Science and Sefer HaMitzvos: MItzvah 27, 28 & 29 - Not Serving Avodah Zarah (Idols)

Todays lesson goal was to make the concept of Not Serving Idols  relevant and understandable in our day and age. I figures the students had never seen real idols, or people serving them for that matter, and I could not help but wonder what they thought about it. So I asked.

1. Ask the Students what serving Idols means to them.

Once our ideas were out in the open we opened to page 147 in our Yahadus text books and began to read a little.

2. Read introduction and actual Mitzvah bubbles in Yahadus textbooks. 

I then discussed with them the multiple laws and concerns the Torah has with us serving idols.

After this short discussion, I brought in a Primary Source (the Rebbe's Maamar Byom Ashtei Asar Yom)  to discuss the history and dissemination of idol worship in the world. 

One topic i found we were drawn to was KeGazron Byad HaChotzev (Like an axe in the hands of a lumberjack). We discussed other mashalim (examples) of where a tool may look like its doing the job but really its the one who yields it. 

3. Look inside the text for ideas and words relating to idolatry and get the Students to understand the process the nations went through until they reached full idol worship.

4. I asked the students: What about Shittuf (The concept of a partnership between Hashem and the constellations/stars)? Is it good, bad, horrible?

The we looked back into the Yahadus text to find out what the Rambam, and others, say about his belief. 

I felt the lesson was maximally received for today and took our discussion to a scientific tangent. 

I asked: What is the SUN?

5. We made a thinking-web showcasing all we knew about the sun.  

I brought out resources, like the books pictured below for the Students to read and look into what the sun actually is. 

It was a beautifully sunny day today, so we went to the source, the SUN. I used binoculars to observe the Sun. What you do is
        1. Cover up one lens
        2. Face the wide lens towards the Sun and thin lens toward a clean white sheet of paper
        3. You should see a round white circle appear, that is the Sun!

Another way to observe the sun is with special SUN-Glasses. You can purchase these at a science store like Efson Science on Dufferin. 

I explained what the sun was made of, what it did and how it works. All this information i got from these resource books that I gave to the Students. 

We discussed how the suns heat felt, and other concepts. 

I then told them about Solar Power and how the Rebbe, amongst others, was a proponent for the use of Solar Power. 

To illustrate this, and to make this concept experiential and lasting, we made Pizza Box Solar Ovens. 

I used the following youtube video and allowed the Students to build it on their own, under my supervision. I did not do this for them!

YOUTUBE - PIZZA BOX OVEN

I had brought in all the supplies ahead of time, and I even brought three slices of cold pizza for us to warm up for a snack. 

Hey, education need not be a hungry endeavour. 

Happy learning.