I wasn't there for this class because I was up north as part of my course to become a licensed tour guide. Instead, Baruch, the principal of EIE, and the best teacher I have ever had, taught in my place. Rather than try to summarize the material he covered, I'll give the students an opportunity to share their thoughts on what they learned. Was Galut Bavel necessary for Am Yisrael? What did Am Yisrael do to cope? What did it mean that Beit HaMikdash (the Temple) was destroyed? Is there anything that could happen today to Am Yisrael that might be similar? Did Galut Bavel lead to any important developments? Could/Would those developments have happened without it?
Like so much of the history that we talk about this event was so important that it's still the source of much art, such as this song, based on Psalm 137.
Like so much of the history that we talk about this event was so important that it's still the source of much art, such as this song, based on Psalm 137.
Today we talked about our opinions on intermarriage. I really enjoyed this because it gave us a chance to voice our own thoughts on a subject on something that is still relevant today. I believe that Jewish people should marry other Jewish people but if someone is lucky enough to find someone they could happily spend the rest of their life with, they should commit to them no matter their religious preference. I have a friend that is from an intermarried family who is as involved as I am in Jewish studies and youth group. She is an active part of NFY and USY. She came to Israel this summer. Not only that but she is on the board of many committees for community and medical research. She is an amazing person so why should it matter that not both of her parents are Jewish. She does more for her community and her religion than many "pure" orthodox Jewish people.
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