Israel: The People and the Land—A Tanakh-Based Israel Curriculum—Introduction and Outline

I. What is this curriculum?

This curriculum attempts to tell, through the study of the biblical text, one of the central stories of our collective past and one which has helped shape our identity as a people. “Israel: The People and the Land” traces the relationship between the People of Israel and the Land of Israel from the time the Land was first promised to our forefather Abraham until the time of our exile from it, a period of roughly 1,200 years. The curriculum will try to explain the critical importance of the Land to the fulfillment of our goals as a People, the obstacles that stood in the way to our entry into the Land, the difficulties and challenges we faced as a People in our Land, and the ways in which we dealt with exile from the Land where we had developed and established our religious and national identities.

II. Aims

Given the fact that the study of Bible is the core of the curriculum of virtually all Jewish day-schools it is surprising that a great number of graduates from these schools have little understanding of the importance and centrality of the Land of Israel in biblical history and in biblical thought. Three explanations come to mind: 1. That many of the sections that relate to the Land are taught without the appropriate emphasis on its importance, 2. That the Land is viewed as something other than what it is, namely, a particular geographic reality, and not a metaphor or an abstract concept, or, 3. That many of the sections that relate to the Land are avoided altogether.

This curriculum wishes to correct this problem by providing a series of lessons on certain key questions regarding the relationship between the People and the Land as they arise in the Bible. These questions are organized in a logical and chronological order in an effort to create a narrative flow. The narrative as told in this curriculum endeavors to provide an important lens through which the Bible can be read, but does not claim to be the only lens through which the Bible can be understood.

III. Structure of the Lessons

Each lesson begins with an explanation of the aim and the importance of the question to be addressed in that lesson. A series of texts is then provided through which the question of each lesson can be answered followed by a detailed analysis of each of the texts. A lesson plan is then suggested in order to help facilitate the teaching of the texts and the ideas of each lesson in a Jewish day high-school setting. Finally, each lesson includes a series of questions for further study and references for further reading.

IV. For whom?

Since this curriculum addresses an important issue that is often overlooked or avoided in the teaching of Bible, it is primarily geared toward teachers of Bible in Jewish day high-school settings. However, since the curriculum deals with the conceptual basis of the relationship between the People and the Land and traces it through a historic continuum, it should be helpful to teachers of Jewish thought and Jewish history and Jewish educators generally. Furthermore, since the curriculum does not adopt a particular position on the authorship of the biblical text and tries to avoid other controversial theological issues that do not flow directly from the text, it is suitable to Jewish educators of all religious denominations.

V. How should the curriculum be used?

Although the curriculum is comprised of 9 distinct units and each unit can be studied independently, its central message will likely be lost and its impact diminished if it is not studied in its entirety, much as the impact of any story or narrative is limited if it is only read in part. After the curriculum is studied and its central message understood, it is hoped that teachers will incorporate many of the units into existing curricula in Bible, Jewish thought or Jewish history. If for example, the story of Abraham is being taught in the context of the book of Genesis, this curriculum will hopefully provide an important framework through which that story can be understood; if the Book of Numbers, then the lessons on the scouts, and the story of the tribes of Reuven and Gad, and so on. Since, as we mentioned, the curriculum addresses key questions in the relationship between the People and the Land but does not purport to tell the whole story of that relationship, it is hoped that teachers will refer to the curriculum when they encounter other texts that touch upon this theme and will utilize it to help them teach those texts more effectively.

Curriculum Outline

1. The People and the Land: What is the importance of the Land to the People?
2. The People and the Land: Was the Land ready for the People?
3. The People and the Land: Were the People ready for the Land?
4. The People entering the Land: Would all the People enter the Land?
5. The People in the Land: Were they a united People?
6. The People in the Land: Could they be reunited as a People after they had been divided?
7. The People in the Land: Should they have only one place of worship?
8. People in the Land: Would sovereignty in the Land ensure their distinctiveness as a People?
9. The People leaving the Land: How would they survive?