Core Story
- Introduce hevruta, divide class, pass out “core story” sheets
- Hevrutas read core story to each other and explore discussion questions. (Please note that the text we have provided is a summary of Judith’s story and not the original text. The Book of Judith is too long to read as a class, so we have included a summary; but if you have time, it can be very helpful to read it beforehand so you know the full scope of Judith’s story. Judith’s story is found in chapters 7-16 of the Catholic version, which is the easiest English version to locate, and probably the oldest. You can skip chapters 1-6. See the “Teacher Resources” section for information on how to access three different versions of the Book of Judith.)
- Come back together to discuss what arose in hevruta. Begin by inviting students to share the questions they found and listing them on the board. Explain that finding unanswered questions in the text is the starting point of midrash (interpretation of Torah).
- If you find that students are eager to debate about answers to their questions, this can lead to a great discussion; just remind them that the Jewish interpretative tradition allows for multiple answers to a single question.
