General Tips: Think about what’s in your background. Everyone has biases and perspectives to be aware of. You don’t need to know the answer to every question. In some cases, you can throw it back to the group,or you can say “I don’t know, but I will look into it and get back to you…
Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will be able to: Use storytelling to express themselves. Demonstrate appreciation of themselves, each other, and the Shevet group as a whole. Identify learnings, growth, new perspectives, and/or behaviors they want to take from their experience in Shevet this year.
Overview: A person’s life has three phases: the phase when their body develops, the phase when their thought develops, and the phase when their deeds develop. — Tikkune Zohar, Tikku, 19, 67a. Maimonides believed that internal balance was essential for living a healthy and spiritually attuned life. That is, a person must take care of…
Facilitator’s Tip: This session has been adapted from our all-genders Kulam curriculum. It can be used as written here, combining the Rosh Hodesh and Shevet groups into one for this session, or it can be used separately with the Rosh Hodesh and Shevet groups, as you prefer. If using the session separately with the Rosh…
Facilitator’s Tip: This session has been adapted from our all-genders Kulam curriculum. It can be used as written here, combining the Rosh Hodesh and Shevet groups into one for this session, or it can be used separately with the Rosh Hodesh and Shevet groups, as you prefer. If using the session separately with the Rosh…
Objectives:
Participants will…
Develop and apply strategies for discerning truth and bias in media.
Reflect on how they come to believe things are true and the extent to which this depends on the opinions of others.
Practice applying their critical thinking skills to real world media.
Objectives:
Participants will . . .
Explore the concept of personal space and reflect on what happens to personal space in a group setting.
Practice navigating the basic elements of positive, physical connection.
Practice communicating and setting boundaries.
Reflect on the process of setting boundaries and engaging in consensual physical connections.
Objectives:
Participants will . . .
Have an increased awareness of sexism within society and culture.
Identify Jewish values around equity and justice alongside the truth about Jewish tradition and sexism.
Be able to recognize the effect of stereotypes on women and people perceived to be women.
Reflect on how they are also impacted by the effect of sexist stereotypes.
Objectives:
Participants will . . .
Welcome new and returning members to the group and establish a cohesive group structure.
Think creatively about their own ideals of manhood, stretching outside the established bounds.
Become more aware of the limitations imposed by preconceived notions and stereotypes of manhood and the messages they may have received.
Explore how Jewish wisdom might expand their ideas of manhood.
Be empowered to view and consciously express a positive vision of manhood and of being a “mensch” in their own authentic ways.
Objectives:
Participants will . . .
Reflect on their own boundaries and communication styles within relationships
Discuss consent for intimacy and the gendered messages that people receive about
consent
Understand how to use assertive communication to articulate personal boundaries and negotiate consent in intimate relationships
Understand that there are various romantic/sexual pressures facing young people, especially in middle school, and think through how to handle these pressures
Explore Jewish ethics and personal behavior surrounding sexuality and consent
