https://ravsak.org/philosophical-inquiry-tanakh   What is a typical lesson look like?

A typical session consists of a group of students sitting in a circle reading a biblical text together, with each child reading a line (thus turning a written text back into shared speech event). Then students raise questions of what they found puzzling or interesting in the text, which form the agenda for discussion. In the inquiry students draw upon carefully constructed plans and exercises which help maintain focus and encourage depth of discussion. These open up the field of meaning around concepts—both within the child’s world and from within the tradition. Additional written material, Jewish sources, images and recordings are also used to stimulate or further inform the inquiry. Drawing and drama can also be used as a vehicle for extending the discussion.

An example of a child’s question that might be raised and explored with parashat Bereishit: “What does it mean when it says “and God says that this was good”? This could then lead to a discussion of the concept of good.

Sample Discussion Plan (3rd grade), what does the word good mean in the following situations:

• Your mom says, “Our car is a good car”
• You finish painting a picture, stand back and say, “This is a good painting”
• You take a bite of an apple and say, “Mmm, what a good apple”Your teacher says, “You are such a good girl”
• You get good grades
• She says, “You are such a good friend”
• You consider a particular toy good to play with

These questions open up different possible meanings of the term good (reliable, “just as I wanted it to be,” “just as it should be,” morally good, compliant, achieving a high standard, “brings out the best in me,” loyal, interesting, to name but a few). The students return to the text and ask themselves how each of these meanings changes their understanding of the world God created and the relationship between God and what God created. The students might then turn to other biblical passages where the term tov appears and discuss which of these offer insight into the Bereishit text.

They might then discuss what it would take to care for the world, to look after it in light of these meanings, and finish the class with an activity where student draw one of the days of creation according to their own interpretation of good in the text. While the examples in the discussion plan would change depending on the age of the child, the meanings they put forth will not change, since the various kinds of good are interesting to people at all ages. The question “What is good?” is one we can keep going back to because it is a philosophical question that remains with us throughout our lives and dreams.