NFTY General Board Studies Building and Breaking

Communities:

NFTY Mechina 5772/2012

Jacob Georginow, NFTY RCVP 5772-5773/2012-2013

Evan Traylor, NFTY President 5772-5773/2012-2013

Touchstone Text:

“And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is with you — birds, cattle, and every wild beast as well — all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth. I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." — Genesis 6:9-11:32

Goals:

-PPs will explore different Brit and in the Torah and have a furthered understanding of each of these covenants made with God.

-PPs will understand what the difference between a contract and a covenant is.

-PPs will grapple with the concepts of building and breaking community, and how it affects their NFTY regions

-PPs will walk away with a clear understanding of the importance of maintaining healthy communities based off of healthy decision making

Objectives:

-PPs will hear about the NFTY Teshuva process.

-PPS will hear about the story of Noah’s Ark and Korach

-PPs will discuss the need to maintain healthy communities

-PPs will discuss their role with adult leadership

Materials:

-Large print out of NFTY Teshuva process

-Large print out of quotes

Space Needed:

-Beit Am, or any large space comfortable enough to house 200-300 participants.

People Needed:

- 19 groups, with GLs comprised of NFTY RCVPs. PPs to choose a GL they feel comfortable with.

Time Table:

-00:02 – 00:00 Pre-Program Time

00:00 – 00:05 Intro Skit at Old Pool Field

00:05 – 00:07 Rotate to First Group

00:07 – 00:22 Korach Text Study

00:22 – 00:24 Rotate to Second Group

00:24 – 00:38 Teshuva Process

00:38 – 00:40 Come Back Together to Beit Am

00:40 – 00:52 Regional Debrief

00:52 – 00:54 Transition to Pool

00:54 – 01:00 Final Skit

Detailed Procedure:

Pre-Program Time: As participants leave breakfast, they go through the program room and two NFTY staff members write a number written on their hand.

0:00-0:05 - Intro skit at Old Pool Field: Challenges the Leadership (SEE APPENDIX A)

0:05-0:07 - Rotate to first group PL dismissed PPs to move to their first locations now. There are 10 groups. Leaders will find their groups and find a space in the willows or close by for their first activity.

00:07-00:22 Korach text study

GL will ask PPs to react what they just saw in the skit at the old pool field. Then ask them to actually retell the story of Korach (acting it out is optional). GL will then read this excerpt from Korach using the large print out.

“Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi took [himself to one side] along with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben. They confronted Moses together with two hundred and fifty men from the children of Israel, chieftains of the congregation, representatives of the assembly, men of repute. They assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do raise yourselves above the Lord's assembly?" Moses heard and fell on his face. He spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, "In the morning, the Lord will make known who is His, and who is holy, and He will draw [them] near to Him, and the one He chooses, He will draw near to Him.”

Who are the parties involved in this text?

What is Korach so angry about?

What was Moses’s reaction?

Do you think Moses act appropriately in the position he was in?

Was Korach right to be upset? and did Moses have the right to be mad?

How does this relate to your experience as a regional leader?

GL should share the example of the board vortex, and knowing your place at events with PPs and your advisor.

Board Vortex:
GL SHOULD READ THIS BIT OF KNOWLEDGE
At an event, you may feel very comfortable knowing you are with your board. The “vortex” concept is when you are at a regional event, and every now and then you find yourself standing with your board casually chatting- thus ignoring your participants.”

Your close friends see you hanging out with your board and don’t see anything wrong with it, but a sophomore at his first event who just saw you lead a program wants to talk to about it. He sees you with your whole board alone and is intimidated.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

What is the issue here? (Building vs Breaking community? how does it affect others? your friends? etc)

If you see this happening, how can you alert your board to stop being so exclusive? (i.e. having a board word or signal)

How can you create a sense of unity and cohesion in your board to your participants, without creating feelings of exclusion and monopoly?

As regional board members, what is your position to play with TYG advisors and your regional advisor/YPM?

GL should then go back into the text with this excerpt:

Moses spoke to the congregation saying, "Please get away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything of theirs, lest you perish because of all their sins.” Moses said, “If these men die as all men die and the fate of all men will be visited upon them, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates a creation, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that is theirs, and they descend alive into the grave, you will know that these men have provoked the Lord.” As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the earth beneath them split open. The earth beneath them opened its mouth and swallowed them and their houses, and all the men who were with Korah and all the property.”

Do you think what God did to Korach and his people was right?
Do you think that Moses should have talked to God about this before they acted hastily?
In a regional board setting, can you draw similarities between your board and moses? Or other parties in this story?

0:22-00:24 - Rotate to second group

Group leaders should ask everyone to find a new group leader - groups cap at 12.

00:24-00:38 - Teshuva Process- how does it affect the community?

We are going to examine another story of breaking community. When GL has a new group of 12, they should start by asking participants to collectively retell the story of Noah and the Ark. After the group gets some group understanding of the story, the first touchstone text [Noah’s ark] will be read,

○ God saw the people were corrupt

○ He wanted to destroy the earth and all the people

○ He saved only Noah and his family

○ He saved 2 of each animal

○ Sent a flood

○ Killed all people except Noah’s family

○ **Those who broke community were obliterated

and then GL will discuss the text using these questions

Who are the parties involved in this text?

What is the covenant in question?

What makes it a covenant vs a contract?

Is this about upholding or breaking the covenant?

What is the moral of this text?

Do you think what God decided to do helped strengthen the community or break it down?

Why do you think NFTY gives people these second chances when God didn’t think it was necessary?

The GL should use the first five minutes to explore the text, and the next 2-3 minutes to explain the NFTY connection— what the Teshuva process is, where it came from, and why it is important for the NFTY community to have it. This page will be printed on a blown up page for everyone to see.

NOTE: What the Teshuva process is: The Teshuva process is a 4 step cycle of repentance. Mentoring, consequence, experiential learning, and self reflection. These four steps are for NFTY participants who have taken actions to break the Brit Kehilah, and who wish to rejoin the community.

AFTER the group looks at the blow up TESHUVA PROGRAM, DIVE BACK INTO THE TEXT WITH SOME QUESTIONS LIKE THESE, which talk about building and breaking community

GL will then quote this piece of text:
“For I the Lord your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me, but show kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” -Exodus 20:1-20:23

From that quote of Exodus, how many years does it take for God to forgive you when you break the commandment and choose to reject him?

How many years will God show kindness to you if you keep this commandment?

Do you think this can be related to NFTY and breaking the Brit Kehilah? (hypothetical response: Yes, if someone chooses to break the brit, the community remembers it and is negatively affected by the longevity of their time in NFTY [4 years], but if everyone chooses to respect the Brit, NFTYites will remember positivity for the rest of their lives.)

GL will end this rotation with this final question to PPs:

Do you think the teshuvah process is for the benefit of person who committed the act, or the community that is affected by it? How does the teshuvah process build and preserve community?

0:38-0:40 - Come back together all to the Beit am

This just is.

0:40-0:52 - Break into regional boards to debrief

Regional boards will use the discussion guide in Appendix C to explore how they will be conscious of building vs breaking community.

00:52-00:54 EVERYONE GOES UP TO THE POOL FOR END SKIT

0:54-1:00 - Wrap up/Conclusion at the pool
Participants will all come to the pool to see the end of the modern day Korach troubles with the NAB and beth. The Prez net will be filled in as to when to push the board into the pool, and beth gets the honors of pushing the big p-dawg, NFTY’s prez- the big E, the born and raised Oklahoma man on campus, EVAN TRAYLOR.

APPENDIX A

Jacob: 1.Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi took [himself to one side] along with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben.
2.They confronted Moses together with two hundred and fifty men from the children of Israel, chieftains of the congregation, representatives of the assembly, men of repute.
3.They assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them,
Evan: "You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do raise yourselves above the Lord's assembly?"
Jacob: 4.Moses heard and fell on his face.
5.He spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying,
Jordan: "In the morning, the Lord will make known who is His, and who is holy, and He will draw [them] near to Him, and the one He chooses, He will draw near to Him.
6.Do this, Korah and his company: Take for yourselves censers.
7.Place fire into them and put incense upon them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses he is the holy one; you have taken too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi."
Jacob: 8.Moses said to Korah,
Jordan: "Please listen, sons of Levi.
9.Is it not enough that the God of Israel has distinguished you from the congregation of Israel to draw you near to Him, to perform the service in the Mishkan of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them?
10.He drew you near, and all your brothers, the sons of Levi with you, and now you seek the kehunah as well?
11.Therefore, you and your entire company who are assembled are against the Lord, for what is Aaron that you should complain against him?"
Jacob: 12.Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said,
EVAN "We will not go up.
Is it not enough that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert, that you should also exercise authority over us? You have not even brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Even if you gouge out the eyes of those men, we will not go up."
JACOB Moses was exceedingly distressed, and he said to the Lord,
JORDAN "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken a donkey from a single one of them, and I have not harmed a single one of them."
JACOB Moses said to Korah,
JORDAN "You and your entire congregation should be before the Lord you, they, and Aaron tomorrow.
17.Let each man take his censer and place incense upon it, and let each man present his censer before the Lord; [there will thus be] two hundred and fifty censers, and let you and Aaron each [take] his censer.
JACOBSo each man took his censer, and they put fire upon it and placed incense upon it, and they stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.
19.Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord appeared before the entire congregation.
JACOBThe Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying,
MARLEE (god)"Dissociate yourselves from this congregation, and I will consume them in an instant.
JACOB They fell on their faces and said,
JORDAN "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, if one man sins, shall You be angry with the whole congregation?"
JACOB The Lord spoke to Moses saying,
MARLEE Speak to the congregation saying, 'Withdraw from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'"
JACOBMoses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26.He spoke to the congregation saying,
JORDAN "Please get away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything of theirs, lest you perish because of all their sins.
JACOBSo they withdrew from around the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and Dathan and Abiram went out standing upright at the entrance of their tents together with their wives, their children, and their infants.
Moses said,
JORDAN "With this you shall know that the Lord sent me to do all these deeds, for I did not devise them myself.
If these men die as all men die and the fate of all men will be visited upon them, then the Lord has not sent me.
But if the Lord creates a creation, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that is theirs, and they descend alive into the grave, you will know that these men have provoked the Lord."
JACOB As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the earth beneath them split open.
The earth beneath them opened its mouth and swallowed them and their houses, and all the men who were with Korah and all the property.
They, and all they possessed, descended alive into the grave; the earth covered them up, and they were lost to the assembly.
All the Israel who were around them fled from their cries, for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up [too]!"
A fire came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who had offered up the incense.

Appendix B