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commentators). Most modern scholars, after having for some time endorsed the old view, have accepted
the opinion mysteriously hinted at b
and expressly stated b
to Lev. xvi. 8, that
Azazel belongs to the class of "
se'irim
," goat-like spirits
haunting the desert, to which the
were accustomed to offering sacrifice. (Compare "the roes and the hinds," Cant. ii. 7, iii. 5, by which
Sulamith administers an oath to the daughters of Jerusalem. The critics were probably thinking of a
Roman faun.)
Teaching on the replacement of sacrifice with good deeds
– Avot D’Rabbi Natan 4:5
Once, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai was walking with his disciple, Rabbi Y’hoshua, near Jerusalem after the
destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Y’hoshua looked at the Temple ruins and said: “Alas for us! The place
which atoned for the sins of the people Israel – through the ritual of animal sacrifice – lies in ruins!” Then
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai spoke to him these words of comfort: “Be not grieved my son. There is another
equally meritorious way of gaining atonement even though the Temple is destroyed. We can still gain
atonement through deeds of lovingkindness.” For it is written: “Lovingkindness I desire, not sacrifice.”
(Hosea 6:6) (Translation from Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals)
Information on history of rise of Hitler
-
Through Our Eyes – Children Witness the Holocaust
, Itzhak B.
Tatelbaum, Yad Vashem International School of Holocaust Studies, 2004.
Quote from Steve Adler -
“The story of my experience is being played out again in schools. Children who are
different are singled out for bullying or other unacceptable behavior, and that is exactly what happened to me.”
Quote from Henry Friedman -
“I believe one person can make a difference and all I hope is that one person will
make the right decision and save one life because one life is as important as saving the whole world.”
Talmud Sanhedrin 37a on saving a life –
As part of a discussion about why only one human (Adam) was created
– versus the animals which were created as a group – the Rabbis arrive at this valuable lesson:
“For this reason was man created alone, to teach thee that whosoever destroys a single soul… scripture
imputes [guilt] to him as though he had destroyed a complete world; and whosoever preserves a single
soul… scripture ascribes [merit] to him as though he had preserved a complete world.”
If Adam had been destroyed, all of humanity would have been destroyed. We are all seen as equal to
Adam and as the source of whole worlds (our descendants and our and their impact on the world) and
destroying one person is equal to having destroyed Adam and therefore all of humanity. To save a life is
to assure that their resulting “world” will survive and exist.
Resource on embarrassment equaling murder:
This is a link to an excellent but rather dense teaching on this
concept. I would use it to prepare to teach the students the core idea that the Rabbis clearly view embarrassing an
individual as equal to murder and therefore it is better to suffer oneself than cause another embarrassment.
