Steps for Completing the Cain and Abel Torah Hangout:
#1 Read the story above as a family so you get an idea of the narrative.
#2 Read Bereshit 4:8-10
Together with your children, list all of the questions they have about these verses on a piece of paper. Read slowly and carefully. What is missing? What seems strange? What is said and unsaid? Why is it this way?
#3 Investigate the following pieces of commentary and answer the related questions:
-The Mishnah says that “Adam was created as a single person in order to teach that, if one murders another person, the Torah holds him responsible for the death of a whole world. And, if a person saves the life of one person, the Torah considers him as if he saved the whole world.”
-Do agree with this? Why or why not?
-Consider the people in your “world”, if someone saved your life how would the
people in your “world” feel?
-The chasidic teacher Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk once warned his students, “Be sure to take care of your own soul and of another person’s body, not of your own body and of another person’s soul.”
-What does this quote mean to you?
-How does it relate to the commentary above?
-How does it relate to the Cain and Abel story?
#4 See if you can answer any of the questions you had now.
-Did these commentaries answer any questions you had asked in step #2?
-Can you come up with your own answer to any of your questions?
#5 Based on your discussion, please answer following question on the blog:
-What does it mean to be “my brother’s keeper?”
-Think about it in terms of your family, friends, society, the earth, etc.
Henry: It's our responsibility to keep the people we love safe. Because if one person you love gets hurt, everyone who knows them and loves them hurts too. So we are our "brother's keepers." We're like a system that protects and supports each other. And if someone in the system stops caring, then the system breaks down or stops.
ReplyDeleteWe discussed, how we are not only responsible for those we love, but also for the world around us, as we are all connected to each other. We related this to the idea of systems, introduced by Henry.
I love this idea Henry! The systems idea is a great way to relate our impact on the world. It's such a central idea in Judaism that we look outside of ourselves and see what is happening.
DeleteGreat job!
Will says:
ReplyDelete"To be my brother's keeper" means to be at his side at all times and whenever he is in danger help him. "Brother" is anyone in the world--whenever someone is in danger you should help them. This isn't a responsibility, this is a choice that you make. It is a good choice to help. It is important that we help each other because one day you might need help from someone and you want them to help you.
Wil- interesting that you don't think of this as a responsibility but a choice. Some people would argue that it is a responsibility but I believe what you are saying is that we all have the choice to make the right choice to help each other in the world.
DeleteNicely done!
What does it mean to "be my brother's keeper?" Julian: It means that no matter what you're feeling (jealousy, rejection, anger) you still have to do the right thing and take care of other people. This means your family, friends, community, and the world. We have a responsibility to take care of each other no matter how different we are or what we have in comparison to each other.
ReplyDeleteNikki: Julian began singing Bill Withers' Lean On Me during our conversation about Cain and Abel. I think the message is related and it made us speak in a bit more depth about how important it is to say what we feel and what we need so that we can work things out without violent actions, but in cooperation with others. Perhaps if Cain had articulated his feelings or asked what he needed to do, things would have gone differently. But when God asked why he was so angry, Cain remained silent and later attacked his brother instead of asking him for help or guidance. We concluded that Cain would likely have gotten the help he needed had he been brave enough to ask.
Julian, I think you are so right that being "my brother's keeper" means a responsibility beyond what we may be feeling at the time. I think that a lot of Jewish laws and rituals serve this same purpose. We have to honor our parents even when that's really hard and we don't feel like it. We have to be mindful of what we eat even when it would be easier to just eat whatever we see.
DeleteI also love the connection with the song! Being honest with ourselves and the people around us with how we are feeling is so important. I wonder if that is what prayer is all about--when we can't be honest with other people about our feelings, prayer gives us the space to reflect and be honest at least with ourselves and with God. That honesty can literally be life or death as we see in this story!
Awesome work!
Carly says:
ReplyDeleteTo be my brother's keeper means that you protect someone else through everything. You stay by their side no matter what. If they need help on anything you will be there and do whatever they want you to do. I think that I am mostly responsible for myself and my actions but other people's feelings and I am not supposed to make their decisions for them, but support them in their choices in life.