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gov-info · 5 years

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Roundup! Who’s Who at the State of the Union, 9p.m. ET (watch/listen/read: whitehouse.gov or c-span.org)

Speakers

President Donald Trump

Democratic Response (English): Stacey Abrams

Democratic Response (Spanish): Xavier Becerra

Attendees

Officials: Members of the House and Senate, the President’s Cabinet (with the exception of one planned absentee Cabinet member), Vice President, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, former Members of Congress, and members of the diplomatic corps.

Invited Guests (as of 2 p.m. ET)

President Trump/First Lady Melania Trump

Congress (via @RollCall) click below for list (as of 2p.m. ET):

Senate

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee: A.B. Culvahouse, Jr., Ambassador of the United States of America to the Commonwealth of Australia and a Tennessean.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin: Diane Whitcraft, a constituent with multiple sclerosis who stopped taking a drug after 23 years because she could not afford it.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey: Edward Douglas, who faced a lifetime sentence in 2003 for selling crack cocaine, but was released in January thanks to a criminal justice reform bill called the First Step Act passed by Congress in December.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois: Toby Hauck, an Aurora, Illinois, air traffic controller and Air Force veteran and one of the more than 8,000 Illinois federal employees impacted by the partial government shutdown.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York:Navy Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, a transgender service member and the president of SPART*A, an LGBT military advocacy organization focused on transgender military advocacy.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California: Trisha Pesiri-Dybvik, an air traffic controller and a mother of three who lost her home in the Travis wildfire, and soon after went without a paycheck during the 35-day shutdown.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico: Former Pueblo of Acoma Governor Kurt Riley will attend to bring attention to how the shutdown adversely affected public safety, child welfare, and health care programs at Indian Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota: Bethlehem Gronneberg, founder and CEO of uCodeGirl.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine: Margo Walsh, the owner and founder of MaineWorks, a Portland employment agency, and co-founder of Maine Recovery Fund, which provides services for people in recovery for substance abuse.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota: Nicole Smith-Holt, a constituent whose son died because the family was unable to afford his insulin.

Sen. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts: Varshini Prakash, executive director and co-founder of Sunrise, a movement of young people working to stop climate change.

Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona: Isaiah Acosta, a 19-year-old rapper born without a jaw, who is an advocate for Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Children’s Miracle Networks Hospitals.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada: Dr. Michael Moradshahi, a second-generation American and licensed psychologist. Moradshahi served in the Department of Veteran Affairs and currently works in the Indian Health System (IHS) in Reno. He worked without pay during the partial government shutdown.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon: Albertina Contreras, a mother detained in solitary confinement and separated from her 11-year-old daughter Yakelin when she sought asylum from domestic violence in Guatemala.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio: Jamael Tito Brown, mayor of Youngstown, the beneficiary of a recent U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD grant.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada: Tanya Flanagan, a constituent and county employee who has survived breast cancer three times, who would be at risk of losing health care coverage without the Affordable Care Act’s protections for patients with preexisting conditions.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland: Lila Johnson, a grandmother and primary breadwinner, who has worked as a general cleaning services contractor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more than two decades. As it stands, Johnson will not receive compensation for the 35 days the government was partially shuttered.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona: Maj. Bryan Bouchard, a retired Bronze Star recipient.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina: Pastor Andrew Brunson, a North Carolina native who was imprisoned in Turkey, and his wife Norine Brunson. Brunson was arrested during a crackdown after a failed military coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He was released last year.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts: Sajid Shahriar, an employee of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development furloughed during the government shutdown. Executive vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3258, Shahriar organized rallies in Boston to urge an end to the shutdown.

House of Representatives

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona: Border Patrol Agent Art Del Cueto.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon: Blumenauer will not attend the State of the Union address, but has asked Nate Mook, executive director of the World Central Kitchen, to take his place. Word Central Kitchen, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, provides food to people in need, and distributed meals to federal employees during the shutdown.

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon: Alexandria Goddard, who helped organize Portland’s March for Our Lives while a student at Sunset High School. Goddard is currently a freshman at Portland State University.

Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Illinois:Tom Mueller, a soybean farmer whose income has taken a hit from trade policy under the Trump administration.

Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-California: Foodbank of Santa Barbara County CEO Erik Talkin, who distributed food to furloughed workers during the 35-day partial government shutdown.

Rep John Carter, R-Texas: Robert Chody, the Williamson County sheriff. Carter said in a statement that Chody was a U.S. Army veteran and served in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice before taking the helm in Williamson County.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-California: Ryan Hampton, an advocate who was able to receive treatment for opioid addiction only to see his friend die in a sober-living facility due to lack of training and resources. Hampton will argue Trump is ignoring the opioid crisis by obsessing over a non-solution.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island: Jamie Green, an air traffic controller at T.F. Green International Airport.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-New Jersey: Victorina Morales, an undocumented immigrant who worked as a housekeeper at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-Virginia: Amer Al-Mudallal, a chemist and 22-year veteran of the chemical safety division of the Environmental Protection Agency. Both Amer and his wife, another EPA employee, were furloughed and missed their paychecks during the partial government shutdown.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota: Katie Brenny, who Craig describes as a cattle farmer, businesswoman, and community advocate.

Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Florida: “Coast Guard family” Petty Officer Chris Gutierrez and Chelsey Gutierrez. Gutierrez is stationed at Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater.

Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-South Carolina: Folly Beach Mayor Tim Goodwin, a Republican, who endorsed Cunningham over his GOP opponent Katie Arrington last year.

Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas: Laura Robeson, a mother and health care advocate from Prairie Village, whose 7-year-old son Danny was born prematurely and has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and cortical vision impairment.

Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Illinois: Taylorville Fire Chief Mike Crews, who was instrumental in the emergency notification and disaster recovery efforts when a tornado struck the congressman’s hometown on Dec. 1, 2018.

Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pennsylvania: Jami Amo, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine school shooting. Amo became a gun safety activist after the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year.

Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-New York: Michael Hickey, who exposed elevated levels of toxic PFOA chemicals in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh after his father died of cancer.

Rep. Val Demings, D-Florida: Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Ralph Velez, a federal employee at Orlando International Airport who worked without a paycheck during the partial government shutdown.

Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Florida: Manny Oliver, who started the organization Change the Ref after losing his son Joaquin in the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, D-California: Charlene Downey, a retired U.S. Coast Guard Captain.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas: Senaida Navar, a DACA recipient and an adjunct instructor at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-New York: Yeni Gonzalez Garcia, a Guatemalan mother separated from her three children at the Arizona border last year.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania: Justin Cangro, 16, whose 20-year-old brother Jared died of an overdose in July 2016.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tennessee: Gov. Bill Lee will join Fleischmann as his guest and meet with the entire Tennessee delegation.

Rep. Bill Foster, D-Illinois: Marilyn Weisner, executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry.

Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Florida: Kim Churches, CEO of the American Association of University Women, an organization that promotes education for women and girls.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida: Carlos Trujillo, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States. Gaetz tweeted Trujillo has been a “key advisor” to the Trump administration on Venezuela policy.

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona: Beth Lewis, chair of Save Our Schools Arizona, an organization that advocates for strong public schools.

Rep. Sylvia R. Garcia, D-Texas: Devani Gonzalez, a DACA recipient who aspires to be in law enforcement but is hindered due to her immigration status.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine: Cynthia Phinney, president of the Maine AFL-CIO.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-California: Sandra Diaz, another former housekeeper who worked at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, as an undocumented immigrant. Diaz endured coercion, physical and verbal abuse, and threats of deportation from her supervisors there, Gomez said in a statement.Diaz, who emigrated from Costa Rica, is now a legal resident and does not have to worry her attendance will tip off U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey: Annette Leo, the mother of two who have been diagnosed with Ataxia Telangiectasia, a rare, progressive neurological disorder.

Rep. Deb Haaland, D-New Mexico: Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Rep. Josh Harder, D-California: John Casazza, a Central Valley walnut farmer from Hughson and lifelong Republican. Recent Chinese tariffs are “significantly hurting his business due to the lowered demand,” according to a statement.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut: Lane Murdock, a junior at Ridgefield High School student and co-founder of National School Walkout, which organized a massive student protest in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-District of Columbia: Faye Smith, a member of 32BJ SEIU, a contracted Smithsonian security officer who was facing eviction because of the shutdown.

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Maryland: Jacqueline Beale, Maryland state lead ambassador for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington: Lisa J. Graumlich, climate scientist and Dean of the College of the Environment at the University of Washington.

Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio: Chris Green, a police officer who nearly overdosed after being exposed to fentanyl during an arrest.

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Michigan: Cathy Wusterbarth, of Oscoda, who has advocated for all levels of government to more urgently address toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination that has been found in drinking water in her community.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa: Far-right Fox News personalities “Diamond and Silk.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois: Dixon High School Resource Officer Mark Dallas, who intervened when a former student started firing in the school auditorium last year.

Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pennsylvania: Darrin Kelly, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, firefighter and president of the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Rep. Jim Langevin, D-Rhode Island: Stephen Cardi, the chief operating officer of the Cardi Corporation and president of Construction Industries of Rhode Island.

Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nevada: Sergeant Isaac Saldivar, who served in the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq. Saldivar lost two years of G.I. Bill benefits when the for-profit college he was enrolled in closed.

Rep. Mike Levin, D-California: Lucero Sanchez, a DACA recipient, student in environmental science at UC San Diego, and former intern on Levin’s campaign.

Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Illinois: Chicago police officer Gino Garcia and advocate for the organization WINGS, which provides shelter and job training for victims of domestic violence.

Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa: Jeff Chapman, battalion chief of the Clinton Fire Department, who has served with the department since 1995.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California: Shaima Swileh, a Yemeni national, and Ali Hassan, a U.S. citizen, to spotlight the impact of the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban. Though their 2-year-old son is receiving treatment for a terminal genetic brain condition in the U.S., the couple struggled to obtain a visa for Swileh, his mother. After a public outcry, Swileh was able to visit the U.S. weeks before her son died. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., will also host the couple.

Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-New Jersey: Hing Foo Lee, brother of the late patient advocate John Lee, who was profiled in the Washington Post for his determination to vote in NJ-07 while dealing with stage IV cancer.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York: Sydney B. Ireland, a high school student who successfully lobbied to join the Boy Scout Troops and is now fighting to be officially recognized as a member with a rank of Eagle Scout.

Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah: McAdams will bring his brother-in-law Sam, who voted for Trump in 2016.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-California: Shaima Swileh, a Yemeni national, and Ali Hassan, a U.S. citizen, to spotlight the impact of the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., will also host the couple.

Rep. Grace Meng, D-New York: Jin Park of Flushing, Queens, the first Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient to be awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Park is to study at the University of Oxford in England in the fall but fears he will not be permitted to re-enter the country.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Florida: A 15-year-old student, Uma Menon of Winter Park, the winner of the congresswoman’s State of the Union essay contest.

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colorado: Elias, a DACA recipient and student in chemical and biological engineering, as well as biomedical engineering at Colorado State University. Elias emigrated from Mexico at a young age.

Rep. Donald Norcross, D-New Jersey: Robert Martinez Jr., who is the International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Norcross has introduced a bill to grant federal contractors back pay for income lost during the shutdown.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York: Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy. Archila made national headlines last year when she confronted then-Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, in a Capitol elevator and challenged him to vote against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Arizona: Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota: Linda Clark, who fled Liberia and found refuge in the U.S. two decades ago under Deferred Enforced Departure, but who faces deportation as soon as March because the Trump administration has shuttered the program.

Rep. Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire: Pappas invited transgender veteran Tavion Dignard in order to call attention to the transgender military service ban.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California: The House Speaker’s guest list includes active duty transgender members of the military, Chef José Andrés, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and DNC Chair Tom Perez. The Leader’s other State of the Union guests are President Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO, President Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and Mrs. Dorothy McAuliffe.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine: Joel Clement, a former Department of the Interior policy expert and whistleblower, who alleged the Trump administration retaliated against him for speaking out about the threat climate change poses to Native communities in Alaska after department higher-ups moved the biologist into the accounting department.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin: Aissa Olivarez, staff attorney for the Community Immigration Law Center in Madison, a nonprofit resource center which helps low-income immigrants with legal services.

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-California: Kenia Yaritza Arredondo Ramos, a mother, DACA recipient and nursing student at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio: Dave Green, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112, which represents General Motors workers at the Lordstown plant, one of five North American plants GM is closing.

Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Washington: Issaquah resident Jenell Payne Tamaela. Jenell was diagnosed with stage 3c colon cancer in Summer, 2016. She has since become an advocate for better access to health care for people with pre-existing conditions, and lower costs of prescription drugs and health care coverage. Jenell and Rep. Schrier are two of an estimated 300,000 people with pre-existing conditions in the 8th District.

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama: Tiphanie Carter, wife of Birmingham Police Sergeant Wytasha Carter, who was killed on duty last month.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan: Amanda Thomashow, a sexual assault survivor advocate. Thomashow, a former Michigan State University student, brought the first Title IX case against Larry Nassar at MSU in 2014, which led to an investigation and contributed to Nassar’s eventual firing from the university.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California: United States Air Force Staff Sergeant Logan Ireland, who served in Afghanistan and Qatar.

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Florida: Doug Lowe, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Federal Aviation Administration specialist at the Orlando International Airport.

Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona: Ellie Perez, a DACA recipient, and the first undocumented City of Phoenix employee, the first undocumented member of the Democratic National Committee, and a former campaign aide.

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Michigan: Jean Buller, former teacher at Walled Lake Middle School, who recently retired after 30 years in the school district, and 2018 Michigan Science Teacher of the Year.

Rep. Norma J. Torres, D-California: Joe Rodgers, a Federal Aviation Administration Engineer Technician at Ontario International Airport.

Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-New Mexico: Arlean Murillo, ambassador to the New Mexico Secretary of Education’s Family Cabinet and, as the wife of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, a volunteer with the Border Patrol Agent Family Network.

Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Massachusetts: Lawrence Police Officer Ivan Soto, worked tirelessly during the gas explosions in his community last year, responding to fires even when his own house went up in flames.

Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan: Haley Petrowski, a cyberbullying prevention advocate and Adrian College student.

Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Florida: Senior Chief Jeffery S. Graham, officer in charge of Coast Guard Station Ponce de Leon Inlet in New Smyrna Beach.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Virginia: Linda McCray, a constituent who works at the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center and was furloughed during the shutdown.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-New York: Commissioner Geraldine Hart, who previously led Long Island’s Federal Bureau of Investigations field office and gang task force.

#sotu #POTUS

4 notes · View notes

100prompts · 7 years

Text

1. Show the video footage of former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, being heckled by pro-Palestinian activists at U.C. Irvine. Ask students: How does this make you feel?

2. Throw a bagel to every person in the room. Ask: In what ways does this bagel represent and embody the Jewish experience and in what ways not? Consider in chevrutah.

3. Give every student $7. Challenge them to donate a dollar a day for one week. Come back a week later and discuss.

4. Read the Bereshit account of Jacob wrestling with the “angel”. Ask students: In what ways has Jewish history embodied or reflected this origin as “wrestlers”?

5. Read the morning prayer, “Elohai HaNeshama”. Ask students: What comes up for you when you read this prayer? What might it mean to say that the soul is “pure”?

6. Give everyone a copy of “Modeh Ani” and have folks recite it upon arising every morning for one week. Come back together and discuss.

7. Watch the Israeli band A-WA’s single “Habib Galbi”. Discuss.

8. Watch a quality version of Bob Marley’s “Exodus”. Ask students: To what extent is this a “Jewish” song – To what extent does it present the tropes and themes of the Jewish story – both historically and spiritually? To what extent not?

9. Study a map of the Land of Israel that includes both major Jewish and Arab population centers as well as clearly delineates the “Green Line”. Ask students if they have any questions.

10. Invite students into a private Facebook group entitled “Gratitude Reflections” and challenge each member of the group to post three “things” they’re grateful for each day.

11. Bring a group of students to a rally or protest. Have them create signs and posters based on values from their Jewish tradition. Following the rally, go get pizza and discuss.

12. Bring a group of Muslim students to meet a group of Jewish students. Have dinner and then have each group generate as many questions as they’d like to ask the other. Come back together and take turns going back and forth, answering as many of the questions as possible.

13. Watch the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, “Palestinian Chicken”. Ask your students to explain the last scene.

14. Invite Erika Davis (author of the “Black, Gay, and Jewish” blog) to visit a group of students.

15. Purchase every student a copy of Heschel’s “Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity”. Read any essay. Discuss.

16. Find an online description of the Chofetz Chaim’s stringent rules around gossip and Lashon Hara. Ask students what role gossip plays in their lives and if they can understand the rabbi’s stringencies?

17. Host a Tu B’Shvat seder. Download the Hazon “haggadah” for the occasion. Real wine is a must.

18. Pass around a lulav and an etrog. Discuss.

19. At the start or end of a semester, study the midrash of Nachshon ben Aminadav. Ask students in what ways that embodied the chutzpah of Nachshon over the past semester and in what ways they wish they had embodied his chutzpah.

20. Watch the short (30 min.) Israeli movie “Barriers”. Ask students to name ten different types of barriers represented in the movie. Discuss widely.

21. Read the entirety of the Shema. Ask students: How would you relate to the 2nd paragraph if you were a Cambodian sustenance farmer? How would you relate to it if you were “ancient man”? How do you (might you) relate to it as you yourself?

22. Borrow a handful of sets of tefillin and a bunch of tallitot and gather a bunch of students for whom these ritual items are not familiar. Have everyone take turns “wrapping and donning”. Discuss.

23. Gather ten students in an open space for the sunset. Recite the evening “Ma’ariv” prayer. Sit in silence.

24. Look at a collection of hanhagot from various Jewish writers. Have students compose their own hanhagot – based on the language and style of the historical ones.

25. Open up the claf of a mezuzah. Ask students to explain this ritual technology. Have students compose their own mezuzah scroll – give them pushpins to affix these original scrolls to their doorposts.

26. Gather a small group of really intellectually intense students. Purchase each of them a copy of Buber’s “The Way of Man”. Gather on several occasions to read a chapter from this small book.

27. Read the original “10 Commandments” and then read Archie Gottesman’s “New Ten Commandments for the Jewish People”. First discuss. Then have the students compose their own individual ten commandments. Discuss.

28. Cut up a whole lot of little slips of paper. On half of them write, “The entire world was created for me”. On the other half write, “I am nothing but dust and ashes”. Give one of each to 10 students. Ask them to pull out the former when they’re feeling glum and to pull our and read the latter when they’re feeling overly proud. Have them do that for a week. Gather and discuss.

29. On Erev Shabbat, have students go around and fill in the following blanks: This Shabbat I want to unplug from ________. This Shabbat I want to plug into ________.

30. Introduce the Kabbalistic practice of gerushin (wanderings). Take a handful of students and walk aimlessly around campus for an hour trying to get in touch with the exile of the Shekhinah. Discuss.

31. Give a tutorial on various online Israeli and Jewish news culture websites. Let students survey them on their own for a while. Present favorite articles.

32. Read the first chapter of Bereshit – slowly. Discuss as you read.

33. Study Rav Yosef’s statement in the Talmud (Ketubot 48a) that “There must be close bodily contact during sex…” Ask students why Rav Yosef insists on two people being naked? What’s up with nakedness?

34. Study the midrash’s story of Noah planting a vineyard with Satan. Prepare to answer questions about the Jewish Satan. Ask students: What’s this midrash trying to communicate to us about the complexity of getting drunk and being stoned?

35. Get a bunch of siddurim and have students flip through the section of Birkat Nehenin. Tell them they are on a “Brachot Scavenger Hunt”. Can they identify one blessing that is surprising? One that they have recited at some point in the past? One that they find beautiful? Etc.

36. Cut up the weekly parsha verse by verse. Place all the verses in a hat. Pass it around – everyone randomly selects a verse. Have students go a sit alone for 15 minutes reflecting on how the verse speaks to them and “where they’re at” in life. Come back together and share in chevrutah.

37. Study the very first mishnah of Mishnah Berachot.

38. Read A.B. Yehoshua’s critique of diaspora life published in Ha’aretz several years ago. Discuss.

39. Print copies of the summary of “the PEW poll”. Give students 15 minutes to peruse and discuss in small groups. Come back together. Discuss.

40. Give students 30 minutes to answer the question “Why be Jewish?” Answers must be fewer that 50 words. Do the same exercise but require answers to be 20 words or less. Do one more time – 5 words. Then 1 word.

41. Read Matisyahu’s Twitter post (along with accompanying photo) from 12/13/11. Discuss.

42. Gather a group of students. Ask them how we might understand and relate to the idea of angels. Chant “Shalom Aleichem” (as a niggun, without the words) for 15 minutes. Discuss.

43. Print out copies of the Rambam’s enumeration of the 613 commandments. Give students 15 minutes to explore the list. And give them a set of scavenger hunt questions to guide their exploration. A commandment that’s surprising. One they already were familiar with. One they’d like to find the time to perform. One that is morally troubling.

44. Watch the “Double Rainbow” Youtube classic. Pair this with a Heschel text on “wonder”. Discuss.

45. Invite a Jewish LGBT activist to visit with your students.

46. Invite a young Orthodox Jew to meet with your students for a session entitled, “What’s going on in the mind of a young Orthodox Jew?”

47. Sometime around Hannukah, read David Brooks’ piece, “The Hannukah Story,” in the NYTimes from 12/10/09. Discuss.

48. Look at the commandments prohibiting tattoos. Ask students: What right does the Torah have to tell you how to live your life?

49. Place a bacon cheeseburger in the center of a group of students. Discuss.

50. Play Omer Avital’s song, “New Middle East”. Ask students: What does this song mean?

51. Read Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “Jaweh and Allah Battle”. Read it again. Discuss.

52. Have students try and retell the Purim story.

53. Ask students about the personal significance (or lack thereof) of fasting on Yom Kippur.

54. Ask students to make sense of the fact that many Jews who eat cheeseburgers all year long abstain from bread during Pesach.

55. Have students consider Kaplan’s statement: “The ancient authorities are entitled to a vote, but not a veto”. Discuss.

56. Consider the mitzvah of Kibud av v’em / Honor your father and mother. Break students into chevrutot to talk about the depth and possible limitations of this commandment. Have students write letters to their folks.

57. Have students look at the calendar of Jewish months and holidays. Answer questions.

58. Have students read the liturgical text for Amelioration of Bad Dreams. Ask students: What power (of lack thereof) might dreams have in your life? Get into chevrutot and share a dream that has “stuck with you”. Why?

59. Read the Rambam’s “13 Principles of Faith”. Discuss.

60. Bring a Sefer Torah into a room with a group of students. Allow them to hold it and sit with it. Kiss it. Open it up and roll it from start the finish – pointing out unique “typographic” and narrative moments in the text. Answer questions.

61. Bring in falafel – with all the “salatim” fixings. Have a student facilitate a “Felafel Tutorial” demonstrating how to properly stuff a pita.

62. Read the Torah’s narrative about Moses not being permitted to enter the Land of Israel. Ask them to reflect on a time in which they too were not able to make it to a long desired “destination”.

63. Invite a Russian Jewish immigrant to tell his/her story.

64. Ask students if the institution of Bar/Bat Mitzvah should be nixed – or significantly altered. Should it be postponed until the age of 21?

65. Ask students: What does the title “Birthright” mean? Do you have a “Birthright” to the Land of Israel? Discuss.

66. Have students attend Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat davening as “Religious Ethnographers”. Over Shabbat dinner, discuss findings.

67. Watch “Kourtney and Kim Take New York” episode, “True Colors” in which Scott Disick has a mini Jewish awakening. Ask students: What’s going on for Scott? Discuss.

68. Watch Alicia Keys’ music video, “No One”. Ask students: What is this song about? About a relationship between two people? Or about a relationship between a person and God? What evidence in the music video might suggest the latter? Bring in some Kabbalistic poetry. Ask students: What’s the relationship between spirituality and eroticism?

69. Consider several cases of medieval Jewish martyrdom. Ask students: Would you choose death rather than “forsake” your Jewish identity?

70. Find an interesting analysis of “Jewish American Princess”. Have students read it together. Ask students how they feel about this terminology and its function.

71. Have students consider the injunction in Vayikra, “Reprove your neighbor”. Bring in some commentary from interesting sources. Break students into chevrutot and have them think about whom in their lives deserves careful reproach of this sort?

72. Take students to a mikvah. Allow them to immerse (privately) if desired. Discuss.

73. Read the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Discuss.

74. Read George Washington’s “Letter to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport”. Ask students: Do they identify primarily as Jewish Americans or American Jews?

75. Ask students to talk about their “Hebrew Names” – their origins, etc. Lead a discussion about any subject, where students must refer to one another by using their Hebrew names.

76. Have students tell each other their “Jewish stories” by describing a 1) person, 2) experience, and 3) Jewish idea that have had major impacts on their lives.

77. Play a good version of the “Hora” and have students lift each other one by one up in chairs. Discuss.

78. Using their cellphones, have students take portraits of one another with different facial expressions for a variety of Jewish “things” – including, Yom Kippur, Israel, the Shoah, Bnei Mitzvah, etc. Post pictures on Facebook.

79. Have students explore Ritualwell.org. Break students up into groups of 4 and have them design new rituals for “Upon a Hard Break Up”, “Upon Acceptance into College”, and “Upon Leaving Your First Year Dorm room”.

80. Watch an interview with Rabbi Menachem Froman z”l. Ask students: What does Rav Froman mean when he says he lives in “the state of God”?

81. Ask students: Are Jews white?

82. Watch a collection of recent videos showing police abuse of people of color. Ask students: Considering the injunction in Devarim, “You must not remain indifferent”, what actions have they considered taking to address the injustices that continue to surround race in America?

83. Watch the video of two Israeli police officers beating a Jewish Israeli of Ethiopian decent. Watch videos of the ensuing Ethiopian protests in Tel Aviv. Discuss.

84. Have students turn to one another in chevrutot. Ask them to discuss their relationship with and experience of God.

85. Have students write a list of “10 Contemporary Plagues” that impact our global society. Have them read this list at their family seders.

86. Have students read Rebbe Nachman’s short tale, “The Turkey Prince”. Discuss.

87. Ask students if they’ve received particular “messaging” from parents or grandparents about the need to marry a Jew. Discuss.

88. In a group of students, read selections from Jean Amery’s essay, “On the Necessity and Impossibility of Being a Jew”. Discuss.

89. Ask students: Is it cool to be Jewish? Discuss.

90. Have students interview their oldest living relative about what being Jewish “means to them”. Each student will present.

91. Have students perform a “Welcoming Assessment” for a selection of campus Jewish organizations and institutions. Students present findings.

92. Read “The Epistle of the Baal Shem Tov” with a group of students. Discuss.

93. Instruct students to light a menorah (during Hannukah) in a public space in order to “publicize the miracle”. Come back together and process the experience.

94. Watch the Israeli movie, “Sallah Shabati”. Discuss.

95. Watch “Fiddler on the Roof”. Discuss.

96. Consider how the Torah describes all generations of Jews as having stood at Sinai at the giving of the Torah. Read Merle Feld’s poem, “We all Stood Together”. Ask students to envision what they would have been doing, how they would have been feeling, where they would have been standing – at Sinai.

97. Teach students how to give a “Dvar Torah”. Then give them all various short selections from Torah. They have 10 minutes to develop “Divrei Torah”. Present.

98. Facilitate a “Lechayim Tutorial”.

99. Have students compose their “Jewish Soul Resumes”. Present.

100. Teach students the lyrics of “Hatikva”. Sing together as a group. Discuss.

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