Today's Hot Topics

Jewish values can help us teach and navigate the challenges of our current age. Whether those issues are digital, medical, social, or ethical, Today’s Hot Topics encourages students, teachers and families to explore the issues of the day and develop their own opinions informed by Jewish values.

Each chapter of Today’s Hot Topics includes a complete package of resources that will help you lead a discussion about a Hot Topic with your students:

·         An article that includes stories and anecdotes, and explores the issue from multiple perspectives

·         A source sheet of relevant Jewish texts that speak to the Hot Topic

·         A lesson plan that takes you step-by-step through strategies for presenting the Hot Topic to a group of students; includes essential questions, objectives, and accompanying activities across multiple disciplines

·         A glossary of Jewish values that indicates which lessons they connect to 

Contents

Introduction: Why Teach Hot Topics?

THE DIGITAL WORLD

1.      What Should I Tweet?

2.      Can I Download Music for Free? 

HEALTH AND MEDICINE

3.      Should Medical Marijuana be Legal?

4.      Should the Minimum Drinking Age be Lower?

5.      The Vaccine Debate

SOCIAL ISSUES

6.      Homosexuality and the Jewish Community

7.      Body Image: What is Real Beauty?

8.      Racism: Police and the Community

ISRAEL

9.      How and when may I criticize Israel?

10.  Whose Kotel is it?

POLITICAL ISSUES

11.  Elections: How Should We Choose our Leaders?

12.  What Should We do about Guns?

13.   The Iran Deal

SPORTS ETHICS

14.  Should Football be Safer?

15.   Is the Final Four Fair? 

FOOD ETHICS

16.  What is Ethical Kashrut?

17.  Is it OK to Eat Meat?

GLOSSARY OF JEWISH VALUES

The following are video resources for Today's Hot Topics.

What Should I Tweet?

Homosexuality and the Jewish Community

Remember to pause the video at 1:28.

Criticizing Israel

Jon Stewart learns what happens when you criticize Israel:

Should Football Be Safer?

Hack Your News Feed

Unplug to Plug In

• Video: Disconnecting from Technology

• Unplugging Events
• Printable, Unplugging Pledges 
• National Day of Unplugging Kit  

Photos: Still Worth a Thousand words?

Sample Photoshop Fails:

Extra child

Missing leg

Extra fingers

Shadow

Thomas the Tank Engine 

Today’s Anti-Semitism

Video: On Cemetery Vandalism -- 1.5 minutes

On the role of Muslim activists in helping to repair Jewish headstones:

Audio: Muslim-Led Fundraiser -- 1.5minutes

Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Freedom -2.75

When Celebrities Aren’t Perfect

Michael Phelps - 2.5 minutes

Lance Armstrong 1 – 3 minutes

Lance Armstrong 2 - 5 minutes

Paula Deen - 40 seconds

Click here for additional resources on Jewish Ethics and Food.