Recreating the Experience at Ma’Amad Har Sinai

• Skills:

1. Connect תורה to real life
2. Read the פשט of the פסוק
3. Understanding the פשט of the פסוק
4. Read מפרשים
5. Understand מפרשים
6. Experience:

The verb ראה occurs 1,299 times in the תנ”ך. The word עין occurs 868 times. This makes the sense of sight the most frequently referred to of the senses. For בנ”י, vision was not only the most important means by which to perceive the world but was also a metaphor for understanding בורא עולם.

The sense of hearing, like the sense of sight, plays a part in the תנ”ך as well. Hearing as a way of acquiring knowledge may be observed in איוב ה:כז,

“הִנֵּה זֹאת חֲקַרְנוּהָ כֶּן הִיא שְׁמָעֶנָּה וְאַתָּה דַע לָךְ”

See, we have inquired into this and it is so; Hear it and accept it.

Hearing is understood by בנ”י as one means of knowing. People hear in order to get certain knowledge. When it comes to the knowledge of בורא עולם, hearing is also an important means, especially in relation to the signs that בורא עולם has performed.

• You are to analyze  מעמד הר סיני as a visual and/or auditory presentation.

• Each group will be assigned a different sense of the מעמד הר סיני experience

to analyze

1. Sight ראיה
2. Hearing שמיעה
3. Synthesis of sight and Hearing ראיה + שמיה
4. Your analysis of the experience must be based on the following:

א. מלים מהפסוק

ב.  מפרשים

4. Anticipatory Question: How do you acquire knowledge about the world? How do you know that?
5. Using a highlighter, highlight the פסוקים  ומלים  that describe your sense (on the attached photocopy of the perek)
6. ReflectionQuestions
   1. Provide scientific proof (from an article that you have read) how the sense you chose enhances one’s experience and memory attachment. [Please include a copy of your article.] Articles can be found on Discovery.com, Time.Com , NationalGeographic.com , Psychology
   2. מתן תורה is a part of history, as opposed to being a legend. To see a sign is a direct experience. To hear a report of a sign is an indirect experience. For those who do not see the signs themselves due to distance or time, they can still hear a report of these signs through the testimony of the Israelites.
      1. 1. Keeping this point in mind, read תהילים קכו and explain how it proves that  בורא עולם is the one and only G-d.
         2.  Use our class discussion to elaborate. (ראיה= proof)
         3. .Read  מורה נבוכים חלק א: מה + מו.  What is the רמב”םs opinion on the topic?
         4. Combine your answers into a comprehensible paragraph to respond to:  “It is through human senses that one perceives בורא עולם  and the world.”
         5. Give another account in the תנ”ך where your chosen sense was used and it’s effect on the experience.
         6. . שמות כ:יט   דבור המתחיל ” אשר ראיתם”. מה אומרים המפרשים האלו על ראיה V שמיעה? איך החושים משופר את ניסיון מעמד הר סיני?
         7. Choose a contemporary source that discusses the differences of seeing vs. hearing in the תנ”ך. What have they written that is different than the מפרשים that you researched above?
         8. Today, the clarity the בנ”י had at הר סיני can seem very far away. We live in a complicated and confusing world with many options and doubts. It is often difficult for us to know what is right and how to behave. Most of us crave clarity and find it reassuring. How can we recapture some of that clarity that בני ישראל had at הר סיני? Where can we turn to for guidance?III. Recreate!  Each group will be assigned a classroom. You will  recreate the experience based on the sense that was assigned to you.  

            A. Instructions :

            1. How can your research of the פסוקים and the sense provide an experience similar to the one at הר סיני?
            2. What is the purpose of the group entering your room?
            3. What do they need to do?
            4. What shouldn’t they do? 
            5. How does your sense play a role in their experience? 
            7. How will you assess if they had the experience that you envisioned?
               1. Words from the פסוק
               2. Multimedia

               B. Include in your Room:

               1. 1. 1. Powerpoint
                     2. Movie maker/ iMovie
                     3. Music
                     4. Sound effects
                     5. Screenr.com
                     6. Slidesix.com
                     7. Photopeach.com
                     8. Masher.com
                     9. Any EdTech website (you may speak to the EdTech department for more information)
                     10. Objects (smoke machine, flashlights, glow in the dark)
                     11. Anything creative! (Have fun! ). After doing this assignment, has your opinion changed on how you acquire knowledge about the world?
                     12. Why or why not?

Rachelle and Ariella are Judaic Studies teachers at MDYHS.