This summer I worked as the Chavayah specialist at a JCC camp back home. Chavayah is a Hebrew word that means experience. My job as a specialist was to educate campers from 4 years of age through eighth grade on the idea of B'tzelem Elokim. This phrase means "in the image of G-d" and refers to the idea that we are all created with some likeness of G-d. We all have to respect one another because we were all created in the divine image. However, no two people look the same--there is something special, unique about each one of us.
This concept is a little more complex than one would believe at first, yet it was challenging to develop eight distinct lessons that highlighted different aspects or applications of this concept and that were appropriate for the wide age range.
The first lesson I did was teaching a song called B'tzelem Elokim by Dan Nichols. It talks about the unique qualities that each one of us possesses and that when we share those gifts that our godlike qualities appear. For the younger campers, I just had them learn the chorus of the song while the older campers made up their own verses.
Other favorite lessons included a scavenger hunt where campers used the lyrics from the song to do activities that brought out their godliness such as cleaning up the campground, complimenting their friends, or standing up to bullies. We also did an activity that put campers in someone else's shoes. They had to read a book with saran-wrapped glasses, write a letter without their thumbs, button a shirt while wearing ski gloves, listen to a conversation with earplugs in, and run up stairs with pebbles in their shoes. This activity allowed campers to be grateful for the gifts and abilities they had.
Additionally, campers tried to answer the question "What does a Jew look like?" with the goal of eliminating stereotypes and prejudices. We first got out all of our stereotypes--the question "what does a Jew look like?" was posted on every table as campers walked in. After we answered this question and shared it with the group, we looked at pictures from around the world of Jews from different communities and tried to figure out what was disproved from our stereotype list. Finally, campers were split into groups and asked to create an image of what a Jew looks like. The problem was that any representation would be inaccurate because a Jew does not look like anything specific more than an American looks American. While working on their pictures, a number of campers figured out what I was doing and were able to explain why we were doing this activity this summer. While we are created in the image of G-d, that doesn't mean that we as people, or we as Jews are created to look like anything. B'tzelem Elokim is more about our actions and how we relate to people than the way we physically look.
While I wish I could have worked with the kids more during the day, and while it was challenging to do these various activities, I really enjoyed this summer and learned a lot. Hopefully these lessons and teachings will play an important role in my journey to becoming a Jewish professional.
This concept is a little more complex than one would believe at first, yet it was challenging to develop eight distinct lessons that highlighted different aspects or applications of this concept and that were appropriate for the wide age range.
The first lesson I did was teaching a song called B'tzelem Elokim by Dan Nichols. It talks about the unique qualities that each one of us possesses and that when we share those gifts that our godlike qualities appear. For the younger campers, I just had them learn the chorus of the song while the older campers made up their own verses.
Other favorite lessons included a scavenger hunt where campers used the lyrics from the song to do activities that brought out their godliness such as cleaning up the campground, complimenting their friends, or standing up to bullies. We also did an activity that put campers in someone else's shoes. They had to read a book with saran-wrapped glasses, write a letter without their thumbs, button a shirt while wearing ski gloves, listen to a conversation with earplugs in, and run up stairs with pebbles in their shoes. This activity allowed campers to be grateful for the gifts and abilities they had.
Additionally, campers tried to answer the question "What does a Jew look like?" with the goal of eliminating stereotypes and prejudices. We first got out all of our stereotypes--the question "what does a Jew look like?" was posted on every table as campers walked in. After we answered this question and shared it with the group, we looked at pictures from around the world of Jews from different communities and tried to figure out what was disproved from our stereotype list. Finally, campers were split into groups and asked to create an image of what a Jew looks like. The problem was that any representation would be inaccurate because a Jew does not look like anything specific more than an American looks American. While working on their pictures, a number of campers figured out what I was doing and were able to explain why we were doing this activity this summer. While we are created in the image of G-d, that doesn't mean that we as people, or we as Jews are created to look like anything. B'tzelem Elokim is more about our actions and how we relate to people than the way we physically look.
While I wish I could have worked with the kids more during the day, and while it was challenging to do these various activities, I really enjoyed this summer and learned a lot. Hopefully these lessons and teachings will play an important role in my journey to becoming a Jewish professional.
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