ,israelites before leaving ,egypt2#i  
#c4 the celebration for seven  days#aj  
of the festival of ,passover by the     
previous removal of  all leaven and     
abstention from it during the festival  
and by the  eating of unleavened bread  
in commemoration of the haste of        
,israel's  departure that did not allow 
them to make other provision2 #d4 the   
duty of narrating these events to one's 
children1 which gave rise  to the       
recital of the ,haggadah on the night of
 ,passover2 #e4 the  sanctification of  
the first-born of cattle and of men in  
recognition  of the providential        
character of the tenth plague1 the      
latter custom  surviving in the practice
 of pidyon ha-ben1 the redemption of    
the first-born1 and1 #f4 the injunction 
to make of this command a  sign upon thy
 hand and frontlets between thine eyes  
which led to  the inclusion of the      
passage containing these words1 and the 
command  to sanctify the first-born     
among those enclosed in the tephillin1  

thus making them a theme for daily      
reflection4 ,in addition to these       
practices1 it is noteworthy that the    
,sabbath and holidays1 even  those      
having other historic associations1 are 
characterized in  our liturgy as        
memorials of the ,exodus from  ,egypt4  
,the multitude of observances that are  
thus designed to keep  us mindful of the
 ,exodus testify to the importance of   
the leading  idea associated with this  
event for the ,jewish people at all     
times1  namely1 the identification of   
the cause of ,israel with the cause of  
,god1 ,and ,i will take you to ,me for a
 people1 and ,i will be to you a  ,god1 
and ye shall know that ,i am the ,lord1 
your ,god1 who brought you  out from    
under the burdens of the ,egyptians4    
7,exodus #f4 #g47      #i ,since the    
sacrifices have ceased with the         
destruction of    the ,temple1 the      
eating of the meal as part of the ,seder
 service    answers this purpose4 ,at   
this meal the ,paschal lamb is          

symbolically    represented by the      
roasted bone1 and the maot and maror are
    eaten4      #aj ,in modern times    
eight days in the diaspora4    ,aim4    
,the aim of this lesson should be to    
make the child conscious  of his        
identity with ,israel and of the debt of
 gratitude and loyalty  that this       
imposes upon him in view of ,god's      
redemption of ,israel4    ,suggestions  
to the teacher4 ,the association of the 
,exodus with  the observance of         
,passover is the obvious method of      
establishing  a contact between the     
subject to be taught in this lesson and 
the  ,jewish child of today4            
,nevertheless1 it is better not to      
employ the  observances of the ,passover
 as the technical point of contact  with
 which to introduce the original        
presentation of the lesson1 as  that    
would delay too long the actual         
narration1 but to use them to  introduce
 the discussion of the topic by the     
class after the teacher  has told his   

story4    ,to introduce the narrative   
itself a reference to previous lessons  
is sufficient1 as the last few lessons  
have all anticipated the  events told in
 these chapters4 ,this the teacher can  
best do by a  few introductory          
questions1 as1 for instance2 ,why did   
,god send the  plagues of which we      
learned in our last lesson against      
,egypt8 7,draw  out the answer that it  
was not merely to punish the ,egyptians 
but  to compel ,pharaoh to free the     
,israelites47 ,when1 after the ninth    
plague1 ,moses refused ,pharaoh's offer 
to let the ,israelites go on  condition 
that they left their cattle and         
possessions behind1 what  did ,pharaoh  
say8 ,how did ,moses answer8 ,the       
teacher then continues3         ,when   
,pharaoh had driven ,moses and ,aaron   
from him and told them       never to   
come before him again or he would have  
them put to       death1 it was plain   
that there was no use arguing with him  
any       more4 ,god had given him many 

chances to change his attitude and      
let the ,israelites go in peace1 to     
serve ,him in the wilderness1       but 
,pharaoh would not listen and now ,god  
decided to send one       more plague   
upon ,egypt1 so terrible that ,pharaoh  
would be forced       to let the        
,israelites go4    ,in telling of the   
sacrifice of the ,paschal lamb and the  
sprinkling  of the blood on the         
doorposts1 guard against leaving the    
child with  the notion that ,god really 
required a sign in order to distinguish 
the ,hebrew from the ,egyptian house4   
,this can be done by explaining  that   
,god wanted to test the faith of the    
,israelites in the expected  exodus by  
their readiness to make these           
preparations4 ,the sprinkling  of the   
blood on the doorposts was to be a sign 
that the inmates of  the house wanted it
 to be considered a ,hebrew house1 but  
if they  were willing to remain in      
,egypt and would not trust ,god to lead 
them  out1 they would naturally not make

 these preparations1 and would  deserve 
to be treated like all the other        
,egyptians4    ,call attention to the   
change in the attitude of the people to 
,moses  and ,aaron since ,god had shown 
,his power in the plagues1 for at first 
they would not listen to them for       
impatience of spirit and for  cruel     
bondage1 and now they obeyed the        
minutest prescriptions of  ,moses in    
anticipation of the exodus4    ,after   
completing the narrative try to bring   
home its moral  in connection with the  
celebration of ,passover1 so that this  
celebration in its annual recurrence    
may1 by association of ideas1  reinforce
 the lesson you are teaching4 ,speak to 
the class somewhat  as follows3 ,can you
 imagine how happy our forefathers felt 
when  they received the signal to leave 
,egypt8 ,think of what a change  it     
meant to them4 ,no longer would they    
have to rise up early in  the morning1  
work1 work1 work all day for ,pharaoh1  
and receive  nothing for their labor4   

,no longer would they have a taskmaster 
standing over them with a whip ready to 
beat them cruelly if they  did not      
finish the required number of bricks1   
although they may  have been too old or 
too sick to do so4 ,no longer would they
 have  to do whatever the ,egyptians    
commanded them and have to fear even  to
 sacrifice to their ,god1 lest the      
,egyptian idol-worshipper might  stone  
them4 ,to be sure1 in the wilderness    
into which they were  going1 and even in
 the ,promised ,land to which ,god was  
leading them1  they would have to work  
hard as shepherds and farmers1 but they 
would be tending their own flocks and   
herds and working on their own  farms4  
,nobody now could order them about1 for 
his selfish purpose1  and they could    
obey and serve their ,god without       
interference1 could  rest on ,his holy  
days and could sacrifice when and where 
they would4  ,do you not think that if  
you had lived in ,egypt in those days1  
you  would have felt happy and thankful 

to ,god and ready always to do ,his     
wishes for having brought you forth from
 slavery to freedom8 ,would  you not    
feel every year1 when the fifteenth of  
,nisan came1 that you  would want to    
celebrate it as a great joyous holiday  
on which you  would thank ,god for the  
happy change ,he brought into your life1
 and  do you not think that if you had  
children1 you would never tire of       
telling them the story1 particularly on 
the anniversary of the great  event so  
that they1 too1 should thank ,god for   
the freedom that they  are permitted to 
enjoy8 ,well1 that is what our          
forefathers did4  ,every year they      
celebrated the going out of ,egypt and  
they told  the story of the departure   
from ,egypt to their children and taught
  them to celebrate it1 and so the      
observance of this day has been  kept up
 to our own time1 and ,i hope you will  
one day teach your  children to observe 
it4 ,can any of you tell me the name of 
this  festival8 ,when our fathers told  

the story of ,god's deliverance of      
,israel from ,egypt they tried to have  
everything at hand that would  remind   
them of all that had occurred on that   
great day4 ,in order  to remind them of 
the lamb that they had slaughtered1 they
 used in  olden times to sacrifice a    
lamb1 and they ate it in their family   
groups just as they had done in ,egypt2 
and later1 when sacrifices  were no     
longer offered1 they had1 as we have    
today1 as a reminder  of the same1 a    
roasted bone of a lamb on their table   
the first two  nights of ,passover4 ,to 
remind them of the haste in which they  
left  ,egypt without being able to      
leaven their bread 7the teacher must    
explain the meaning of the word leaven71
 they made it a law to eat  maot during 
that festival4 ,can you tell me of some 
of the other  things on the ,seder table
 on ,pesah8 7,as they are mentioned1 let
 the  teacher explain their             
significance47 ,when you saw all these  
things  at the ,seder table1 didn't you 

always feel like asking what they all   
meant8 ,how many of you have ever said  
the   on ,seder  night8 ,well1 that     
contains a number of such questions4    
,when you were  through reading them    
your father began to read from the      
,haggadah1  did he not8 ,he read the    
answer1 which explains why we celebrate 
,pesah1 and this is the way it begins3  
',slaves were we in the land of  ,egypt1
 and the ,lord1 our ,god1 brought us    
forth from thence with a  mighty hand1  
and an outstretched arm1 and if the     
,holy ,one1 blessed  be ,he1 had not    
brought forth our ancestors from ,egypt1
 we and our  children and our children's
 children might still have continued in 
bondage to the ,pharaohs in ,egypt4     
,therefore1 even if we were all  great  
scholars1 all men of understanding1 all 
learned in the ,torah1  it would1       
nevertheless1 be our duty to tell about 
the departure from  ,egypt1 and the more
 one tells about the departure from     
,egypt1 the  more one is to be praised4'

    ,the children should be encouraged  
to discuss very freely the  celebration 
of the ,passover1 as observed in their  
own homes1 as this  is an excellent     
opportunity of correlating their school 
instruction  with their home life4      
,,chapter ,,vii    ,,israel ,,at ,,the  
,,red ,,sea    ,exodus #ac4ag to #ae4ba 
,interpretation4 ,with this chapter a   
new period in ,jewish history  begins1  
the formative period1 during which the  
unorganized horde of  refugees from     
,egyptian bondage is given the character
 of a great  nation through the         
providential circumstances of its       
history and the  inspired genius of its 
leader4 ,the period is one that is      
replete  with miracles4 ,modern         
rationalism may attempt to explain them 
away1  and it is quite possible that    
events which1 had we experienced  them1 
we might have ascribed to the operation 
of natural laws1  were felt by our      
ancestors with their more limited       
knowledge of  nature to be miracles1 and

 were regarded as such4 ,but1 however we
  may represent to our minds the        
incidents that took place1 we must      
recognize in them the hand of           
,providence and not merely a historic   
chance4 ,we may1 if we wish1 regard the 
parting of the ,red ,sea as a  tidal    
phenomenon1 the pillar of cloud and     
flame as a volcanic cloud1  but we must1
 in that case1 believe that this tidal  
phenomenon and  this volcanic cloud were
 designed for the guidance of our       
people4  ,no teacher who lacks the faith
 that the various vicissitudes of  our  
people in the wilderness were intended  
to preserve them and to  prepare them   
for their historic career1 as the       
standard-bearers  of the ,torah1 can    
fittingly teach this period of our      
history for1  without such a conception1
 a majority of the events recorded would
  be meaningless4    ,the chapters of   
this lesson contain experiences and     
reflections  that are typical of the    
whole period of the wilderness4 ,note at

 the  outset the explanation for the    
roundabout route of the ,israelites1    
which states the fundamental reason for 
this whole period of trial  and         
vicissitudes4 ,they were not to go to   
the ,promised ,land by way of           
,philistia1 because that way was too    
short1 and they might have been         
tempted1 at the first rebuff1 to return 
to ,egypt1 since only that  which has   
been won at the cost of effort and      
sacrifice can be fully  appreciated4    
,the importance of taking this          
psychological factor into  consideration
 is evident from the conduct of ,israel 
at the ,red ,sea1  when the first       
obstacle that comes in their way leads  
them to murmur  against the leadership  
of ,moses1 and to compare disparagingly 
their  present situation with what had  
been their lot in ,egypt4 ,this is a    
state of affairs which we find again and
 again in the history of  this period1  
and it emphasizes the providential      
character of those  events1 which could 

convert this horde of slaves with the   
stamp of  slavery on their hearts into a
 conquering nation conscious of a  great
 historic mission4    ,aim4 ,the aim of 
this lesson is to inspire the child with
 the  belief in ,god's providence       
exercised over ,his people1 ,israel4    
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,begin the 
lesson by pointing out that  ,god had   
fulfilled ,his promise to free the      
,israelites from ,egypt4 ,but  where    
were they to go now8 ,recall by         
questions1 ,god's promise to the        
patriarchs to give ,canaan to the       
,israelites4 ,recall also ,jacob's      
desire to be buried in ,palestine and   
,joseph's similar request4  ,then locate
 ,palestine and ,egypt on the map1 and  
show by the scale  of miles how far     
apart they are4 ,observe that if the    
,israelites  could cover twenty miles a 
day in their journey1 it would take them
  a little more than two weeks to       
complete the journey4 ,but1 you         
continue1 ,god did not lead them        

directly to the land of ,canaan1        
because the people were not prepared to 
keep a land of their own4  ,one may use 
the following illustration to make the  
reason clear3    ,if one opens the cage 
of a canary bird that has been born and 
raised in a cage it will not immediately
 fly out and away2 for some  time it    
will stay in the cage afraid to leave   
it1 then it will  timidly go out a      
little way and if anything frightens it1
 will hurry  back into its cage4 ,now1  
the ,israelites had been in ,egypt like 
a  caged bird4 ,they were not free to go
 where they would and do what  they     
would4 ,then all of a sudden they were  
free4 ,but they were so  used always to 
being told by the ,egyptians what they  
should do1 that  they were afraid to do 
things for themselves1 and1 indeed1 did 
not  know how4 ,god knew that if they   
came to ,canaan1 and they saw there  an 
army of the ,canaanites coming against  
them to battle1 they would  be so       
frightened1 that1 instead of fighting   

them boldly and bravely1  they would at 
once go back to ,egypt and become slaves
 to ,pharaoh1  just as the bird goes    
back to the cage when it is frightened4 
,god1  therefore1 decided not to take   
them at once to their own land1 but  to 
lead them in a roundabout way with many 
turnings and twistings1  so that they   
would not know how to return to ,egypt  
if they wanted to  do so4 7,show on the 
map the direct route possible to the    
,israelites  and the actual route that  
they took47 ,and now ,i am going to tell
  you something that happened which will
 show you how1 at the very  first       
difficulty1 many of the ,israelites     
wanted to go back to ,egypt  and how    
,god saved them from their troubles4    
,then tell the story of their           
wanderings1 guided by the pillar of     
cloud and fire1 ,pharaoh's pursuit and  
the crossing of the ,red ,sea4  ,lay    
emphasis on the dilemma which faced the 
,israelites at the ,red  ,sea1 and on   
their consequent state of mind1 which is

 revealed in  ,exodus #ad4aj-ab4 ,these 
complaints should be quoted in the      
language  of the ,bible4 ,the children  
might be required to memorize ,moses'   
reply1 which sums up the message of the 
lesson1 ,stand still and see  the       
salvation of the ,lord4 ,read to the    
class the song of ,moses and  encourage 
the memorizing of favorite verses from  
the song4          ,,chapter ,,viii     
,,from ,,the ,,red ,,sea ,,to ,,sinai   
,exodus #ae4bb to #ah4bg                
,interpretation4 ,the significance of   
the events which took place  at ,marah1 
in the wilderness of ,sin1 and at       
,rephidim is the same  as of those      
recorded in the preceding chapter4 ,the 
antagonism  felt towards ,amalek1 which 
made him the arch-type of all ,israel's 
historic foes1 is to be explained by the
 fact that he was the first  to go out  
of his way to oppose ,israel1 attacking 
it where it was  weak at a time and in a
 manner which1 because of the lack of   
any  obvious provocation1 impressed the 

,israelites as a direct attempt  to     
defeat ,god's purpose in having brought 
them from ,egypt4 ,this  is suggested by
 the words1 ,the hand upon the throne of
 the ,lord2  the ,lord will have war    
with ,amalek from generation to         
generation4  7,exodus #ag4 #af47 ,thus1 
,ibn ,ezra says in his commentary to    
,exodus  #ag4 #ad1 ,the reason for      
,god's saying1 #da will utterly blot out
 the  remembrance of ,amalek'1 is       
because he provoked the ,lord1 for the  
dukes of ,edom had been terrified with  
the dread of ,him on account  of the    
miracles which ,he had performed in     
,egypt and at the ,red ,sea1  and so1   
too were ,moab and ,philistia1 and      
behold this ,amalek1 hearing  of the    
mighty deeds of the ,lord in behalf of  
,his people1 ,israel1  came from a      
distant region to fight with ,israel1   
and dreaded not  the ,lord1 as it is    
written 7,deuteronomy #be4 #ah71 'and he
 feared not  the ,lord'4 ,the incident  
of the ,israelites being victorious1 so 

long as ,moses' hands were raised1 is to
 be explained as the rabbis  explain it 
in the ,mishnah 7,rosh ha-,shanah ,,iii4
 #h74 ,could the hands  of ,moses in any
 wise make or break a victory that we   
are told1 ',and  it came to pass when   
,moses held up his hand1 that ,israel   
prevailed'8  ,this can only mean to tell
 us that so long as the ,israelites     
looked  upward and subjected their      
hearts to their ,father in heaven1 they 
prevailed1 and when not1 they fell4     
,the visit of ,jethro is recorded as a  
contrast to the preceding  episode4     
,jethro is the type of the righteous    
proselyte who1 seeing  ,god's purpose in
 exalting ,israel1 seeks to identify    
himself with  ,israel's cause4    ,aim4 
,the aim of this lesson is the same as  
of the preceding4    ,suggestions to the
 teacher4 ,the teaching of this lesson  
presents  no great difficulties1 the    
events narrated being in themselves     
interesting to children4 ,try to aid the
 child in realizing the  hardships of   

wandering through the wilderness by a   
description of  the geographical        
features of the wilderness1 the lack of 
roads1 of  water1 of food for man and   
cattle1 the fear of wild beasts1 and  of
 marauding tribes like ,amalek1 the lack
 of housing facilities1  etc4 ,endeavor 
to make the child realize how the       
,israelites felt1  when contrasting     
these conditions with those that existed
 in  the fertile ,nile valley4 ,this    
will help them to understand the        
murmurings against ,moses1 and what a   
thankless task it was that  ,moses had  
assumed in leading the ,israelites4 ,do 
not fail to appeal  to their hero       
worship by pointing out the             
unselfishness of ,moses  in continuing  
to lead the people in spite of their    
ingratitude4 ,in  teaching of the double
 portion of ,manna1 which they gathered 
on  the eve of the ,sabbath1 one may    
associate it with the two loaves  of    
bread used at the ,sabbath meal in the  
child's home4 ,in telling  the story of 

,amalek's attack1 it is well to mitigate
 the harshness  of the ,biblical        
injunction to remember what ,amalek did 
to us1 by  associating with it the moral
 taught by the following ,midrash3      
,to what may the children of ,israel 7at
 this juncture7 be compared8  ,to a     
child1 who was being carried on his     
father's shoulders through  the street  
and whenever he saw any object he       
desired he would say to  his father1    
',buy it for me'1 and his father would  
buy it for him4  ,this happened once1   
twice1 thrice4 ,while they were         
proceeding thus1  the child saw his     
father's friend and asked him1 ',have   
you seen  anything of my father8'       
,thereupon1 the father offended1 said1  
',fool6  you are riding on my shoulders1
 and whatever you want ,i provide  for  
you and yet you dare ask this man1 ,have
 you seen anything of  my father8' ,so  
what did the father do8 ,he put the     
child down and  refused to carry him any
 further4 ,just then a dog came and bit 

the  child4 ,even such was the conduct  
of ,israel4 ,when they went forth  from 
,egypt1 ,god at once surrounded them    
with clouds of glory4 ,they  desired    
,manna2 the ,holy ,one1 blessed be ,he1 
gave it them4 ,they  desired quail2 ,he 
gave it them4 ,whatever they needed1 ,he
 gave them4  ,nevertheless1 they began  
to doubt and said1 ',is the ,lord among 
us or  not8' 7,exodus #ag4 #g47         
,thereupon1 the ,holy ,one1 be ,he      
blessed1 said  to them1 ',as ye live1 ,i
 shall make it known to you4 ,behold the
 dog  is coming and will bite you4' ,and
 who is the dog8 ,amalek1 as it is      
said1 ',and ,amalek came'1 etc4    ,in  
teaching this and similar lessons1 it is
 important to locate all  places on the 
map1 as this gives greater reality to   
the stories4 ,the  association of a     
legend with a particular place has      
always had the  effect on simple minds  
of making it appear more worthy of      
credence1  and it is well to utilize    
this psychological fact in order to give

  a sense of reliability and reality to 
the ,biblical narrative4 ,to  show      
pictures of the places mentioned1 is    
even more valuable an aid1  which should
 also be applied wherever possible4     
,,chapter ,,ix    ,,the ,,revelation    
,exodus #ai4a to #bj4ah                 
,interpretation4 ,the event which is the
 subject of this lesson is  without     
exception the most important event in   
,jewish history1 and  from the point of 
view of ,judaism1 in the history of the 
world4  ,all previous ,jewish history   
leads up to it2 all subsequent ,jewish  
history harks back to it4 ,in the story 
of the ,patriarchs1 the  central theme  
is the choice of the material out of    
which that nation  is to spring1 which  
will accept the ,torah1 and commit      
itself to live  for and by it4 ,the     
central theme of the story of the exodus
 is the  preparation of the people for  
this event1 ,god's purchasing ,israel1  
to use the ,biblical phrase1 from his   
masters1 that he might serve  ,god      

alone4 ,and the central theme of all    
subsequent ,jewish history  is the      
struggle to make the principles of this 
,torah dominant over  ,israel and to    
guard its ideals1 and the institutions  
to which it  gave rise against foreign  
aggression on the one hand1 and foreign 
seduction on the other4 ,the event of   
the great ,revelation is  therefore of  
the utmost significance4    ,what took  
place at ,mt4 ,sinai8 ,something of the 
awe which set  bounds about the mountain
 that the people dared not break        
through1  must be ours1 as we approach  
this subject4 ,we must realize that  an 
event such as this cannot be recorded in
 the terms of our  daily experience4 ,we
 can only guess and guess feebly at what
 the  experience meant for our          
forefathers from the records that they  
have left us1 clothed in all the poetic 
imagery of our ,bible  narrative4 ,at   
,sinai1 in the midst of most impressive 
natural  surroundings1 thunder1         
lightning1 earthquake1 fire and smoke1  

the  people became conscious of ,god's  
presence1 as they had never been        
conscious of ,his presence before4 ,and 
while thus impressed with  the infinite 
power of the ,god who had led them out  
of ,egypt that  they might worship ,him 
there in the wilderness1 they entered   
into  a covenant with ,him4 ,under the  
inspired guidance of the greatest  of   
all prophets1 they were made to realize 
that this ,god demanded  obedience to   
law1 as the condition of ,his continuing
 to be their ,god  and to lead them as  
,his people1 whom ,he had redeemed from 
,egypt4    ,and the content of this     
revealed covenant is the ,decalogue1 the
 most  significant moral code in the    
world's history1 which has exercised  an
 influence upon mankind more profound   
and beneficent than any  other4 ,after  
insisting upon the recognition of the   
,god who redeemed  ,israel from ,egypt  
as the sole source of all authority and 
the sole  object of worship1 and        
endeavoring to secure the acknowledgment

  of these claims by enjoining reverence
 for ,god's name1 this code  lays down  
laws governing all the most important   
human relations4  ,it insists on the    
sanctity of the home1 both in the tie   
between  husband and wife1 and between  
parent and child4 ,it insists on the    
sacredness of human life1 and guarantees
 the right of property1  which is       
essential to human development4 ,it     
demands truth and  justice in the       
administration of law4 ,it concerns     
itself little with  ceremonial forms1   
but it insists1 nevertheless1 on the    
observance of  the ,sabbath1 without    
which man cannot attain to full human   
dignity  and to the consecration of life
 but sinks to the level of a beast  of  
burden or an automaton1 mechanically    
securing the means of life  with no     
leisure to contemplate its ends4 ,nor is
 the ,decalogue merely  concerned with  
man's overt acts1 but demands purity of 
motive1 for  it condemns covetousness   
equally with theft and adultery4    ,the

 revelation on ,mt4 ,sinai1 meant to the
 soul of ,israel1 what the  experience  
of the prophetic call meant to the      
prophet1 when he first  heard the voice 
of ,god appointing him to a mission of  
which he had  not dreamed before4       
,israel left ,egypt a fugitive horde1 it
 came to  ,sinai and was there          
transformed into a great nation1        
conscious of  a historic mission that   
distinguished it from and exalted it    
above  other peoples1 to become a       
kingdom of priests and a holy nation4   
7,exodus #ai4 #f47 ,israel has not      
always been true to this mission1 has   
perhaps never lived up fully to all its 
implications1 but from that  time to    
this ,israel has never quite forgotten  
it1 has never lost  faith in it4    ,in 
emphasizing the significance of the     
,decalogue1 one must1 however1  not lose
 sight of the fact that the ,ten        
,commandments were not  the only laws   
that were revealed to ,moses on ,sinai1 
and that the  ,sinaitic covenant        

involved not merely obedience to the    
,decalogue1  but obedience to all other 
laws to which ,judaism attributes a     
divine  origin4 ,according to tradition 
many of the oral laws1 which are  not   
contained in the ,bible1 were halakah   
lemosheh misinai1 ,laws  revealed to    
,moses on ,sinai4 ,historic criticism   
may suggest a later  origin to most of  
these and even to many laws in the      
,pentateuch1 but  there is nothing in   
the ,biblical narrative that limits     
revelation to  the ,decalogue1 and1     
according to ,jewish belief1 all of the 
,torah is  revealed4    ,aim4 ,the aim  
of this lesson should be to inspire the 
child with  reverence for the ,law1 and 
faith in its divine origin and authority
  over him4    ,suggestions to the      
teacher4 ,the teacher may well begin the
 lesson  by calling the child's         
attention to the reading of the ,sefer  
,torah  in the synagogue4 ,ask whether  
the ,sefer ,torah is1 in appearance1    
like any other book1 and let the        

children tell the obvious  differences4 
,inform them of differences of which    
they are not aware1  as for example1    
that it is always written by hand and on
 parchment1  with ink especially        
prepared for the purpose1 etc4 ,then    
continue  somewhat as follows3    ,now1 
do you know why we always treat this    
book differently from  other books1 why 
we take such pains in writing it1 why we
 write  it always on strong parchment   
rather than paper which can tear        
easily8 ,why we dress it1 so to speak1  
in velvet or other beautiful  coverings8
 ,why we decorate it with silver or gold
 ornaments8 ,why  we keep it in the most
 beautiful part of the synagogue8 ,it is
  because this book is different from   
all other books4 ,this book  contains   
the word of ,god1 which ,god himself    
taught to the people of  ,israel in     
ancient times1 and which was handed down
 from father to  son until the present  
time4 ,it contains the history that we  
have  been learning1 but it contains    

much more4 ,it contains laws and        
commandments that ,god wants us to keep1
 and whoever obeys all these  laws and  
commandments is a good ,jew4 ,in the    
lesson that we shall  take up today1 we 
shall learn how ,god began teaching     
these laws to  our fathers1 and we shall
 learn some of the most important of    
these  laws of ,god1 which are so       
important that all the civilized nations
  have made them a part of their law4   
,the great task of the teacher in this  
lesson is to create that  atmosphere of 
awe and reverence1 with which the       
,biblical narrative  invests the episode
 of the ,revelation4 ,the mere          
explanation of  the meaning of the ,ten 
,commandments is not enough to effect   
this1  because the significance of their
 content is in large part beyond  the   
child's comprehension1 and their form is
 too abstract to appeal  to him         
emotionally4 ,the point of contact that 
we have suggested will  aid somewhat by 
associating with the ,revelation the    

reverence that  the child sees paid to  
the ,sefer ,torah in the synagogue4#aa  
,a close  following of the ,biblical    
narrative suggests other devices4 ,the  
people of ,israel were to prepare       
themselves for three days1 and the      
necessity for this preparation kept them
 in an attitude of conscious  suspense  
and attention4 ,the narrative of these  
preparations will  have a similar       
effect4 ,attempt to arouse the          
children's curiosity as  to what ,god   
was going to tell ,israel before you    
begin to tell them  the ,ten            
,commandments4 ,exodus #ai4 #c-f should 
be quoted and explained4  ,the fact that
 ,moses and ,aaron were required to set 
bounds about the  mountain beyond which 
none but he whom ,god called could pass1
 also  adds to the impressiveness of the
 occasion1 which will not be lost  upon 
the children4 ,finally1 the concomitant 
disturbances of nature1  the thunders1  
lightnings1 quakings1 and flame1 and    
thick darkness1  and the voice of the   

,shofar waxing louder and louder1       
together  with the picture of the       
trembling people at the foot of the     
mount  and ,moses going up alone into   
the thick darkness where ,god was  must 
be told in such graphic terms as to     
impress them deeply on  the imagination 
of the child4 ,instead of telling the   
children the  ,ten ,commandments in the 
usual conversational tone that you would
  naturally employ when addressing      
children1 it would be well in this      
instance to read them the ,biblical     
account from ,exodus #ai4af to  #bj4ba1 
and require that when you come to the   
actual reading of the  ,decalogue1 the  
class rise as the congregation does when
 it is read  in the synagogue and remain
 standing until the reading of the ,ten 
,commandments is completed4      #aa ,of
 course1 such a method of approach is   
only possible where    the child attends
 services1 but it is exceedingly        
important that    provision for         
attendance at a regular service be made 

by every    religious school4    ,the   
children will1 of course1 understand    
very little of the meaning  of the ,ten 
,commandments from the reading1 but they
 will understand  and absorb the        
reverential attitude of the teacher     
towards them4  ,after the reading1      
however1 it devolves upon the teacher to
 explain  their significance as far as  
this can be done to children4 ,avoid1   
however1 too lengthy and discursive     
treatment1 as the child will  be        
impatient to go on with the story4 ,a   
more detailed treatment  of them should 
be taken up later in the course1 either 
when the  children are taught to        
translate the ,decalogue in their       
,hebrew work1  or in connection with the
 instruction about the significance of  
,shabuot1 or as part of the work of a   
,bar ,mitzvah1 or ,confirmation  ,class1
 or on several or all of these          
occasions1 but not as a lengthy         
interruption to the story of the ,bible 
in which children in their  early years 

of school are most interested4    ,the  
,first ,commandment can be explained1   
however1 very easily as  implying the   
grateful worship of ,god by ,israel and 
obedience to all  ,his laws as the first
 duty of the ,jew in view of what ,god  
had done  for his people in ,egypt4     
,the ,second ,commandment need not      
present any difficulty as the sin  and  
folly of idolatry1 the worship of the   
creature instead of the  creator1 is    
easily grasped by children4 ,as the     
child will not be  tempted to idolatry  
this need not be given much time4       
,the ,third ,commandment1 however1      
should receive more attention  than it  
usually does4 ,nothing is more conducive
 to that spirit of  reverence1 which it 
is the aim of this lesson to cultivate  
than  the conscious avoidance of ,god's 
name1 except in association with  a     
truly religious thought4 ,profanity is a
 common vice of children1  as well as of
 adults4 ,children1 especially during   
the habit-forming  age1 should be made  

to feel that it is a sin and should be  
avoided4#ab      #ab ,for other         
suggestions in this connection see ,part
 ,,ii1 ,chapter    ,,iv1 of this book4  
,the ,fourth ,commandment is also of the
 utmost importance to  childhood4 ,as   
this is not the first time that         
reference to the  ,sabbath has been     
made1 the teacher may take a knowledge  
of the  general significance of the     
,sabbath for granted1 and should mainly 
dwell on the significance of the phrase 
to keep it holy by asking  the children 
what we do to keep the ,sabbath holy1 i4
 e41 different  from other days and     
devoted to ,jewish thoughts4 ,take      
occasion to  admonish the children not  
to attend theatres1 moving picture      
shows1  etc41 on the ,sabbath1 and urge 
their attendance at services4    ,the   
,fifth ,commandment is1 of course1 the  
first law of childhood4 ,in  discussing 
it with the children1 try to get from   
them suggestions as  to how to honor    
parents4 ,encourage such rules of family

 etiquette  as never to contradict      
father or mother1 never to sit in       
father's  or mother's seat at table1    
always to rise and give either of them a
  seat if the other chairs in the room  
are occupied when they come in1  and the
 like4    ,the ,sixth ,commandment needs
 no prolonged discussion4    ,the       
,seventh ,commandment must be explained 
to mean that husband and  wife must     
always be faithful and kind to each     
other4    ,the ,eighth ,commandment     
needs some discussion1 because children 
are  often prone to petty thieving4 ,in 
the moral code of many children         
stealing means taking money or objects  
of great value1 but the  appropriation  
of small objects1 such as pens1 pencils1
 chalk1  etc41 does not come under the  
same category4 ,moreover1 stealing  only
 means taking something from somebody's 
hand or pocket1 and  does not include   
the appropriation of an object which the
 owner  has carelessly left where       
another might claim it under the law of 

,finding's keeping1 which1 according to 
the code of childhood1  is often held to
 apply even when the finder knows to    
whom the  object found belongs4 ,the    
teacher's duty is1 therefore1 to take   
this opportunity of enlarging the       
child's concept of theft and  developing
 his property sense1 a sense which is   
naturally defective  in children1 since 
they neither earn nor hold property in  
their own  right4 ,avoid1 however1      
abstract and purely theoretic discussion
 and  make your point by presenting     
concrete hypothetical examples for  the 
exercise of their moral judgment1 as1   
for instance3    ,i am sure that none of
 you would take from anybody money or   
anything else that you thought of great 
value1 but suppose you saw  a little    
stump of a pencil that a boy had left on
 his desk1 and you  just wanted it1 or a
 piece of chalk from the blackboard1 or 
some  fruit or candy that you saw in    
your neighbor's desk1 would it be  right
 for you to take it8 ,if you saw some   

money on the street and  you did not    
know how it came there1 would you take  
it8 ,if you saw  some money fall from a 
man's pocket on the street1 would you   
take  it8 ,if you found a pocketbook and
 when you opened it1 saw that it  had a 
card with the owner's name and address  
on it1 what would you  do8 ,if you found
 a pocketbook or some money1 or some    
pencils or  books in this school1 what  
would you do1 etc48    ,the meaning of  
the ,ninth ,commandment must be extended
 to enjoin  truthfulness in general4 ,by
 methods similar to those used in       
explaining the ,eighth1 the teacher must
 extend the child's concept  of lying to
 include any kind of conscious          
deception1 the silent lie  equally with 
the spoken one4    ,the ,tenth          
,commandment is a little too subtle and 
refined for the  child's grasp and need 
not be dwelt on at length4 ,the teacher 
need  only explain that to want to      
steal1 even if we are kept back from    
stealing because we are afraid of the   

police1 or afraid of our  teachers1 or  
of any punishment1 is just as wrong as  
to steal4          ,,chapter ,x    ,,the
 ,,golden ,,calf    ,exodus #cb4a to    
#cd4ce      ,interpretation4 ,the people
 of ,israel could not at once rise to   
the height of that conception of ,god1  
which had been revealed to  them at     
,sinai4 ,so long as ,moses was with them
 to tell them the word  of the ,lord1   
they found it possible to believe in    
,god1 though they  did not see ,him1 for
 ,he spoke to them daily through the    
mouth of  ,his appointed servant1       
,moses4 ,but ,moses had vanished into   
the thick  darkness1 and days and weeks 
had passed without his return4 ,this    
made it increasingly difficult for them 
to experience the reality of  the       
invisible ,god1 who had led them from   
,egypt4 ,they1 consequently1  demanded  
some image to which they might look and 
which might keep  them in mind of the   
object of their adoration4 ,their       
intention was  not so much to exchange  

the ,god who had led them from ,egypt   
for  another as to image ,him forth as  
an aid to their devotion4 ,they1 no     
doubt1 spoke in good faith when they    
declared1 ,this is thy god1 ,o  ,israel4
 ,that they should worship ,him in the  
form of a bull 7for the  calf must be   
understood to be the small image of a   
bull1 small by  reason of the precious  
metal employed7 is not surprising in    
view of  the common conception of the   
divinity in that form1 both in ,egypt   
and in ,canaan4 ,aaron reluctantly      
yields to their importunities1 and  the 
people rejoice in having a ,god who can 
go before them4    ,but ,moses could not
 yield4 ,to have done so would have     
meant to  have surrendered all that had 
been gained in a spiritual way by  the  
,exodus and the ,revelation4 ,the       
apostasy of the whole people1  which    
this act threatened1 would have rendered
 his entire mission  fruitless4 ,his    
sense of despair is well conveyed by the
 ,biblical  narrative in the incident of

 the breaking of the tables of stone on 
which the words of the ,decalogue were  
inscribed4 ,a radical remedy  was needed
 and ,moses did not hesitate to apply   
it4 ,the support which  he received from
 the tribe of ,levi was a justification 
for its claim  to be the priestly tribe4
    ,it is in connection with this event
 that the character of ,moses is  shown 
in its most sublime aspect as the       
perfect intercessor4 ,his  zeal did not 
hesitate to apply the utmost rigor in   
punishing the  offenders who would not  
rally to his call1 but once the         
necessary  punishment had been          
administered1 his one thought is of his 
people1  how they might still be enabled
 to fulfill the mission to which they   
had committed themselves on the day of  
the ,revelation4 ,god suggests          
destroying the people who had forfeited 
their claims to redemption  and making  
of the descendants of ,moses a chosen   
people1 but ,moses1  the ideal leader1  
to whom his charge is dearer than       

himself1 is not  satisfied4 ,rather     
would he share in the punishment of his 
guilty  people than enjoy a selfish     
salvation and glory from which they are 
to be excluded4 7,exodus #cb4cb47 ,then 
,god yields to his plea and  agrees to  
let the people return to the land of    
their fathers and  to drive out their   
enemies from before them in accordance  
with the  terms of the covenant ,he had 
made with ,israel after the ,revelation4
  ,there it is said 7,exodus #bc4bj to  
#bb7 ,behold1 ,i send an angel  before  
thee1 to keep thee by the way1 and to   
bring thee into the  place which ,i have
 prepared4 ,take heed of him and hearken
 unto his  voice1 be not rebellious     
against him2 for he will not pardon your
  transgression1 for ,my name is in him4
 ,but if thou shalt indeed  hearken unto
 his voice and do all that ,i speak1    
then ,i will be an  enemy unto thine    
enemies and an adversary unto thine     
adversaries4  ,god's reply to ,moses1   
therefore1 is 7,exodus #cb4 #cc7        

,whosoever hath  sinned against ,me1 him
 will ,i blot out of ,my book4 ,and now 
go1 lead  the people unto the place of  
which ,i have spoken unto thee2 behold1 
,mine angel shall go before thee2       
nevertheless in the day when ,i  visit  
,i will visit their sin upon them4444   
,and the ,lord spoke unto  ,moses3      
,depart1 go up hence1 thou and the      
people that thou hast  brought up out of
 the land of ,egypt unto the land of    
which ,i swore  unto ,abraham1 to ,isaac
 and to ,jacob1 saying3 ',unto thy seed 
will  ,i give it'1 and ,i will send an  
angel before thee and ,i will drive  out
 the ,canaanite1 the ,amorite1 the      
,hittite1 and the ,perizzite1  the      
,hivite1 and the ,jebusite1 unto a land 
flowing with milk and  honey2 for ,i    
will not go up in the midst of thee2 for
 thou art a  stiff-necked people2 lest  
,i consume thee in the way4 7,exodus    
#cc4  #a-c47    ,the general            
significance of angels has been         
discussed in a previous  chapter4#ac ,it

 is to be noted1 however1 that the      
notion prevailed  that various nations  
were presided over by special angels    
delegated  for that purpose4 ,thus      
,israel was conceived as having been led
  out of ,egypt through the agency of an
 angel1 who was furthermore  entrusted  
with the task of leading the people to  
the land of  ,canaan4 ,but angels1 as we
 have previously shown1 were conceived  
of as not having any discretionary      
power1 and this angel of the  covenant  
was only entrusted with leading ,israel 
to the ,land of  ,promise if the people 
would be faithful to the covenant4 ,in  
the  case of any infidelity they had    
been specifically warned ,he will  not  
pardon your transgression4 ,with the sin
 of the golden calf1  therefore1 ,moses 
at first fears that ,israel is totally  
doomed1 but  he is reassured by ,god's  
statement that the punishment which must
  come will be meted out to each        
individual sinner on the day when ,i    
visit and will not involve the immediate

 destruction of the whole  people2 that 
on the contrary1 the angel would        
continue to lead them  to their land4   
,but this no longer satisfies ,moses4   
,the sin of the  golden calf had        
convinced him that the people were too  
weak to live  up to the covenant that   
they had accepted at ,sinai1 and that if
  their destiny was to be presided over1
 as that of other peoples1 by  an angel1
 who could not forgive any breach of the
 covenant1 they  were sure to be        
destroyed4 ,he1 therefore1 pleads for a 
more intimate  relation with ,god1 which
 would exempt ,israel from the          
operations  of the natural law of       
retribution1 by providing for the       
people's  forgiveness in view of the    
higher tasks that it undertook to       
perform  without apparently possessing  
higher qualifications4 ,if ,israel is   
merely to be led to the realization of  
its secular destiny through  the        
conquest of ,canaan1 but is not to be   
more closely identified  with ,god's    

cause1 by ,god's going in their midst1  
,moses prefers to  stay in the          
wilderness4 7,exodus #cc4 #ae47 ,god's  
declaring1 ,i will  not go up in the    
midst of thee1 7,exodus #cc4 #c7        
although it comes  immediately after    
,god's renewal of the promise to send   
,his angel to  lead ,israel to the land 
of ,canaan1 is made the occasion of     
mourning  and repentance4 ,moses removes
 his tent1 in which he was wont to      
commune with ,god1 and which was        
consequently known as the ,ohel ,moed1  
,the ,tent of ,meeting1 7see ,rashi and 
,ibn ,ezra ad loc471 from the  camp1    
upon the principle1 according to ,rashi1
 that      ,the disciple must have no   
dealings with one  who is under the ban 
of the master4 ,god's refusal to enter  
the camp  of ,israel1 ,moses construes  
as obligating also his own withdrawal   
from the camp4 ,here he pleads with ,god
 for a clearer knowledge of  ,his ways  
that he may be able to lead the people  
as ,god had charged  him to do4 ,he     

wants ,god to make known to him the     
angel whom ,he  had determined to send  
with him4 ,it is then that he receives  
the  assurance that he had sought1 ,my  
presence shall go with thee and  ,i will
 give thee rest4 7,exodus #cc4 #ad47 ,he
 is further vouchsafed  a revelation of 
,god's attributes1 which assures him of 
,god's  readiness to forgive sin1 though
 not to condone it1 7,exodus #cd4 #f1   
#g71 and is instructed to hew out new   
tablets for the ,decalogue in  place of 
those he had broken4 ,exodus #cc4 #bb1  
#bc presents difficulty  because of the 
anthropomorphic terms used with         
reference to ,god4  ,the general thought
 it wishes to express1 however1 seems to
 be that  nobody can grasp the true     
personality of ,god1 but can only       
realize  by reflection and1 as it were1 
retrospectively1 that he had been in    
,god's presence1 can1 as the ,bible     
expresses it1 only catch a glimpse  of  
,his retreating form4      #ac ,see     
,part ,i1 ,chapter ,,ix4    ,aim4 ,the  

aim in teaching this chapter should be  
to arouse in the  child an appreciation 
of the meaning of loyalty and           
faithfulness1  a lesson which is taught 
negatively by ,israel's disloyalty in   
worshipping the golden calf1 and        
positively by ,moses' loyalty in        
interceding for his people rather than  
in remaining satisfied with  his        
individual enjoyment of ,god's favor4   
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,there are 
many lessons with regard to  sin and    
repentance and the attributes of ,god   
and other theological  topics1 which are
 taught in these chapters1 but they are 
all beyond  the comprehension of        
children4 ,they have1 therefore1 been   
excluded  from our formulation of the   
aim in teaching this lesson1 and the    
teacher should omit details of the      
narrative that do hot emphasize  the aim
 of the lesson1 however interesting they
 may be from the  adult point of view4  
,thus the narrative of ,exodus #cc4 #ab 
to #bc  should be omitted1 and much of  

the dialogue between ,god and ,moses as 
well4 ,moreover1 the whole discussion of
 the part played by the angel  of the   
covenant and ,moses' plea that not an   
angel but ,god himself  lead the people1
 though we have dwelt on it at          
considerable length  in our foregoing   
remarks for the benefit of the teacher1 
need not be  taught to the child4    ,to
 connect the lesson with the previous   
one1 begin by asking one of  the        
children to repeat the ,second          
,commandment4 ,then explain how1  in the
 absence of ,moses1 the people began to 
find it difficult to  believe in a ,god 
whom they could not see1 and1 recalling 
the images  of the gods they had known1 
demanded an image of their own ,god in  
violation of their pledge to obey the   
,decalogue4 ,the conduct of  ,aaron in  
yielding to their pleas need not be     
condoned or explained  away1 as the only
 extenuation the ,bible suggests is the 
importunity  of the popular demand4     
,this1 however1 the teacher should      

endeavor to  make his pupils realize by 
telling them how every day the people   
would come to ,aaron and would say to   
him1 ,where is ,moses and where  is the 
,god who spoke to us1 and who1 ,moses   
said1 would lead us to  the land of our 
forefathers8 ,we want to see ,him4 ,make
 an image of  ,him for us4 ,and though  
,aaron would refuse them1 they would    
come  again the next day and the day    
after1 and insist that he make them  an 
image of their ,god like the idols1 to  
which they were used1 until  one day    
,aaron became weary of their demands and
 told them that if  they wanted an image
 of ,god1 they should bring all their   
gold and  jewels1 their ear-rings1      
bracelets and rings1 out of which he    
would  make them an image4    ,attempt  
to make the child realize the           
heinousness of the offense  involved in 
the making of the golden calf1 as       
idolatry is so  remote from the child's 
experience1 that he is not likely to be 
much impressed by the significance of   

it4 ,emphasize not merely the           
disobedience involved in violation of   
the ,second ,commandment1 but  the      
blasphemy involved in conceiving of ,god
 in animal form4 ,the  emotional        
attitude which the teacher should       
endeavor to create  should be that which
 led our forefathers always to speak of 
the gods  of other nations as the       
abominations of the heathen4 ,this can  
be  done by describing1 as it were1     
,god's feelings at witnessing the       
behavior of ,israel1 as1 for instance3  
,when ,god saw what the people were     
doing1 how they danced and sang  about  
the golden calf1 and shouted1 ',this is 
thy god1 ,o ,israel1  which brought thee
 up out of the land of ,egypt'1 ,he was 
very angry4  ,only forty days before    
they had heard ,his voice telling them1 
',thou  shalt have no other gods before 
,me4 ,thou shalt not make unto thyself  
any graven image'1 and they had         
promised1 ',all that the ,lord hath     
spoken we will do'1 and there they were 

worshipping a molten god  that they had 
made with their own hands1 an image of a
 calf2 as if  a calf or anything like it
 could have sent the ten plagues against
  ,egypt1 could have divided the waters 
of the ,red ,sea1 could have  spoken to 
them the words of the ,ten ,commandments
 from the midst  of the flaming         
mountain4 ,so ,god wanted at first to   
destroy them  altogether1 and ,he said  
to ,moses1 who was still with ,him on   
the  mountain to learn ,his law1 ',go2  
get thee down1 for thy people that  thou
 broughtest up out of the land of ,egypt
 have dealt corruptly2  they have turned
 aside quickly out of the way which ,i  
commanded  them2 they have made them a  
molten calf and have worshipped it and  
have sacrificed unto it and have said1  
,this is thy god1 ,o ,israel1  which    
brought thee up out of the land of      
,egypt4 ,behold they are a  stiff-necked
 people and my anger is kindled against 
them1 and ,i will  destroy them1 and ,i 
will make of thee a great nation4'      

,give the children to understand the    
cause of ,moses' breaking the  tablets  
of the law by making them feel with the 
despair of ,moses1  when1 descending    
from the mount with the tablets in his  
hand1 he saw  the people in the very act
 of violating the laws written upon     
them4  ,of what use were the tablets of 
the law if the law itself was not  held 
sacred8    ,moses' motive for ordering  
the death of the offenders must be      
explained as not being due to hatred1   
but to his realizing that  if such a    
measure were not taken1 the rest of the 
people would  be led into further sin1  
which would necessitate the destruction 
of the whole people as punishment for   
their wickedness1 just as  a surgeon may
 amputate a limb to save a life4 ,call  
attention to  the fact that ,moses first
 gives the people a chance to rally     
about  him if they repented of their    
participation in the worship of the     
golden calf1 a chance of which ,aaron   
and the whole tribe of ,levi  availed   

themselves4 ,the purity of ,moses'      
motives is seen from his  willingness to
 accept the same punishment as his      
people1 if ,god is  indisposed to       
forgive them1 rather than enjoy a reward
 and honor in  which they do not share4 
,while endeavoring to impress the child 
with the sublimity of ,moses'           
character1 be careful not to attempt    
abstract characterization1  but tell the
 story in such a way that the child     
appreciates the  significance of ,moses'
 acts and words4 ,do not say1 for       
example1 ,now  ,moses1 though he was    
zealous1 in punishing those ,israelites 
who had  proved disloyal1 was utterly   
unselfish in his love for ,israel4 ,say 
rather1 ,now1 when ,moses had put to    
death those who had persisted in        
worshipping the golden calf1 he prayed  
to ,god to forgive the sins of  the rest
 and not to destroy the whole people4   
,for1 though ,god had  offered to spare 
,moses1 who had not sinned1 and even to 
make of his  descendants a great nation 

instead of the ,israelites1 who deserved
  to be destroyed1 do you think that    
this made ,moses happy8 ,no1 for        
,moses1 although he had not hesitated to
 punish his people according  to ,god's 
command1 loved them as a father loves   
his children1 even  when they do wrong1 
and it hurt him to think that ,god was  
angry with  them1 even though he himself
 enjoyed ,god's favor4 ,so he said1 ',o 
,lord1 if thou canst forgive this       
people1 forgive them1 but if not1  do   
not make of me and my descendants a     
great nation1 but blot me out  of thy   
book'1 that is to say1 ',let me die and 
be forgotten like the  rest of these    
people whom ,i have led1 and whom ,i    
love so dearly4' ,so  ,god1 moved by his
 loyalty to his people1 promised to     
forgive them  and to continue to lead   
them to their land4    ,do not fail to  
mention the fact that when ,moses came  
down from the  mountain his face shone1 
as such a circumstance adds to the      
child's  reverence for his hero4    ,the

 following are some suggestive questions
 which may help to bring  out the point 
of the lesson for the children3    ,why 
did the children of ,israel want ,aaron 
to make them a golden calf8    ,in doing
 so1 what commandment did they disobey8 
,why did ,moses break the tablets of    
stone8    ,how were the ,israelites     
punished for their sin8    ,what did    
,god threaten to do to ,israel for this 
sin8 and what did he  want to do to     
,moses because he had not sinned8       
,did this please ,moses8 ,why not8 ,what
 did ,moses pray ,god to do8    ,did    
,god grant this prayer8 ,how did ,god   
show that he had forgiven  ,israel8     
,how did ,he show that ,he was pleased  
with ,moses8          ,,chapter ,,xi    
,,the ,,tabernacle ,,and ,,its ,,service
    ,exodus #be4a to #ca4aa and #ce4d to
 #dj4cc      ,interpretation4 ,the      
,biblical passages dealing with the     
construction of the ,tabernacle and the 
nature of its appointments  and the     
services conducted therein are scattered

 through a number  of chapters of our   
,bible1 but for pedagogic purposes it is
 best  to consider them together4       
,before discussing any details we must  
realize the significance of the         
,tabernacle in general4 ,we are to see  
in it the parent of the temple and the  
synagogue and understand its            
significance in the light of the        
importance of these institutions to     
later ,judaism4 ,let them make ,me a    
sanctuary that ,i may dwell among  them4
 7,exodus #be4 #h47 ,our rabbis         
paraphrase this by the words1  that ,i  
may cause ,my ,shekinah to dwell among  
them4 ,inasmuch as  the ,shekinah meant 
the ,divine ,presence made manifest1 we 
may  render their meaning in more modern
 terms by declaring that the  function  
of tabernacle1 temple and synagogue is  
to make us realize  the presence of     
,god1 for though we may theoretically   
admit ,his  existence without such      
institutions1 we should not feel the    
reality  of ,his presence were it not   

brought home to us by the organized     
worship that they cultivated4 ,but even 
if it is possible to realize  the       
presence of ,god merely by the direct   
communion of the individual  without any
 organized communal worship in a        
community sanctuary1 the  ,god we should
 then worship would not be the ,god of  
,israel and our  religion would not     
consecrate life to the service of ,his  
,torah4 ,and  just as the ,tabernacle1  
to which every animal that was to be    
eaten  had to be brought for sacrifice1 
weaned the people from the habit of     
sacrificing to the satyrs1 7,leviticus  
#ag4 #g7 so in later times the  ,temple 
was the center of the national worship  
as against the rival  cult of ,baal and 
,astarte associated with the high       
places1 and so  today the synagogue is  
the institution upon which we must      
depend to  guard the purity of ,jewish  
religious thought from the influences   
of our non-,jewish environment4 ,in view
 of the significance of the  ,tabernacle

 and its daughter institutions1 we      
cannot begrudge the  space that our     
,bible gives to its construction and its
 ritual4    ,it is impossible for us to 
understand the precise symbolic         
significance of all the ceremonial      
objects and decorations of the          
,tabernacle1 but the very attention that
 is given to these details is           
expressive of an appreciation of the aid
 to devotion which is to be  found in an
 appeal to the aesthetic sense of the   
worshipper4 ,some of  the symbolism is1 
however1 quite obvious4 ,thus it is     
evident that  the placing of the ,two   
,tables of the ,law in the ,ark which   
was kept  in the ,holy of ,holies1 and  
was made of choice wood covered within  
and without with gold and guarded by the
 figures of cherubim wishes  to testify 
to the sanctity of the ,law as the very 
center and soul  of ,judaism4 ,the      
prohibition to any but the high priest  
to enter the  ,holy of ,holies1 and the 
insistence on ritual purity and         

provisions  for the washing of hands and
 feet in the brass laver served to      
remove the worship from the plane of the
 commonplace and profane  and aided in  
creating that atmosphere of reverence   
and awe which  is indispensible to true 
worship4 ,the clouds of smoke from the  
incense suggested something of the      
mystery of ,god as is seen from  its    
association in rabbinic tradition with  
the cloud of glory4       ,for ,i appear
 in the cloud upon  the ark-cover is    
construed by the ,rabbis to mean the    
cloud of  incense4    ,with regard to   
the garments of the priests1 the        
appearance on the  breast plate of the  
names of the tribes of ,israel          
emphasizes the  representative capacity 
of the high priest as   or  agent of the
 congregation1 whereas the diadem with  
the inscription    ,holy unto ,god was  
the symbol of his consecration to  ,god4
    ,aim4 ,the aim of this lesson should
 be to interest the child in the        
synagogue and public worship and more   

especially to develop in him  the       
sentiment for beauty1 dignity and       
decorum in the service of ,god4         
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,the       
obvious point of contact between  the   
lesson and the child is the child's     
experience of synagogue  worship1 an    
experience which it is the duty of every
 ,jewish school  to provide4 ,begin the 
lesson by calling attention to the fact 
that  ,jews everywhere gather together  
on ,sabbaths and holidays and even  on  
week days to pray to ,god in houses     
called synagogues set aside  for that   
purpose4 ,then question the children as 
to the appearance of  the synagogue that
 they attend1 particularly as to how it 
differs  from other buildings designed  
to hold large numbers of people1  so as 
to interest them in the distinctive     
features of synagogue  architecture and 
adornment1 such as the ,ark1 the        
,reading ,desk and  the ,perpetual      
,lamp4 ,the children's answers may call 
attention to  certain features peculiar 

to their own synagogue which they       
imagine  to be characteristic of        
synagogues in general4 ,their errors can
  be corrected in an interesting way by 
showing them pictures of a  variety of  
synagogues in different lands and       
different architectural  styles4        
,this done1 call attention to the fact  
that our fathers in the  wilderness     
needed a house of worship just as much  
as we do and  therefore when ,moses was 
on the mountain speaking to ,god1 ,god  
said  to him1 ,let the children of      
,israel make me a sanctuary that ,i may 
dwell among them4 ,explain the word     
sanctuary as meaning a holy  place1 like
 our synagogues4 ,but how you continue1 
were the  children of ,israel to build a
 house of worship in the wilderness     
when they were wandering from place to  
place and the pillar of cloud  might any
 day move on and they would have to     
follow8 ,they could not  take with them 
on the march a building of wood and     
stone and they  could not build a new   

one at every place where they stopped   
for a  few days4 ,but ,god gave ,moses  
the idea of a sanctuary that suited     
their purpose admirably1 because they   
could take it with them4 ,have  you any 
idea what sort of a building that was   
that they could carry  with them        
wherever they went8 ,if there is no     
response1 continue4  ,when an army is on
 the march1 the soldiers cannot build   
houses  over night for themselves to    
sleep in2 what have they for shelter8   
7,the children will probably know that  
soldiers encamped live in  tents47      
,well1 the children of ,israel when they
 were wandering in  the wilderness had  
to live in tents and in huts that they  
could  take apart and put together again
 and carry with them from place to      
place1 and so their sanctuary had also  
to be a sort of tent that  they could   
take apart and put together again4 ,but 
it was not an  ordinary tent4 ,its      
curtains were made of the finest cloths1
 with  beautiful colored designs woven  

on them by the most famous artists  of  
the day4 ,the wood that was used for the
 poles on which the  curtains rested was
 the very finest wood that could be     
obtained1 and  everything that was in   
the tabernacle was to be as beautiful as
 the  hand of man could make it4        
,dwell on the enthusiasm with which the 
,israelites responded to the  call for  
the material and labor needed in the    
construction of the  tabernacle1 and on 
the praise that the ,bible bestows on   
its artists1  ,bezalel and ,aholiab1    
whom ,god filled with the spirit of ,god
 in  wisdom1 in understanding and in    
knowledge and in all manner of          
workmanship4 7,exodus #ce4 #ca47        
,after this general introduction1 it is 
well for the teacher to show  a picture 
of the tabernacle to help the class     
visualize it4#ad ,but  this will show   
only the exterior4 ,draw on the         
blackboard the plan  of the tabernacle  
showing not only the division into      
fore-court1  sanctuary and holy of      

holies1 but also the location of the    
brass  altar1 the laver1 the altar of   
incense1 the table of show-bread1 the   
menorah1 and the ark of the covenant4   
#ad ,good illustrations of the          
tabernacle and its appointments1 as     
also of the priestly garments1 are to be
 found among ,tissot's ,bible           
,illustrations4    ,then proceed3 ,i    
have shown you a picture of the outside 
of the  tabernacle1 now let us walk in  
here where the curtains are drawn  aside
 to admit us4 ,we find ourselves in a   
large open court4 ,it is  not at all    
like the synagogues we are used to4 ,it 
has walls to be  sure1 but they are of  
curtains1 and as for a ceiling it has   
none  at all1 except the blue sky above4
 ,nor are there any seats1 but          
everybody stands during the service1    
which consists for the most  part of the
 sacrifice of an animal on the altar1   
accompanied by the  playing of musical  
instruments1 and the singing of hymns by
 the  ,levites1#ae 7men of the tribe of 

,levi7 to whom the care of the          
sanctuary was entrusted4 ,after the     
sacrifice1 which is performed  by ,aaron
 or one of his sons1 the cohanim or     
priests bless the  congregation with    
outstretched hands in words which are   
still part  of the service and which    
your parents say when they bless you on 
,sabbath and holidays1 ',the ,lord bless
 thee and keep thee1 the ,lord  make    
,his face to shine upon thee and be     
gracious unto thee1 the ,lord  lift up  
,his countenance upon thee and give thee
 peace1' 7,numbers #f4  #bb-bg47 ,but   
this part of the tabernacle is not the  
holy part called  the sanctuary or holy 
place4 ,into this holy place which is   
separated  from the outer court by      
curtained walls1 and which had a sort of
  roof1 not of wood1 but of ram's skins 
dyed red and of badger skins1  only the 
priests1 who are themselves holy1       
because their whole life  is given up to
 the service of ,god1 may come4 ,but we 
know from what  the ,bible tells us     

exactly what it contained4 ,then        
describe the  furnishings of the        
sanctuary and continue4 ,the most holy  
part of  all1 however1 only ,aaron1 or1 
after his death1 the chief priest  of   
his time1 called high priest1 was       
permitted to enter1 and that  only once 
a year on the great ,day of ,atonement1 
or else when ,god  would call him4 ,and 
the ,holy of ,holies1 as it was called1 
contained  nothing but a beautiful ark  
or box1 of which ,i shall show you  a   
picture1 and in this beautiful gold     
covered1 and artistically  decorated ark
 there were placed the two tables of    
stone that ,god had  given ,moses1 with 
the ten commandments engraved on them4  
#ae ,there is no direct evidence of this
 being part of the worship    of the    
tabernacle1 but we know it to have been 
part of the ,temple    worship and as   
hymns are common in ancient rituals our 
statement is    probably correct4    ,do
 not depend too much on description     
which easily grows tiresome1  but show  

pictures of all the important objects in
 the sanctuary and  of the priestly     
garments4    ,in the discussion which   
follows the presentation of the lesson1 
again associate the tabernacle with the 
synagogue1 this time  emphasizing points
 of similarity rather than of           
difference4 ,thus the  position of the  
sefer torah in the aron which occupies  
the most  conspicuous place in the      
synagogue is analogous to the position  
of  the ,tables of the ,law in the ark  
in the tabernacle4 ,similarly the  ner  
tamid is the analogue of the menorah1   
etc4    ,but just as the presentation of
 the lesson was not merely by the       
spoken word1 so the reproduction of it  
should not be in words only1  but the   
class should be encouraged to draw      
pictures of the sanctuary  and its      
objects1 and the best drawings should be
 hung about the  room4 ,in this way the 
impulse to bring art into the service of
  religion may at once be utilized by   
enabling the children to employ  art in 

embellishing the religious school which 
should also be made  to appeal to them  
as a midash me'a a minor sanctuary4     
,,chapter ,,xii    ,,trials ,,of ,,moses
 ,,and ,,israel ,,in ,,the ,,wilderness 
,leviticus #aj4a-g4 ,numbers #i4ae-bc1  
also #aa4a to #ab4af                    
,interpretation4 ,we have grouped in    
this chapter a number of  episodes in   
the wandering of the children of        
,israel1 because any  one of them is too
 small to occupy a single lesson and    
because  all deal with the same general 
theme1 though with significant          
variations--rebellion and its           
punishment4    ,with regard to the      
episode of the death of ,nadab and      
,abihu1 recorded  in ,leviticus #aj4 #a 
to #c1 the ,bible describes their       
offense as the  bringing of strange fire
 into the sanctuary4 ,this offense in   
itself seems disproportionate to the    
punishment1 consequently1 the  rabbis in
 commenting on the passage try1 on the  
one hand1 to ascribe  the punishment of 

the sons of ,aaron to sins not expressly
 recorded  in the text1 as for instance 
the sin of being intoxicated during the 
service1 which they derived from the    
fact that the prohibition of  drinking  
before the performance of a sacrifice   
immediately follows  the narrative of   
this incident1 or1 on the other1 to     
regard ,nadab  and ,abihu as martyrs1   
who died by the divine decree to exhibit
 the  sanctity of the tabernacle and its
 ritual without really having  incurred 
the divine displeasure4 ,this           
interpretation is based on  ,leviticus  
#aj4 #c1 ,then ,moses said unto ,aaron1 
',this is it that the  ,lord spoke1     
saying3 ',through them that are nigh    
unto ,me ,i will be  sanctified and     
before all the people ,i will be        
glorified1'' ,and  ,aaron held his      
peace4 ,to be sure this verse may be    
construed to  mean that ,nadab and      
,abihu had been punished for their      
failure to  sanctify ,god1 but in view  
of the fact that the ,hebrew term for   

martyrdom is iddush ha-shem the         
sanctification of ,god's name  and in   
view of the fact1 furthermore1 that it  
would be expected of  ,moses under the  
circumstances to say something consoling
 to ,aaron1  who was himself innocent1  
rather than to emphasize the wickedness 
of  his sons this view of the incident  
must not be lightly dismissed4  ,in     
fact1 the simple reading of the text    
suggests a combination of  these two    
interpretations4 ,in taking strange     
fire1 i4e41 fire  that had not been     
taken from the divinely kindled flame on
 the  altar 7,leviticus #i4 #bd471      
,nadab and ,abihu had abused their      
priestly  prerogative1 making themselves
 the masters of the ritual of the       
sanctuary instead of its servants4 ,but 
such a ritual transgression  might have 
been forgiven were it not for the       
importance of the  occasion1 the        
consecration of the tabernacle1 and for 
the dignity of  their office which      
demanded that they be exceptionally     

circumspect  in their conduct4 ,their   
punishment was1 therefore1 more severe  
than the offense would warrant in the   
case of any other than a  consecrated   
person4 ,its severity was in proportion 
to the holiness  of the sanctuary that  
had been violated and of the priestly   
office  that had been profaned rather   
than to the heinousness of the offense  
in itself1 and it expressed ,god's      
desire to impress upon the people  the  
sanctity of the tabernacle and its      
ritual4 ,in dealing with ,nadab  and    
,abihu ,god was acting in accordance    
with the rabbinic statement  to the     
effect that with the righteous ,god is  
exacting even to a  hair's breadth1 and 
the rabbis could1 therefore1 view the   
death of  the ,sons of ,aaron somewhat  
in the light of martyrdom4    ,the      
remaining incidents1 with the exception 
of the prophesying of  ,eldad and ,medad
 are1 as we have already said1 examples 
of rebellion  and its punishment4 ,they 
are interesting instances of the trials 

of  ,moses in his leadership of the     
people4 ,their moral is the duty of     
loyalty to legitimate authority4 ,the   
punishment of the people at             
,kibroth-hattaavah is an excellent      
example of how inordinate desire  brings
 its own punishment1 and suggests1 as   
one of the grounds  for loyalty1        
submission and discipline1 the fact that
 what we  most desire is not always what
 is most beneficial for us1 a very      
important moral for children4    ,the   
sin of ,miriam is described by the      
,rabbis as lashon ha-ra'  slander1 ,its 
lesson is that it is wrong not merely to
 rebel  against righteous leadership1   
but even to detract from the honor  that
 is due to noble characters4 ,the charge
 that ,aaron and ,miriam  brought       
against ,moses was not the charge of any
 moral offense  or offense against the  
,law1 for the ,torah expressly prohibits
  intermarriage only with the people of 
,canaan1 the construction of  the law to
 make it applicable to all intermarriage

 only dating from  about the time of    
,ezra and ,nehemiah4 ,according to a    
,jewish tradition  the ,cushite woman   
whom ,moses had married is identical    
with ,zipporah1  the daughter of        
,jethro4 ,this would1 of course1 be     
untenable if  ,cush necessarily meant   
,ethiopia1 as it is usually rendered1   
but  it is generally thought that there 
was an ,arabian ,cush as well1  in which
 case the identification is possible4   
,miriam's resentment  was1 therefore1   
not on religious grounds4 ,the incident 
is probably  recorded in the ,bible     
because of the opportunity it gives of  
revealing the patient and forgiving     
character of ,moses4    ,the same is    
illustrated even more strikingly by     
,moses' reply to his  overzealous       
disciple ,joshua1 when he was told that 
,eldad and ,medad  had been prophesying 
in the camp4 ,his only reply is ,would  
that  all the ,lord's people were       
prophets4 ,inasmuch as prophecy was a   
gift bestowed upon the council of       

seventy elders 7,numbers #aa4 #be71     
whom ,moses had been commanded to       
appoint1 the fact that ,eldad and       
,medad1 who were not among the seventy1 
nevertheless prophesied  might very well
 have been construed as indicating a    
presumptuous and  rebellious attitude4  
,according to a tradition which has     
considerable  support from ,numbers #aa4
 #bf1 the number of men originally      
chosen  were seventy-two1 six from each 
tribe1 but of these two were to be      
eliminated by lot and ,eldad and ,medad1
 rather than put anyone else  to        
possible embarrassment1 refused to go to
 the tabernacle when  the lot was taken4
 ,this much of the haggadah is at least 
implied  in the verse1 that ,eldad and  
,medad had originally been designated   
for this assembly of elders for they    
were ba-ketubim among those  recorded   
but did not join the rest1 for they had 
not gone out  unto the ,tent and they   
prophesied in the camp4 ,if we assume   
that  their not going to the tabernacle 

was a voluntary refusal to hold  office 
their conduct stands in striking        
contrast to the conduct of  ,korah and  
his followers4    ,aim4 ,the aim of this
 lesson is to teach children the duty of
  obedience1 discipline and             
self-control4 ,the contrast between the 
attitude of ,nadab and ,abihu and that  
of ,moses points out the  desirability  
of a humble and modest attitude1        
especially on the  part of those in     
authority1 whereas the punishment of the
 rebellion  of the people at ,taberah   
and ,kibroth-hattaavah and of ,miriam   
for her  unjust criticism of ,moses     
teach the need of submission to         
righteous  authority and loyalty to     
disinterested leadership4               
,suggestions to the teacher4 ,a brief   
review1 by question and  answer1 of the 
previous lesson1 will serve as a point  
of contact  for the story of the sin of 
the sons of ,aaron4 ,tell how1 after    
the tabernacle had been completed1 there
 was a great celebration  continuing for

 eight days1 during which time ,moses   
taught ,aaron and  his sons1 who1 as    
priests1 were to perform the sacrifices 
for the  people and in general to lead  
in the service1 exactly what they were  
to do1 when1 where and how to kill the  
animals that were sacrificed1  how to   
make the incense that had to be burnt1  
how to arrange the  shew-bread and      
prepare the cakes of the meal-offering1 
etc4 ,on the  eighth day ,god himself1  
with fire from heaven1 lit the wood that
  had been piled on the altar and thus  
started the fire there1 which  the      
priests were commanded never to let die 
out1 but always to keep  burning4 ,be   
careful to impress the children with the
 sinfulness of  ,nadab and ,abihu's     
conduct1 which the bare narrative of the
 facts  as recorded in the ,bible will  
not accomplish4 ,this can be done by    
suggesting something of the solemnity of
 the occasion and of the  frivolity of  
their attitude in this wise3    ,now    
,aaron and two of his sons1 ,eliezer and

 ,ithamar1 listened very  attentively to
 all the instructions they had received 
from ,moses  and were determined to     
carry them out exactly4 ,they felt that 
as  priests1 chosen from among all the  
people to lead in the worship  of ,god1 
it was for them to set an example of    
faithful obedience to  all ,he said1 the
 small things as well as the great4 ,but
 the two  other sons of ,aaron1 ,nadab  
and ,abihu1 felt differently4 ,they1    
too1  were proud of their new office as 
priests1 but instead of feeling  that   
they must lead the people in obedience  
to ,god's laws as taught  by ,moses1    
they felt that they as priests could do 
as they pleased  with the service and   
did not have to follow the directions of
 ,moses4  ,so when they were told to    
burn the incense with fire lit at the   
flame of the altar that ,god had        
kindled1 they said to themselves1       
',what difference whether we burn the   
incense with this holy fire  or with any
 other'1 so they took 'strange fire'1   

that is fire that  they themselves had  
kindled1 and brought it into the        
sanctuary to  show that they as priests 
could perform the service in whatever   
way  they pleased4 ,at this ,god was    
very angry4 ,had an ordinary ,israelite 
disobeyed in some small particular it   
would not have been as great  an        
offense1 but ,nadab and ,abihu were     
priests whom ,god expected to  lead the 
people in obedience and who now had set 
an example of  disobedience on the very 
day of the dedication of the tabernacle 
to ,god's service4 ,it was just as if a 
teacher had left her class  for a time  
in charge of a monitor whom she trusted1
 and then found  out later that this    
monitor had himself disobeyed her and   
had set  an example of disobedience to  
the class in her absence4 ,do you not   
think the teacher would be more angry at
 her monitor than if he  had never been 
appointed to that office8 ,that is why  
,god was now  so angry at ,nadab and    
,abihu and resolved that as they had set

 an  example of rebellion and           
disobedience ,he would make their       
punishment  an example so that others   
should be duly warned not to do as they 
had done4 ,then follows the story of the
 death of ,nadab and ,abihu4  ,do not   
fail to dwell on ,aaron's resignation in
 recognition of ,god's  justice4    ,in 
discussing the incident that gave its   
name to ,kibroth-hattaavah  it is well  
to give other examples to show that what
 we most desire  is not always best for 
us and to have the children give        
examples1 as  this is a moral of        
particular importance to childhood1     
suggesting  as it does a reason for that
 deference to elders upon which the     
training of children is dependent4 ,the 
case of the glutton who  craves foods   
that are not good for him1 of the       
drunkard who craves  drink that proves  
his ruin1 of the child who prefers      
truancy or the  pursuits of pleasure to 
diligence in study1 etc41 may all serve 
as  examples of sins1 the very          

indulgence in which effects their own   
punishment4 ,but dwell particularly on  
the fact of the child's not  knowing    
what is for his own good as well as his 
parents know1 and  the consequent duty  
of the child to defer to their judgment4
    ,the narrative of ,moses' relations 
to ,eldad and ,medad presents no        
difficulty4 ,in telling ,miriam's sin   
and punishment the emphasis  should be  
rather on the forgiving and magnanimous 
spirit of ,moses  than on the pettiness 
of ,miriam's attitude4 ,point out how   
hurt  ,moses must have felt at ,miriam's
 unjust accusation1 which implied  that 
,moses was trying to arrogate authority 
to himself but how1  nevertheless1 he   
felt no satisfaction when ,god punished 
,miriam but  prayed that she be healed  
and forgiven4 ,god's vindication of     
,moses  7,numbers #ab4 #f-h7 should be  
quoted in ,biblical language4           
,,chapter ,,xiii    ,,the ,,spies       
,numbers #ac4a to #ad4de4 ,deuteronomy  
#a4bj-df      ,interpretation4 ,little  

need be said by way of interpretation   
of this episode1 as the ,biblical       
narrative makes its point very  clear4  
,it shows us the consequences of a lack 
of faith and of a  lack of that courage 
which faith inspires4 ,as a substitute  
for this  courage born of faith1 not    
even the fury of despair can avail4     
,this  is illustrated by the disastrous 
defeat of the ,israelites when1  spurred
 on by their fear of facing the         
punishment for their previous           
cowardice1 they finally do rush to the  
attack contrary to the advice  of       
,moses1 leaving the ark of the covenant 
behind them4 ,the story  is1 moreover1  
significant as showing the providential 
purpose of  the forty years of wandering
 through the wilderness--namely1 the    
rearing of a new generation inured to   
hardship and imbued with the  hope of   
future triumph4 ,the faults of this     
slave people that needed  correction are
 graphically illustrated in the picture 
the ,bible  draws of the reception with 

which the words of the ten spies and  of
 ,joshua and ,caleb respectively met3   
the panic and rebellion1 the            
ineffectual wailing1 the clamor for a   
new leader to lead them back  to ,egypt 
and the threats to stone their present  
leaders4 ,the sublime  devotion of      
,moses is again pictured to us in his   
pleas for the  people and his refusal of
 a glorious future for himself and his  
seed  in which ,israel should have no   
share4    ,aim4 ,the aim in teaching    
this lesson is to thrill the child's    
heart with admiration for the virtues of
 faith and courage4 ,it  should help to 
establish in his mind the association of
 his religion  with all the heroic      
virtues that are dear to the heart of   
boyhood4    ,suggestions to the teacher4
 ,before telling this story1 read over  
the ,biblical account in ,numbers and   
,deuteronomy carefully in order  to get 
the spirit of the ,biblical narrative4  
,the ,bible does not  stop to moralize1 
but tells its tale graphically and      

dramatically1  and so should the        
teacher4 ,the words of the ten spies on 
the one  hand1 and of ,joshuah and      
,caleb on the other1 should be given in 
direct discourse and in ,biblical       
language4 ,attempt to help the child    
picture in his mind the scene in the    
camp when the spies returned  and       
rendered their report4 ,aid him to      
realize the psychology of  the people by
 bringing to his attention what it meant
 for them1 a  people untrained in       
warfare1 to fight against the           
,canaanites1 secure  in their fortified 
cities4 ,it will be more difficult to   
enable the  pupils to grasp the motive  
for the rash assault which the people   
did finally undertake4 ,this one must do
 by bringing before their  eyes pictures
 of the hardships of the prospective    
wanderings of the  ,israelites in the   
wilderness1 which made them unable to   
face further  wandering as an           
alternative to a possible defeat by the 
,canaanites4  ,try to make the class    

view the situation through the eyes of  
the  ,israelites at that time4 ,this can
 be done by speaking to them  somewhat  
as follows3    ,when ,moses had told the
 people that they would be punished by  
having to wander forty years in the     
wilderness until all of them had  died  
and a new generation had grown up to    
take their places1 they  were more      
terrified than ever4 ,frightened as they
 had been at the  thought of making war 
against the giant ,canaanites in their  
walled  cities1 they were even more     
frightened at the thought of having to  
wander forty long years more in the     
wilderness1 all the rest of  their lives
 in fact1 and never even seeing the land
 which ,god had  promised to their      
fathers where1 all this time1 they had  
thought  that they would at least find  
rest from their hardships and toils4    
,they thought of all they had endured   
until then on the journey4 ,the         
scorching heat of the desert sun by day1
 the biting cold of the  desert winds by

 night1 the hunger and the thirst1 the  
long marches  over treeless rocky hills 
and valleys4 ,but all that time they had
  been cheered by the thought that some 
day the end would come and  they would  
be able to find rest in their new land1 
the ,land of  ,promise4 ,but even this  
hope was now taken away from them and   
they  felt that anything would be better
 than to wander in the wilderness  until
 they died4 ,even to be killed in       
fighting the ,canaanites seemed  better 
now4 ,so they said1 ',lo1 we are here   
and will go up unto the  place which the
 ,lord hath promised2 for we have       
sinned'4    ,it may also prove difficult
 to help the child understand why this  
change of front was not acceptable to   
,god4 ,the child does not  naturally    
analyze motive and would not see1 unless
 it is called  to his attention1 why1   
since as a matter of fact the           
,israelites  did go up to attack the    
enemy1 they were punished by being      
driven  back4 ,this can best be done by 

suggesting analogies with situations    
within the range of a child's           
experience4 ,one may in discussing  this
 topic1 after having completed one's    
narrative1 raise this very  question4   
,why did ,god say he would not be with  
them if they went  up to attack the     
enemy after they had changed their mind8
 and1 not  receiving a satisfactory     
answer1 one may explain in some such    
manner3    ,if the ,israelites had      
decided to attack the enemy immediately 
when  they had heard ,joshua's and      
,caleb's words1 ,god would have been    
with  them and helped them to win the   
victory4 ,but1 at that time1 when ,god  
wanted them to go they were unwilling4  
,they did not believe that ,he  would   
help them4 ,later when they wanted to   
go1 because they were  afraid to wander 
forty years in the wilderness1 it was   
too late4 ,god  was not then willing4   
,the time to obey a command is when it  
is given  and not after one is          
threatened with punishment for          

disobedience4 ,if  a teacher were to    
give a boy some school work to do and he
 refused1  until she told him to stay in
 after school to do it and only then he 
agreed to do the work rather than stay  
in1 do you think the teacher  would be  
satisfied with that8 ,no1 she would say 
justly1 ',you had  your chance to obey  
when the other children had1 now if you 
are  sorry show it by taking the        
punishment you deserve'4                
,,chapter ,,xiv    ,,more ,,trials ,,of 
,,moses    ,numbers #af4a to #ag4bf1    
also #bj4a to #ac and #ba4e to #i       
,interpretation4 ,the central idea that 
runs through all the  important episodes
 of these chapters is the immensity of  
the problem  of leadership that         
confronted ,moses1 and the contrast     
between the  selfish and fickle passions
 of the people1 passions that were      
constantly menacing the very existence  
of ,israel1 and the sublime  patience   
and constancy of ,moses1 although on one
 occasion his sorely  tried patience can

 stand the strain no longer and he      
commits the sin  by which he forfeits   
his right to enter the ,promised ,land4 
,the difficulties against which ,moses  
had to contend before the event         
narrated in the preceding lesson1 were  
multiplied after that event4  ,if the   
people before that time had been restive
 and discontented  whenever confronted  
with a difficulty1 though they could    
always  console themselves by looking   
forward to their journey's end in  the  
,land of ,promise1 it was but natural   
that thereafter their  dissatisfaction  
would be greatly intensified4 ,they had 
threatened  to appoint another head to  
lead them back to ,egypt1 and though  at
 the time this may have been nothing but
 an idle threat1 the  opposition to     
,moses soon found a leader in the person
 of ,korah1  the son of ,izhar4 ,though 
he was himself a ,levite1 he coveted the
  higher office of the priesthood to    
which ,aaron and his family had  been   
appointed1 but1 with the instinct of the

 true demagogue1  posed as the champion 
of the people against the arbitrary     
authority  of the ,levitical priesthood1
 and of ,moses in appointing ,aaron and 
his sons as priests4 ,he said to ,moses 
and ,aaron1 ,ye take too much  upon you1
 seeing all the congregation are holy1  
every one of them  and the ,lord is     
among them2 wherefore then do ye lift up
 yourselves  above the assembly of the  
,lord 8 7,numbers #af4 #c47 ,moses'     
reply to  ,korah shows that he saw      
through this pretentious championship of
  the people to the envy and ambition of
 ,korah1 which were his real  motives4  
,hear now1 ye sons of ,levi2 is it but a
 small thing unto  you that the ,god of 
,israel hath separated you from the     
congregation  of ,israel1 to bring you  
near to ,himself1 to do the service of  
the  tabernacle of the ,lord1 and to    
stand before the congregation to        
minister unto them2 and that ,he hath   
brought thee near1 and all thy  brethren
 the sons of ,levi with thee8 and will  

ye seek the priesthood  also8 ,therefore
 thou and all thy company that are      
gathered together  against the          
,lord--and as to ,aaron1 what is he that
 ye murmur against  him8 7,numbers #af4 
#h to #aa47 ,but ,korah's championship  
of the claims  of all ,israel to the    
priesthood won him a large following    
among the  other tribes1 particularly   
among their ambitious leaders4 ,dathan  
and  ,abiram1 sons of ,eliab1 and ,on1  
the son of ,peleth1 all of the tribe  of
 ,reuben1 are his particular henchmen1  
and he had also succeeded  in winning   
over to his cause two hundred and fifty 
of the princes  of the congregation1 the
 elect men of the assembly1 men of      
renown4  ,the sedition had spread so far
 that nothing could have prevented the  
reversion to a complete state of        
anarchy1 save the destruction of  all   
those that took part1 in a way so       
striking that it would reveal  clearly  
the divine purpose4 ,this was provided  
for by the ordeal that  is narrated in  

the text4 ,but the disaffection had     
spread so far that  many of the people  
resented the death of ,korah and his    
followers and  were inclined to hold    
,moses responsible for it1 until the    
miracle  of the blossoming of ,aaron's  
staff convinced them4 ,it is necessary  
for the student of the ,bible to        
understand the extent and purport of    
,korah's rebellion lest he conceive of  
the punishment of ,korah and  his       
followers as visited upon them merely   
because of an offense of  lse majest1   
and1 consequently1 as utterly           
disproportionate to  the offense4       
,the narrative of the sin of ,moses and 
,aaron for which they were  prohibited  
from entering the ,promised ,land does  
not make very clear  to the modern      
reader precisely what the ,bible views  
as constituting  their sin4 ,one        
possible interpretation1 however1 is    
that ,moses by  his words1 ,hear now1 ye
 rebels1 are we to bring you forth water
 out  of this rock8 7,numbers #bj4 #aj7 

which were followed by his striking  the
 rock and his failure to speak to it as 
,god had commanded  prevented the       
providential character of the water's   
flowing from  being apparent4 ,the      
incident might have been interpreted by 
the  popular mind as if ,moses1 by the  
magic of his staff1 had himself  caused 
the water to flow1 as is suggested by   
his use of the first  person1 ,are we to
 bring you forth water1 and by his      
failure  to comply literally with ,god's
 command4 ,he1 thus permitted an        
opportunity of sanctifying ,god's name  
to pass by yielding to passion  and     
thinking at the time of his personal    
grievance more than of his  service to  
,god4 ,inasmuch as this partook of the  
nature of the sins  of that generation  
of ,israel1 he and ,aaron were to take  
their share  also in the punishment of  
,israel and were not to enter the       
,promised  ,land4    ,the thought       
suggested by the punishment of ,nadab   
and ,abihu recurs  again in this        

connection1 viz3 that the greater the   
man and his  responsibilities1 the more 
circumspect must he be in his conduct4  
,the incident of the brass serpent must 
be interpreted in the light  of the     
rabbinic comment on that subject to     
which we have called  attention in      
connection with the holding up of       
,moses' hands during  the battle with   
the ,amalekites4    ,is it then in the  
power of a serpent to slay or to bring  
to life8  ,but so long as the           
,israelites gazed heavenward and        
subjected their  hearts to their ,father
 in heaven they were healed1 and1 if    
not1  they were destroyed4 7,rosh       
ha-,shanah ,,iii1 #h47 ,by looking up to
 the  brass serpent that ,moses had been
 instructed to make1 the people         
testified1 as it were1 to their faith in
 ,god's power to heal them  from the    
serpent's bites4 ,it is interesting to  
note that when1 at a  later time in the 
history of the people the serpent itself
 became  the object of reverence and of 

idolatrous worship1 it was destroyed  by
 order of ,king ,hezekiah1 in accordance
 with the teaching of the  prophets 7#b 
,kings #ah4 #d74    ,aim4 ,the aim of   
this lesson is to develop an            
appreciation  of disinterested loyalty1 
steadfast faith and even temper1  and a 
contempt for selfish ambition1          
uncontrolled passion and  faithlessness4
    ,suggestions to the teacher4 ,the   
method to be used in accomplishing  this
 aim is not that of drawing an abstract 
moral from the events  of the narrative1
 but one must tell one's story with     
feeling for  its hero1 ,moses1 in such a
 way that the pupil identifies himself  
with his hero and feels toward the      
enemies of ,moses an almost  personal   
hostility4 ,before the child reaches    
adolescence1 analysis  of character is  
not natural to him1 and the discussion  
of men's  virtues and vices fruitless1  
but imitation of character is natural1  
and hero-worship is the lever by which  
he may be moved to acquire a  love for  

virtue and a disgust with vice4    ,in  
order to put the character of ,moses in 
a heroic light make the  class          
appreciate the depth of the ingratitude 
and treachery against  which ,moses had 
constantly to contend1 and how difficult
 this made  his task of leadership4     
,begin by calling on a child to tell the
  story of the preceding lesson4 ,then  
call attention to how sad ,moses  must  
have felt when after all he had done for
 the people they were  ready in the face
 of every difficulty to disobey and     
rebel1 and how  much ,moses must have   
loved and pitied them to have prayed to 
,god for  their forgiveness rather than 
simply accept from ,god the promise  of 
a happy future for himself and his      
descendants4 ,call attention  to the    
fact that this was not the first time   
that the people had  disobeyed ,moses   
and rebelled or murmured against him1   
and ask the  children to tell other     
instances4 ,draw from them as many      
instances  as possible since this not   

only helps in an interesting way to     
refresh the children's memory of what   
they had already learnt1 but  also to   
understand what is to follow4 ,then     
continue3    ,just as the murmuring of  
the people against ,moses1 when they    
heard  the report of the ten spies was  
not the first instance of their         
rebellion against their patient leader1 
so it was not the last4 ,in  fact1 it   
became harder for ,moses to lead the    
people now than ever4    ,the reason for
 this can best be explained by an       
analogy drawn from  the experience of   
children1 as for example3    ,you know  
that when a baseball team wins one game 
after the other  everybody praises the  
captain and all the members of the team 
are  ready to obey him1 but if he loses 
one game after the other1 they  all     
begin to criticise and find fault and   
everybody feels that he  himself would  
have made a better captain than the one 
who had been  chosen1 although it may   
not at all have been the captain's fault

  that the team was unsuccessful4 ,so it
 was with the ,israelites4 ,so  long as 
they still hoped that ,moses was going  
to lead them to a  land flowing with    
milk and honey1 they were ready in the  
main to  obey him1 except when they were
 afraid on account of some special      
hardship and feared that he would never 
get them there after all2  but when     
,moses himself told them that they would
 have to wander  about for forty years  
in the wilderness until all the grown   
men  of that day should have died1 they 
were very bitter against him4  ,instead 
of blaming themselves1 and their own    
cowardice and lack of  faith in ,god1   
they blamed ,moses1 like the losing team
 that blames  its captain instead of its
 own poor playing4 ,and so they thought 
of  appointing a new captain1 another   
man than ,moses1 to act as their        
leader4    ,at this point introduce the 
character of ,korah to the class and    
tell  them of his envy of ,moses1 of his
 coveting the position of ,aaron1  and  

of his subtle attempts to secure the    
leadership by telling the  people that  
they were all everyone as good as ,moses
 and ,aaron1 for  they were all members 
of a kingdom of priests and a holy      
nation4    ,after describing success of 
,korah's propaganda1 and pointing out   
the helplessness of ,moses and the      
extreme danger of his position1  tell of
 ,moses' decision to entrust his        
vindication to ,god4 ,if ,korah  and his
 followers wished to claim the          
priesthood1 let them act as  priests1   
each burning incense in the censer that 
he held in his  hand1 and ,god would    
show whether he wanted to accept them as
 priests  or not4    ,the judgment that 
was pronounced upon ,korah and his      
followers will  then mean for the child 
the just punishment of disloyalty and   
will  reinforce his detestation of the  
qualities displayed by ,korah and  his  
like1 but if the teacher fails to       
prepare the way by enlisting  the       
child's interest in the situation as it 

developed between ,moses  and the       
people1 by some such method as we have  
suggested1 the story  will mean little  
more to him than the account of an      
earthquake4  ,from the point of view of 
religious education1 a knowledge of the 
manner of ,korah's punishment is not of 
so much consequence as an  understanding
 of the sin for which he was punished4  
,in telling the story of the sin of     
,moses and ,aaron1 guard against        
appearing to detract from the character 
of ,moses4 ,if the previous  lessons    
have been properly taught the child     
should by this time have  developed an  
intense admiration for ,moses and would 
be inclined to  resent any disparagement
 of his hero1 even to the point of      
secretly  feeling that the sin of ,moses
 was no real sin and that his teacher's 
treatment of him was quite unfair and   
was merely an attempt to  apologize for 
,god's not letting him enter ,canaan4   
,the rabbis say  that the reason for    
,god's mentioning the sin of ,nadab and 

,abihu  was to keep us from inferring   
that their death was a punishment  for  
other and more grievous sins4 ,one      
cannot help feeling that  the narrative 
of the sin of ,moses had a similar      
purpose1 the very  fact that ,moses was 
so severely punished for so apparently  
slight  an offense1 being meant to show 
the esteem in which he was held and  how
 much ,god expected of him1 in          
consequence4 ,at any rate1 this  is the 
spirit in which it were best to approach
 this subject4 ,the  emphasis should be 
on the provocation to sin and on ,moses'
 pious  acceptance of his punishment and
 his readiness to continue leading  the 
people to the ,promised ,land even after
 he could not expect to  share in their 
final triumph4 ,the liturgy for ,simhath
 ,torah contains  the words1 ,moses     
died4 ,who shall not die8 ,the sentiment
 that the  teacher should seek to arouse
 by this lesson is somewhat similar4    
,moses sinned1 who can be sinless8 ,if  
,moses1 who is described as  the meekest

 of men1 could sin in a moment of       
passion1 how much more  should we guard 
ourselves against sin and especially    
when under the  influence of passion4   
,in telling of how the people who had   
been bitten by the serpents  were healed
 when they looked up to the brass       
serpent that ,moses  had made1 guard    
against letting the child attribute any 
magic to  the image of the serpent      
itself4 ,this can best be done by       
telling  them the explanation of this   
episode suggested above in our          
interpretation4 ,one might also         
associate the incident with what they   
had learnt of the influence of the hands
 of ,moses in the battle with  the      
,amalekites4 ,moreover1 it might be well
 to tell them of how the  people's false
 conception of its significance in later
 times led to  its destruction by a     
pious king of ,judah4          ,,chapter
 ,,xv    ,,israel ,,arrives ,,at ,,the  
,,border ,,of ,,the ,,promised ,,land   
,numbers #ba4a to #c and #ba to #ce1    

also #bb4a to #bd4be1 also #ca4a to #ed 
and #cb4a to #db      ,interpretation4  
,the wandering through the wilderness1  
which  in this chapter draws to a close1
 has had its desired effect in          
producing a race capable of giving      
battle4 ,its powers are put to the  test
 by the necessity of pushing its        
conquests through the territory  of     
,sihon1 ,king of the ,amorites1 and of  
,og1 ,king of ,bashan4    ,the command  
to conquer these nations and the        
,promised ,land itself  may present     
religious difficulties to some4 ,indeed1
 such wars of  conquest are responsible 
for the charge frequently brought       
against  religion in general1 that it   
brought bloodshed and persecution into  
the world4 ,this would1 however1 be an  
entirely wrong conception  of the       
significance of this milemet miwah4 ,we 
must bear in mind  that warfare was the 
normal state of the ancient world4 ,if  
we ask  why ,god so ordained1 we can    
give no answer any more than we can  to 

the general question of why ,god suffers
 evil to exist and then  desires man to 
contend against it4 ,but no religious   
person really  believes that ,god       
desires the evil4 ,similarly we must not
 construe  these chapters to assume that
 ,god desires or ever desired war but   
merely that1 warfare between the nations
 being inevitable in an  age when there 
were no peaceful methods of settling    
national and  tribal disputes1 ,god     
desired ,israel to be victorious because
 her  civilization was superior to that 
of ,canaan4 ,even the command to        
exterminate the inhabitants must be     
construed in the light of the  fact that
 otherwise the only alternative was     
perpetual warfare  between the races on 
the land or an assimilation of ,israel  
to the  native races with the loss of   
the hope that ,israel's victory held    
out to the world4 ,again and again are  
we told in the ,torah that the  sole    
justification for ,israel's conquest is 
the sinfulness of the  nations of       

,canaan1 and that ,israel's sinfulness  
would subject it  to the same treatment 
as was meted out to the ,canaanites4 ,in
 the  very chapters that we are         
considering now it is to be noted that  
the command to conquer the land applied 
originally only to ,canaan1  to which   
the people laid claim by virtue of      
inheritance from the  patriarchs who had
 dwelt there1 and that1 therefore1 all  
that was  originally demanded of the    
trans-,jordanic lands is the right to   
pass  through without doing any injury  
in transit4 ,it is only when this is    
definitely refused that the ,israelites 
are permitted to resort to  arms4       
,the story of ,balaam and ,balak is     
significant as a poetic expression  of  
the invincibility of ,israel4 ,balaam is
 sent for by ,balak to curse  ,israel   
because of the reputation that this     
heathen prophet and  sorcerer enjoyed4  
,though tempted by the bribes offered by
 ,balak he  knows that ,god will not    
suffer him to pronounce an effective    

curse  upon ,israel and at first refuses
 to go4 ,he is1 however1 finally        
permitted to go1 after due warning1 both
 before he sets out and  again when the 
angel opposes him on the way1 not to    
speak anything  save what ,god puts into
 his mouth4 ,the final result is that he
  blesses ,israel and curses ,moab4     
,the reader should not be troubled by   
the apparent admission that a magic     
power attaches to a formula of curse or 
blessing1 as the point of the  story is 
not to teach that curses are or are not 
effective1 but that1  whether they are  
or not        which1 though  usually    
translated otherwise1 may fittingly be  
rendered1 ,there is no  enchantment     
against ,jacob and no divination against
 ,israel4 7,numbers  #bc4bc47 ,in       
rabbinic tradition the story of         
,balaam's dialogue with his  ass is the 
classical text for the preaching of     
humane treatment to  animals4 ,it is    
still capable of yielding that moral4   
,the incident of the oath taken by the  

tribes of ,reuben1 ,gad and  ,manasseh  
has a very obvious moral in its         
insistance on ,jewish  unity and        
cooperation4 ,we will not return unto   
our houses until  the children of       
,israel have inherited every man his    
inheritance4  7,numbers #cb4 #ah47 ,the 
fear of ,moses that the premature       
settlement  of the trans-,jordanic      
tribes might lead to division in ,israel
  was certainly well-founded in view of 
subsequent events when the  development 
of local tribal jurisdictions almost    
threatened the  existence of the nation 
in the days of the ,judges4    ,aim4 ,to
 strengthen the child's faith in ,god's 
choice of ,israel4    ,suggestions to   
the teacher4 ,in telling of the wars of 
,israel all  harrowing details would    
naturally be omitted and the emphasis   
put  not on the fight1 but on the       
victory which ,israel won by the help   
of ,god4 ,a good point of contact for   
beginning the story could be  obtained  
by recalling the narrative of the report

 of the ten spies  and of the punishment
 to which ,israel was sentenced by      
reason of its  acceptance of this       
report4    ,then show how ,god's        
punishment was adapted to the offense in
 that  it gave ,israel the opportunity  
to rear a generation of brave men  in   
the free atmosphere of the wilderness4  
,be sure that the child  understands the
 advantage of the training in the       
wilderness for the  new generation1 over
 the experience of their fathers in     
,egypt4 ,it  will not suffice to state  
the thing abstractly1 but make your     
point  clear by repeated illustration as
 follows3    ,many years had now passed 
since the children of ,israel had sent  
the ten spies and had been told that    
they could not enter the  ,promised     
,land until all the full grown men of   
that day should have  died4 ,during     
these years almost all of that          
generation who had been  afraid to go up
 into the land had died and their sons  
and daughters1  who1 at that time1 had  

been children1 or had not yet even been 
born1 had now grown up to manhood4 ,and 
they were a very different  generation  
from what their fathers had been4 ,in   
the first place they  were different in 
appearance4 ,their fathers1 who in youth
 had been  slaves to ,pharaoh1 had grown
 up with backs bent by the burdens they 
had to carry4 ,many of them had been    
permanently weakened and even  deformed 
by the hard treatment they had received 
in ,egypt4 ,but their  children1 who had
 grown up in the wilderness and had     
lived all their  lives out of doors1    
with plenty of fresh air and healthful  
exercise1  and with no one to make them 
work at labor that was too hard for     
them1 grew up straight and sturdy1      
broad-shouldered and muscular1  like    
well-trained athletes4 ,they were as    
different in appearance as  a poor      
peddler whom you may see carrying his   
pack on his shoulders  is from the      
strong and vigorous farm hand4    ,nor  
did they differ in appearance only1 but 

also in character4  ,slavery had made   
cowards of their fathers4 ,the slightest
 act of  disobedience to the            
task-masters bringing instant           
punishment1 they  had learned to fear   
every enemy4 ,no doubt their fathers had
 been  warned in childhood never to     
attack an ,egyptian no matter what he   
did1 because they would in the end have 
to suffer for it4 ,and so  their fathers
 had become accustomed to thinking of   
themselves as too  weak to fight and    
when they saw the ,canaanite warriors   
they said1  ',we are like grasshoppers  
compared to them4' ,but their sons who  
had  grown up in the wilderness did not 
know the meaning of fear4 ,they  were   
used to hardship and dangers1 for the   
wilderness was beset by  all manner of  
wild beasts and wild men also1 and this 
had trained  them to be brave4 ,moreover
 they saw from childhood up how ,god at 
every step helped ,his people1 how ,he  
helped them at the ,red ,sea1 how  ,he  
fed them on ,manna1 etc41 and they said 

to themselves1 ',since ,god  is with us1
 we need not fear1 what can man do unto 
us4'    ,you are now in a position to   
tell of the campaigns against ,sihon    
and ,og1 stressing the overtures of     
peace1 the rejection of which  justified
 the invasion1 and enlarging on the     
,israelites' sense of  triumph which    
resulted from their victories1 in which 
they saw the  beginning of the          
realization of ,god's promise to give   
them the land  of ,canaan4    ,this is a
 good point in the narrative at which to
 trace the route of  ,israel's marches  
through the wilderness and to locate the
 important  places on the map4    ,in   
telling the story of ,balak and ,balaam 
be careful not to leave  the child with 
a superstitious belief in the efficacy  
of a curse1  not only because           
superstition is in itself evil1 but     
because the  association of religion    
with superstition becomes very dangerous
 to  the former when the child reaches  
an age at which he will in all          

probability see the unreasonableness of 
the superstition4 ,make it  plain that  
,balak's sending for ,balaam to curse   
,israel does not mean  that ,balaam     
actually possessed this power1 but      
merely that ,balak  believed him to     
possess it in accordance with the       
superstition of  his day4 ,the point of 
the narrative should lie in the         
discomfiture  of ,balak1 which teaches  
that when ,god is bent on blessing1 no  
human  being can effectively curse1 and 
that ,god had destined ,israel for      
blessing4 ,do not make this explanation 
as a digression from the  story1 but    
weave it into the narrative itself by   
suggestion as  follows3    ,now ,balak1 
the king of ,moab1 had heard that there 
lived in  ,mesopotamia1 a famous        
sorcerer named ,balaam1 and that        
whomever this  ,balaam blessed would be 
sure to have good luck1 and whomever he 
cursed1 bad luck1 and1 being very       
superstitious1 as were most of the      
people in his day1 he believed that     

,balaam really had this power1  and so  
he sent presents to him to persuade him 
to come to ,moab and  curse ,israel for 
him so that the ,israelites should be   
defeated in  battle4    ,do not attempt 
to rationalize the miracle of the ass's 
speaking to  ,balaam4 ,if the child     
wants to know how it was possible for   
the ass  to speak1 answer that it is no 
harder for ,god to give an animal  power
 to speak than a man4 ,no baby is born  
with the ability to  speak and we only  
learn to speak when ,god gives us the   
power and  intelligence4 ,by answering  
the question in this manner one attaches
  to the commonplace the mystery        
associated with the supernatural4 ,by   
attempting to rationalize1 one would    
reduce everything to the level  of the  
commonplace4 ,at a later age1 when the  
pupil has developed a  concept of       
natural law1 this answer may not prove  
satisfactory1 but  it would be absurd to
 attempt a philosophic reconciliation of
 the  natural and supernatural for      

children at an age when they lack the   
concept of either4          ,,chapter   
,,xvi    ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,moses     
,numbers #bg4ab to #bc4 ,deuteronomy    
#ca4ad to #cd4ab      ,interpretation4  
,the ,biblical account of the death of  
,moses in its  impressive simplicity    
scarcely needs comment4 ,it brings to a 
fitting  end the story of the           
life-struggle of the greatest of the    
prophets4  ,there is an infinite pathos 
in the thought of his never having set  
foot on the soil toward which he had    
been leading his people for  forty years
 in the face of ingratitude1 calumny and
 rebellion4 ,but  there is also a       
peculiar fitness in this fate for it    
lifts all his  efforts in behalf of his 
people beyond the reach of any          
detraction  based on a charge of        
self-interest4 ,after he knows his      
destiny never  to be permitted to enter 
the ,promised ,land1 he continues with  
the  same steadfastness to devote       
himself to his people4 ,he rehearses    

their history and in words of passionate
 appeal admonishes them in  song and    
prophecy to be faithful to the covenant1
 as the very life  of the nation        
depended thereon4 ,and he provides      
during his lifetime  for a successor to 
his labors and secures for him the      
popular  allegiance4 ,then1 with his    
life-work completed but with all earthly
  reward for it withheld1 he ascends the
 mountain to behold the ,land  of       
,promise and dies content with seeing in
 prophetic vision the  consummation     
which a less divinely meek man would    
have demanded to  see in realization4   
,no man knoweth of his sepulcher4 ,as in
 life  he was content to live for ,god  
and to give ,god the glory1 so in  his  
death he left no token which might      
attract to him the reverence  due to the
 ,god whom he served1 thereby saving    
,judaism from that  man-worship to which
 other religions have fallen a prey by  
reason of  their identification of their
 religion with the personality of its   

founder4 ,now the man ,moses was very   
meek1 above all the men that  were upon 
the face of the earth1 7,numbers #ab4   
#c7 and1 therefore1  ,there hath not    
arisen a prophet since in ,israel like  
unto ,moses1  whom the ,lord knew face  
to face2 in all the signs and the       
wonders1  which the ,lord sent him to do
 in the land of ,egypt1 to ,pharaoh1 and
  to all his servants1 and to all his   
land2 and in all the mighty  hand1 and  
all the great terror1 which ,moses      
wrought in the sight of  all ,israel4   
7,deuteronomy #cd4 #aj to #ab47    ,aim4
 ,the aim of this lesson should be to   
cultivate in the child a  reverent      
appreciation of the personality of      
,moses which would result  not merely in
 the attempt to emulate his virtues1 but
 in the desire  to be faithful to his   
law in accordance with the sentiment    
expressed  in the verse1 ,moses         
commanded us a law1 an inheritance of   
the  congregation of ,jacob4            
7,deuteronomy #cc4 #d47    ,suggestions 

to the teacher4 ,there is comparatively 
little  narrative in this lesson and    
what there is will present no           
difficulty4 ,when telling of how ,moses 
addressed the people before  his death1 
read well selected extracts from the    
,book of ,deuteronomy4  ,if the class   
has learned in its ,hebrew work the     
translation of the   7,deuteronomy #f4  
#d to #i7 and    7,deuteronomy  #aa4 #ac
 to #ba7 or if the pupils have been     
taught to say them at home1  include    
these portions among those selected and 
call the attention  of the children to  
the fact that these words which they say
 daily  are among the last words of     
,moses1 which he wanted the people to   
remember after his death and to teach to
 their children1 and that  if we say    
them and live according to them we are  
carrying out the  will of the great     
law-giver of our nation4 ,this should   
serve to  give an added meaning and     
value to the child's prayers and connect
  the history lesson with his daily     

life4 ,other passages adapted for       
reading to children are1 ,deuteronomy   
#c4 #bc to #d4 #aj1 also #d4 #cb-dj  and
 #bh4 #a-d1 #cj4 #ae-bj and #cb4 #g-ah4 
,in the discussion of the lesson with   
the class after its first  presentation 
take occasion to review the life of     
,moses as a means  of bringing out the  
salient traits of his character4 ,call  
for  instances illustrating ,moses'     
stern sense of justice1 his courage1    
his modesty1 his readiness to forgive1  
etc41 and seek to get as many  examples 
as possible so that the result will be  
in effect a review  of the life of      
,moses4 ,be very careful not to make    
your questions  too vague4 ,thus it     
would not do merely to say1 ,who can    
tell me an  incident in the life of     
,moses that shows his modesty8 inasmuch 
as  the abstract noun modesty has little
 meaning to the child of the  age at    
which this story is usually taught4 ,it 
would be much better  to say1 ,one      
reason that ,moses was so great was     

because he was  modest1 that is to say1 
he never thought about the honor that   
others  owed to him as leader1 or felt  
boastful in his heart because of all    
the great things he had done1 and was   
always ready to see the good  in others 
and to admit whenever he was wrong4 ,can
 any of you give  me any instance in the
 life of ,moses to show that he did not 
think  himself a great man8 ,can you    
give me an example to show that he was  
not anxious for honors8 to show that he 
was ready to take the advice  of others1
 or to admit that he was wrong when such
 was the case8  ,after having a         
sufficient number of answers            
illustrative of the  modesty of ,moses  
put them down on the blackboard thus3   
,moses was modest1    #a4 ,he hesitated 
about leading the people from ,egypt4   
#b4 ,he would not rebuke ,eldad and     
,medad for prophesying4    #c4 ,he      
veiled his face when it shone4    #d4   
,he accepted the punishment for his sin 
without complaint4    ,then do the same 

with other traits of ,moses' character1 
until every  incident in the career of  
,moses is classified thus on the basis  
of  its moral significance4 ,the value  
of this drill is that it serves at  the 
same time as a review not merely of the 
events of the life of  ,moses1 but of   
their significance1 and1 moreover1      
provides exercise  for the moral        
judgment of the pupils4 ,the success of 
this exercise  will depend very largely 
on the skill of the teacher in making   
his  questions simple and brief and in  
putting them to the class in an         
animated manner1 such as would make them
 fell that to find the  correct answers 
was a sort of game that they were       
playing4    ,after the main incidents in
 the life of ,moses are thus classified 
on the blackboard in accordance with the
 traits of character  they exhibit1     
another helpful exercise would be to let
 the class  rearrange them in their     
chronological order and assign them to  
the  three periods of ,moses' life1     

#a4 ,his life before receiving the call 
to save his people1    #b4 ,his         
opposition to ,pharaoh1    #c4 ,his     
leadership of the people in the         
wilderness4    ,this second             
classification might serve as the       
outline of an essay on  the life of     
,moses which the children might be      
requested to submit at  the end of the  
term as summarizing their year's work4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,transcriber's note3    ,minor          
typographical errors have been corrected
 without note4  ,irregularities and     
inconsistencies in the text have been   
retained as  printed4    ,the cover for 
the e,book version of this book was     
created by the  transcriber and is      
placed in the public domain4