Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Topic: Nazir (Bamidbar, 6:1-21)

Grade: 8 Boys

Overall
Goals

Students will know and

retain the overall themes
selected from Sefer
Bamidbar.

Students will be able to read

and translate a portion of
the material covered along
with basic terms in each
section.
Students will understand
how Rashi serves as a
companion and support to
aid the learner expand his
knowledge of the pessukim.
Students will be able to link
the content that was learned
to the specific words of the
possuk.
Students will find relevance
from the content learned to
their own personal life.
Student will see how the
basic possuk is a
springboard to rich
discussions that are dealt
with in the various
meforshim.

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Big
Ideas
in the
Unit

o
o
o

A nazir is someone who accepts upon himself to abstain from

wine products, cutting hair and coming in contact with dead
bodies for at least 30 days.
Nezirus is often undertaken as a reaction to regain control of
ones temptations.
It is debatable if abstinence is an effective tool against the
Yetzer Horah and Nezirus may, for some, be a sin.
There is depth and significance to each detail of the halachos
concerning a Nazir: from the choice of wine, dead bodies and
hair, to the specific korbanos chosen for him to bring.

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Lesso
n1
Learning Target:
o Students will familiarize themselves with the basic halachos of Nazir.
(knowledge)
o Students will understand why the Torah decided to place the Halachos
of Nazir specifically after Hilchos Sotah. (comprehension)
o Students will recognize the value in being proactive in molding ones
character as a reaction to positive or negative experiences. (values
Lesson Hook:
o Students are shown a picture of a Buddhist monk in meditation, a man
eating a burger with zest and a jogger exercising. Students are
prompted to write on an index card their opinion of which of the
individuals shown are acting holy. Students reflect and share their
thoughts on the concept of holiness.
Learning Process:
o Students are asked to take out a blank paper and turn it sideways. As
the class progresses through the pessukim, each major detail is added
to a mind-map/timeline of Hilchos Nazir. The teacher adds to his own
timeline on the board as a template for students who wish to copy:
please see http://popplet.com/app/#/2834694 for a completed
template.
o

As the teacher reads through pessukim 1-13, students are asked to

underline words they think are main words essential to the topic of
Nazir.

Students are allotted 10 minutes to silently read an article by Rabbi

Frand (retrieved and modified from:
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5770/naso.html) about a
connection between Nazir and Sota and the lesson for us to learn.
Students are then to answer the questions independently on the
handout. The questions are structured in a way that does not require
much writing rather marking up the page. See below, in the
Resources section for the handout.

The mind-map and handout are collected, to be marked and returned

for future reference.

Lesso
n
2
Teaching
Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum
Learning Target:
o
Students will familiarize themselves with the key terms in the first
possuk about Nazir. (knowledge)
o Students will learn to question the Torahs choices of words and learn
about using Mefarshim to address such questions. (comprehension
o
Students will explore the rationale for becoming a Nazir and why this
can be a virtue or a sin depending on the person and the outcome of
the Nezirus. Students will appreciate that different people might
require different strategies for success in life. (values)
Lesson Hook:
o Students are prompted to share websites that they commonly refer to.
They are asked to identify where the Troubleshooting section or
FAQ section would be found on the website. This is repeated a
couple of times. It is noted that the Troubleshooting section is usually
at the end or back-page of websites and manuals. This highlights that
assumption that things should work fine, but if it doesnt, there are
solutions to be found.
o

The timeline of Hilchos Nazir (from Lesson 1,

http://popplet.com/app/#/2834694) is displayed on the board.
Students are asked where the troubleshooting stage is to be found
in Hilchos Nazir. Students are asked to ponder the question Why
would the Torah put the section of what to do if the Nazir messes up
right in the middle of its narrative of how to become a Nazir and not at
the end?. It seems that the Torah considers this a likely outcome of
becoming a Nazir why would that be?

Learning Process:
o Students are given a source sheet (
http://www.sefaria.org/sheets/19614 , see Resources for a screenshot
of the semi-completed version) that focuses on the first possuk
regarding a Nazir. Students are asked to refer back to their own
Chumash and share the essential words that they chose in Lesson 1.
Each essential word ( , )is then examined at length.
Questions such as: why would the Torah choose the words and
instead of the more common words or are addressed.
It is emphasized that it is a good practice to try and analyze exact
usage of words in the Torah, since fundamental ideas can be
communicated this way by the Torah, subtly.
o

A collection of Mefarshim (Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Kli Yakar, Sforno, Rabeinu

Bachya) are introduced one by one. It is emphasized that Mefarshim
are used to explore questions in text and underlying ideas. Students
write down the main idea contained in these Mefarshim on the left
side of the source sheet. A semi-completed version is given to
students who have difficulty doing this themselves. Through learning
these Mefarshim it is revealed that the Torahs choice of words point to
the purpose of becoming a Nazir to rule over ones temptation by
way of abstinence.

Students are given a second article by Rabbi Frand to read (retrieved

and modified from:
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5769/naso.html ) which
explores the Torahs perception of abstinence and holiness. Students

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Lesso
n3
Learning Target:
o Students will learn about the process of completing ones nezirus and
which korbanos are brought. (knowledge)
o Students will explore the rationale behind why these specific 3
korbanos are brought. (comprehension)
o Students will appreciate that molding ones character is a journey that
requires different emotions, elements and perspectives in order to be
successful. (values)
Lesson Hook:
o The famous old-lady-young-lady optical illusion is shown (See below in
Resources). Students are asked to reflect on what lesson can be
learned from the illusion.
o

Students are asked to think about the different perspectives on

whether Nezirus is good or bad and how perspectives can be
subjective.

Learning Process:
o Students follow along in the Chumash and in their timeline Mind Map
(from Lesson 1) while the teacher reads and explains pessukim 13-21:
outlining the completion of Nezirus. Students complete the timeline
Mind Map for the Unit.
o Students are asked to reflect on the following quandary: Why would
the Torah prescribe three drastically different korbanos for the Nazir?
Chatas for a sin, Shlamim to be thankful, and Olah for total sacrifice to
Hashem. Students are asked to write down and share their personal
view on how the Nezirus incorporates an element of sin, sacrifice and
thanksgiving all in one.
o Students play a Smartboard game (created by Eli Perles, retrieved
from: http://www.chinuch.org/item_detail/0/Korbanos-Brought-by-aNazir-SMART-Board) to match the ingredients of the Korbanos to the
correct korban (See below in Resources for a screenshot).
o Students complete the Unit by voicing their Exit Ticket answer to the
question of is becoming a Nazir effective in mastering ones
temptations?
o Students hand in their worksheets and material to be marked and
returned to review for an upcoming test.

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Reflecti
on

I think that the style of learning Chumash- through using articles,

Mefarshim and relevant hooks is drastically different than how 8 th
Grade students are used to learning Chumash. To compare this to the
read and translate style of learning Chumash is like comparing two
different subjects entirely. I believe that the goal of getting students
to see Chumash in a deeper, more profound light is achieved by
highlighting the nuances of the Torahs textual hints and the
introduction to Mefarshim as a way to open up the discussion.
The use of a Mind Map that runs through the course of the Unit can
help students visualize where they are headed throughout the Unit
and they can anticipate and enjoy completing their work detail by
detail. By giving students this anchor-type activity, there is a
compelling reason to remain engaged throughout every detail lest
they miss something in their Mind Map!
By highlighting that the details of any Torah law has significance to
be analyzed and studied, students are drawn into the conversation to
share their own thoughts -and suddenly realize that they have what
to say! It is through this that students at the cusp of high school can
begin to question and analyze every Torah law and start seeing the
Torah (and life!) in 3D instead of 2D spit-back of facts.

Resources:
Nazir article #1

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Sefaria source sheet

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Nazir article #2

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum

Optical Illusion

Korbanos Game

Teaching Chumash | Uri Kestenbaum