Curriculum for Children
Jewish Humane Education Kit

OVERVIEW

Ten Lesson Plans

Backup Material for the Lessons: Stories from the Bible and from Jewish Tradition

Quotations from the Bible about Kindness to Animals

Judaism and Kindness to Animals Quiz

Judaism and Kindness to Animals Quiz: Answers and Discussion

About this kit:

CHAI created the Jewish Humane Education Kit to promote knowledge of Jewish tenets about animals and to encourage people to narrow the gap between the reality of how animals are treated and the ideal set forth in Jewish teachings. The kit contains humane education lessons arranged thematically, backup material for the lessons consisting of stories from the Bible and from Jewish tradition, quotations from the Bible about kindness to animals, and a quiz for students to check their knowledge of the information in the kit.

This version of the kit, which was developed for American students, can be used as a resource in Religious School classes and Jewish summer camps. The lessons will help students develop compassion for all animals in the students' own and in other environments. In particular, they can consider the question, raised in Lesson VII, "Do we have a special responsibility to animals in Israel, and how can we act on it?"

Although the material is presented as an ongoing series of lessons, it can be used in a variety of ways. You may want to use the lessons one at a time, as an occasional variation in your regular curriculum. They fit easily into any unit dealing with Jewish values, Jewish heroes, and holidays, as an integral part of all aspects of Jewish life.

With the exception of a number of questions in Lessons VI, VIII, and IX marked "For teenagers," the material is not specifically aimed for a particular age group. The concepts discussed are valid for any age, provided they are handled at an appropriate level of sophistication.

All illustrations in this kit were especially designed by Saija Turunen for CHAI and are protected by copyright.

Please contact us if you would like further information: chai_us@cox.net

A few words about Jewish ethical values:

A life guided by Jewish ethical values emphasizes wanting to do what is right and doing it. It includes the understanding that deciding what is right takes thought and knowledge; that doing what is right may be very difficult and require courage, but that doing what is right can be a source of profound contentment.