The Place (HaMakom); Jewish Philosophy for High School

The curriculum is designed to present the concept of “The Place” in Jewish culture along with the various associations and questions this concept raises on a personal, national, universal and spiritual level. [“The Place,” “HaMakom” in Hebrew, can also be understood to mean God.] The curriculum deals with the responsibility of each individual for his/her environment, and with the concept of Holy Places within one’s social context in Jewish sources.

• What is “a place” for me?
• What makes a site a private space, and what is the relationship between private and public spaces?
• How does the place shape me, and how do I shape the place?
• Is the land a gift given to the Jewish People, or is it a conditional “loan” that depends on our moral behavior?
• What culture is created through a long history of exile?
• What happens when this culture is replaced with an attempt to cling to the land instead of yearning for it from afar?