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SORTING OUT & CONCLUSIONS - Essential Question 5 and review of 1-4
Students should now be asked to sort out what they have learned about the Ritual of the Scapegoat, the Holocaust,
and other issue brought up by the video. They should then be able to draw conclusions which will help them to use
this learning to Take Action. Again, you can use a variety of engagements to help them sort out the information
depending on time and course goals.
Questions:
Does the ritual of the Scapegoat make sense today?
What does Jewish tradition teach us that might provide a better way to “get rid” of our sins and solve our
problems?
What can we learn from this film about the dangers of scapegoating?
How does the issue of scapegoating, and what happened in the Holocaust, connect to the problem of
bullying? (Quote from Steve Adler at the end of the film about why he speaks about the Holocaust should
be referred to here if the students don’t bring it up. It can be found in the
Resource
section.)
What values does Judaism teach us that inspire us to not be bystanders but rather to be Upstanders? (Quote
at end of film from Henry Friedman should be referred to here and discussed. It can be found in the
Resource
section. Full passage from Sanhedrin 37a related to his quote is in the
Resource
section as well.)
Bullies often have their own problems that they are unable to solve. They are often being bullied by
someone else - a parent, a sibling, an older schoolmate - and are passing their problems on to someone
weaker. Their victim is a scapegoat for their own suffering at the hands of the person bullying them.
You can additionally teach that the Judaism teaches that to embarrass a person is equal to killing them and
talk about “spiritual” death or the resulting depression and withdrawal that a person who is bullied might
suffer. (See
Resource
section for link to an excellent resource on this concept.) You can connect this to the
dehumanization of the Jews by the Nazis, making them essentially “dead” even while they were living, and
to how stopping these behaviors is equivalent, in Judaism, to saving a life.
TAKING ACTION - Essential Question 6
Students should now be able to make a plan to use their learning to Take Action in their community. Again,
depending on time, you can either suggest an activity or allow the students to brainstorm and select their own
activity. The resulting action could be individual or collective.
Questions:
How do we help the bully so that they do not need to scapegoat?
