The Land of Israel Thumbnails: PICTURING ISRAEL: History, Heritage, and Homeland

PICTURING ISRAEL: History, Heritage, and Homeland

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The Land of Israel
Lesson Plan by Zion Ozeri, Josh Feinberg, and Dara Unterberg

Though tiny in comparison to the countries surrounding it, Israel has stood at the center of Jewish longing, history, and destiny for thousands of years, holding a unique and irreplaceable place in Jewish identity. It is not merely a backdrop to the Jewish story, but an active presence within it: shaping our values, our purpose, and our sense of who we are. It is a constant companion, woven into the religious, cultural, and historical fabric of Jewish life.

Click the thumbnails above to open the full-size images and its background information.

Discuss:

Which photographs are you curious to learn more about?
How would you describe your own relationship with Israel?
What role has the Land of Israel played in the journey of the Jewish people across generations?
How would the story of the Jewish people be different without the Land of Israel?
How can you connect to the Jewish people’s relationship with the Land of Israel?

Read the following passages:

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
"Jews have lived in almost every country under the sun. In four thousand years, only in Israel have they been a free, self-governing people. Only in Israel are they able, if they so choose, to construct an agriculture, a medical system, an economic infrastructure in the spirit of Torah and its concern for freedom, justice and the sanctity of life. Only in Israel can Jews speak the Hebrew of the Bible as the language of everyday speech. Only there can they live Jewish time within a calendar structured according to the rhythms of the Jewish year. Only in Israel can Jews live Judaism in anything other than an edited edition. In Israel, and only there, Jews can walk where the prophets walked, climb the mountains Abraham climbed, lift their eyes to the hills that David saw, and continue the story their ancestors began."

Israel, The Gateway of Hope: Ten quotes from Rabbi Sacks' writings about Israel

What do you think it means to live Judaism as an “edited edition” outside of Israel? What parts of Jewish life might feel missing or different in the Diaspora?
Why might a specific place (Israel) be so central to fully expressing a religious or national identity? Can identity ever be complete without a physical homeland?
How does speaking Hebrew as an everyday language change the experience of Judaism compared to using it only for prayer and study?
The paragraph emphasizes physically walking where biblical figures walked. How important is that kind of tangible, geographic connection to strengthening personal or collective identity?
What do you think Israel offers that can't be found or accomplished elsewhere?

Follow - up Activity:

Take a photo of a place that is similar to one of the pictures in this lesson and write a caption that explains: