Migration: Judaism

Thousands of years ago, stories were told from father to son and many years later people wrote these stories down in holy books such as the Bible, Torah and Qur’an. Look at this extract written many years ago. Talk about... what script was used why beautiful designs were used whether the yellow colour is made of gold.

Paintings and pictures tell stories. What story does this picture tell? Talk about... where it is the landscape what is happening who the baby is whether the baby looks happy.

Read the story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt This story is told in the Bible, Torah and Qur’an. Long ago, the Egyptians made the Israelites into slaves. As the numbers of slaves increased, Pharaoh, who ruled Egypt, felt threatened because he thought that they could take over his country. He ordered all the slaves’ male babies to be killed at birth so that they would not grow up to fight against him. Families tried to save their babies. Moses’ mother put him into a basket and hid him at the riverside.

The basket floated down the river. Pharaoh’s daughter was washing in the river. She saw the baby and took him back to live with her as though he were her son. Moses was brought up as a prince. Moses grew up but never forgot where he came from. One day, God sent Moses to ask Pharaoh to set the slaves free. Pharaoh would not set them free because he needed them to make his beautiful buildings. God was very angry and sent plagues to the Egyptians. Before each one, Moses asked Pharaoh again to set the slaves free but he refused, so God sent ten plagues to Egypt.

Activity 1 Matching Sentences (part 1) The teacher prints off the sentences and cuts them as indicated (see CD). Each pupil/student takes one part of a cut up sentence. They read it and try to find the rest of the sentence by asking other people what their part of the sentence says. Sentences could be stuck on the wall to tell the main points of the story. Pupils/students work together to correctly sequence the story. Pharaoh's daughter saved Moses and... brought him up as a prince.

The story of Moses is told in the Bible, Torah and Qur’an. The Egyptians made the Israelites into slaves. As numbers of Israelites increased, Pharaoh ordered all their male babies to be killed. Moses was a slave’s baby; to save him, he was put into a basket and floated down the river. Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses and brought him up as a prince. When Moses grew up, God told him to ask Pharaoh to set the slaves free. Pharaoh did not listen to Moses, so God sent ten plagues to Egypt. Continue the story … Now check the answers … (part 1)

1. Rivers turned to blood 2. Frogs covered the land 3. Bugs covered the land 4. Animals ran wild 5. Domestic animals died 6. People and animals got boils 7. There were hail storms and thunder 8. Locusts ate all plants 9. There was darkness for three days 10. First-born sons of Egyptians died Ten Plagues Continue the story …

The last plague was the worst. Moses marked the doorposts of the Israelites with lamb’s blood to protect their families from the plague. The first born son of each Egyptian family died, including Pharaoh's son. He was so devastated that he told Moses to take the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses told the Israelites to get ready to leave Egypt as soon as possible. They had to take food with them but there was no time to let their bread rise, so they had to leave with the bread dough as it was: unleavened.

Pharaoh changed his mind and wanted the slaves to come back. He sent 500 horsemen to catch up with the slaves to bring them back. When Pharaoh’s horsemen caught up, the slaves had reached the Red Sea. Moses prayed to God for help. Moses lifted up his rod and the waters of the Red Sea parted. The Israelites walked across the dry sea bed to safety. Then Moses held up his rod again and the Red Sea covered the sea bed again. The sea covered Pharaoh’s horsemen and they all drowned. Moses and the Israelites were saved.

The Israelites travelled for many days in search of a new home. They became very hungry and thirsty and blamed Moses for taking them away from Egypt. God told Moses that he would provide food and drink for the Israelites. The next day, the people found manna to eat and water to drink. After three months of travelling, they came to the foot of Mount Sinai. God asked Moses to climb to the top of the mountain to speak to him. The journey was difficult so the Israelites stayed at the bottom. God gave Moses ten commandments, or rules, for the people to live by. Moses wrote them on stone tablets.

Moses stayed so long on the mountain that the people became angry. They were very tired of waiting and made a new god for themselves: a golden calf.

When Moses came down from the mountain and saw the people worshipping a golden calf he was very angry with them. He broke the stone tablets on which the ten commandments were written and destroyed the golden calf. But God forgave the people and told Moses to cut the ten commandments into new stone tablets. Moses promised God that the people would live by the commandments.

Activity 2 Matching Sentences (part 2) The teacher prints off the sentences and cuts them as indicated (see CD). Each pupil/student takes one part of a cut up sentence. The person reads it and tries to find the rest of the sentence by asking other people what their part of the sentence says. Sentences could be stuck on the wall to tell the main points of the story. Pupils/students work together to correctly sequence the story. The people left so quickly that their... bread had no time to rise.

After the tenth plague, Pharaoh told Moses to take the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses told the people to leave quickly. The people left so quickly that their bread had no time to rise. Pharaoh changed his mind and sent 500 horsemen to bring the slaves back. Moses parted the sea and the Israelites walked across it safely but the horsemen drowned. At the top of Mount Sinai God gave Moses ten commandments for the people to live by. Moses led the Israelite slaves to freedom in another country. Now check your answers (part 2)

Activity 3 Create mind maps for discussion The teacher divides the class into groups. Each group is given a flip chart page and a marker. Pupils/students discuss question 1 or 2. Each group picks a scribe to write down the group’s ideas (as below). The pages are displayed on walls and pupils/students have time to read them. Each group picks a speaker to feedback the group’s ideas.

Question 1. What do you think ‘slavery’ meant to the Israelites? slavery working all day and night freedom able to spend time with your family Question 2. What do you think ‘freedom’ meant to the Israelites? Possible extension: Talk about other slavery/freedom stories throughout history.

Activity 4 Freedom and slavery today The teacher divides the class into groups. Each group looks at some recent newspapers. Pupils/students scan the newspapers to answer the questions below. Can you find a story... about people being treated as slaves? where people are forced to move away? about people being freed? In your groups, discuss and summarise one of the stories that you have found. Write down some suggestions as to how people could offer help to the person/people in the story. What have you learnt about yourself from this story?

Activity 5 Role play Pupils imagine that they have been forced to migrate to another country. Think about... why you have to leave your country where you come from what languages you speak whether you are alone or with your family whether anyone can help you. Work in small groups. Think about the characters that you need and make up a short play to illustrate this scenario. Create an ending, happy or sad. Prepare your role play and perform it to the rest of the class or to another group in the class.

The images, where stated, are copyrighted and cannot be used for other purposes. The Chester Beatty Library The Ulster Museum Flickr Images