Teaching Yehoshua – Perek Gimmel

This lesson compares free men to slaves and argues that Bnei Yisrael had to undergo a spiritual transformation before entering the Eretz Yisrael, based on perek gimmel of Sefer Yehoshua.

Introduction

This lesson deals with the crossing the of the Yarden river in perek  gimmel. By comparing the behaviors and thoughts of a free man with that of a slave, the students will understand that Bnei Yisrael had to undergo a transformation before entering Eretz Yisrael.

Lesson objectives

In this lesson, students will:

• Analyze how Bnei Yisrael changed from the time they left Egypt until this point.
• Examine the thoughts/personality of a free man compared to a slave.
• Understand why Hashem had Bnei Yisrael wander in the desert for 40 years.
• Compare God’s role in the way Bnei Yisrael crossed over both the Yarden river and the Yam Suf, recognizing how Hashem supported Bnei Yisrael during each step of their growth.
• Recognize that while the generation of the Exodus needed all the miracles of the midbar, this gradually wore off when they got to Eretz Yisrael.

Resources & Equipment needed

• Copies of Sefer Yehoshua (or Sefaria link here)
• Whiteboard and board marker OR online tool such as www.padlet.com

Procedure

Introduction:

Begin this lesson by letting the students see how hard it is to adapt to a new life. Tell students to imagine that someone transported them to a new life in Northern Siberia, a community of Eskimo. In this environment, survival would rely on living in an igloo, bathing only in the summer, hunting bears, seals, and whales, and using whale blubber for cooking and lamps. Clothing worn would be made from the skins of animals, and you would wake up with the sun and get right to work, with no televisions, and only outhouses for bathrooms. All basic needs would be different – you would need to learn where to take a shower, where to find the supermarket, how to cope with the freezing cold, and more and more. Overall, it would be very difficult to adapt to this new place because you have no understanding of this kind of life, having lived your whole until now in a certain way, and it is very likely that you would be resistant to these changes in lifestyle.

Bnei Yisrael who had lived in Egypt were slaves their whole lives, and even their parents and grandparents were also slaves, so that life was all that they were familiar with. Having the mentality of a slave, they were only living for the present moment, grateful for a break from the hard work, but never really able to think about their futures.

Read and Analyze Sefer Yehoshua: Perek Gimmel:

After reading through the perek, lead a discussion about the differences between slaves and free men. A free man is aware of his past. For example, my grandfather was a painter, a scholar, a gymnast. A free man can ask himself: do I have those qualities, and do I want to follow in his footsteps? The free man has the opportunity and the drive to bring meaning into his life. He knows the world is open to him and that there is purpose in his being on this planet. Slaves do not understand this, but their children who were not slaves, did. Slaves could not possibly understand what it meant to enter, conquer and settle a new land. That takes work—does a slave want to do work? Does a slave have any courage against someone holding a sword at them wanting to kill them? In this way, entering Eretz Yisrael was not just a geographical relocation for Bnei Yisrael, it was a spiritual transformation for them as a people as well, as was shown through the story of the splitting of the Yarden river.

Compare the Differences between Bnei Yisrael Crossing the Yarden River and Crossing the Yam Suf:

Draw a chart with two columns on the whiteboard, writing “Yarden River” on one side, and “Yam Suf” on the other. This can also be done using an interactive online tool such as www.padlet.com.

Ask students to share what they learned from this perek about how the crossing of the Yarden river took place and to recall what they have learned in the past about the crossing of the Yam Suf. Ask students to consider specifically what emotions they imagine Bnei Yisrael felt on each occasion.

Then, share that in the crossing of Yam Suf, Bnei Yisrael are feeling panic and alarm because of the crushing waves of the Yam Suf, as well as the whirling wheels and pounding hooves of the Egyptian chariots (coming to drag them back to slavery). When they crossed the Yam Suf, Bnei Yisrael were very frightened. There were no choices and no options for them—there was a scary cloud and fire preventing them from turning back and their escape was a narrow tunnel—towering walls of water to their right and to their left—so the decision was made for them, and Bnei Yisrael had no choice but to go forward.

On the other hand, when Bnei Yisrael crossed the Yarden river, they crossed with confidence and trust in Hashem that He would help them to succeed in their next steps. Bnei Yisrael crossed the Yarden proudly marching as a united front through an expansiveness that is very different from the tunnel they moved through when they crossed the Yam Suf. Bnei Yisrael crossed the Yarden with a sense of mission—they know where they are going, and what they have to do to set up a new life for themselves and their families. In their crossing of the Yarden, they have become a people with Divinely inspired direction, meaningful and worthwhile objectives and the patient resolve and national confidence to achieve them.