Jewish sacred writings

Much of the support material for this unit can be shared with the previous unit which focused on the constitution of the Hebrew scriptures. The intention here is to break this down further into the types and styles of Jewish writing. At the heart of this unit is an examination of poems, since they are a common literary form used by prophets, mystics and philosophers within the Jewish tradition.

By the end of this unit:

• most of your students will know that the Hebrew scriptures contain poems
• some students will know that different Hebrew authors chose to record their thoughts and ideas in different styles
• a few students will be able to explain the significance of different styles and types of writing in the Hebrew scriptures.

Prepare by reading the support material below. (You may also wish to provide this material for your more able learners.)

Jewish sacred writings

You should also have a good browse through the Jewish Virtual Library Web site where there is a huge amount of useful information.

The Jewish Virtual Library

Starter

Choose a poem and read it. Try to make it one that you like – it could even be a modern song as long as the words are symbolic and meaningful. Explain to the class why you have selected it and what it means to you. You could read Hannah’s prayer, provided below, as an example of a piece of theological poetry.

Hannah’s prayer

Explain to students that King David’s Psalms were songs he wrote originally to communicate some of his deepest thoughts and feelings. Make the point that poetry is one form among many used in the Hebrew scriptures.

Activity

Use the activity sheet listed below as the main work for this lesson, after you have gone through the material above with students as a whole class activity.

Jewish sacred writings activity sheet

Ask students to write their own poem about an issue of perennial or emerging concern.

Plenary

Ask two or three students to read out their poems to check that students have understood the task.

Homework activity

Set the activity sheet below as the homework for this unit.

Sacred scriptures activity sheet