Draw a Jew
Draw a Jew Before explaining anything to the TJJers, hand out paper and pens or markers (markers make the pictures a little more colorful). Have everyone draw on their piece of paper a picture of a Jew. Tell them you want as much detail as possible in the picture.
Discussion As soon as everyone is done with their drawing, you will ask each person what they drew. Here are some questions you should ask after everyone has explained their drawing; the reason why you do not ask them while they are presenting is because you don’t want to influence their presentation: 1. Your pictures obviously take into account the external appearances of what a Jew looks like. Can you depict externally internal feelings or beliefs? 2. When you think of a Jewish person do you think of what you drew? If I would have said draw a religious Jew or a non-religious Jew would your picture be different? Can externals depict that difference? 3. Did you draw using stereotypes of what Jews are? Why do you think these stereotypes exist? 4. Do you associate with the person you drew? Does the picture reflect who you are or someone you know? Why did you not draw yourself; you are a Jew?
Types of Jews Give out the pictures of different types of Jews to the teens. Some are famous- others are not. Ask the teens to present the Jew that they picked- they should show the picture to the group and suggest what they think this person is about. They should try to answer the question: What type of Jew is this Jew? What external clues make you say that? Obviously they are guessing but challenge them to explain their views and why they think what they think. Allow the group to challenge each other- try to tease out stereotypes. The main message should be that whilst you can assume certain things from the external- we cannot really know what type of Jew each person is. The inside counts the most. Ultimately- this is a discussion on how you define “Jewishness”.
Discussion As soon as everyone is done with their drawing, you will ask each person what they drew. Here are some questions you should ask after everyone has explained their drawing; the reason why you do not ask them while they are presenting is because you don’t want to influence their presentation: 1. Your pictures obviously take into account the external appearances of what a Jew looks like. Can you depict externally internal feelings or beliefs? 2. When you think of a Jewish person do you think of what you drew? If I would have said draw a religious Jew or a non-religious Jew would your picture be different? Can externals depict that difference? 3. Did you draw using stereotypes of what Jews are? Why do you think these stereotypes exist? 4. Do you associate with the person you drew? Does the picture reflect who you are or someone you know? Why did you not draw yourself; you are a Jew?
Types of Jews Give out the pictures of different types of Jews to the teens. Some are famous- others are not. Ask the teens to present the Jew that they picked- they should show the picture to the group and suggest what they think this person is about. They should try to answer the question: What type of Jew is this Jew? What external clues make you say that? Obviously they are guessing but challenge them to explain their views and why they think what they think. Allow the group to challenge each other- try to tease out stereotypes. The main message should be that whilst you can assume certain things from the external- we cannot really know what type of Jew each person is. The inside counts the most. Ultimately- this is a discussion on how you define “Jewishness”.
