Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. Womack, and I am really excited to be working with you today.

I've just got one of those feelings that we are going to do a really great job.

So let's get started, shall we? Today's lesson is called Jerusalem: the site of the Jewish temple, and it comes from the unit pilgrimage: why might some people visit Jerusalem, Karbala, or Makkah? By the end of the lesson, you will be able to explain how Jerusalem is a sacred place for Jews.

So here, other key words that we will be using today.

We're going to try practicing them together.

I'm going to say one, and then you are going to have a go too.

So let's start with the first one, Western Wall.

Western Wall: that's the last remaining wall of Herod's temple in Jerusalem.

Next we've got temple.

Temple: that's a building for religious worship, such as the temple in Jerusalem.

Next we've got tefillin.

Tefillin: tefillin is black leather boxes containing Torah verses.

And finally, bar mitzvah.

Bar mitzvah: this is a coming of age ceremony for Jewish boys.

Girls may have a bat mitzvah.

Keep your eyes peeled because we will be continually referring back to these keywords throughout the lesson today.

Here is the lesson outline.

In the first part of the lesson, we're going to be looking at: why is Jerusalem important to different faiths? And in the second part, we're going to look at: why do Jews visit the Western Wall? We're going to start with: why is Jerusalem important to different faiths? Here is Laura.

Laura explains how we use social science in religious education.

Laura says, "Social scientists are interested in how people live.

They consider how context such as where they live or when they lived affects this.

We can better understand people's worldviews by looking at photographs or analyzing data.

We can survey or interview people to find out more about their worldview." In this lesson, we will be using photographs and interviews to help us understand why some Jews go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Here is a photograph of the city of Jerusalem.

What can you see? And what might this tell us? You're going to want to pause the video now whilst you take a moment to inspect this image more closely.

Well, I wonder what you spotted.

This photograph shows Jerusalem is hilly, it's very hot and dry, there is a big golden dome, and there's a big wall around the city.

I wonder if you had any other ideas too.

Here's Michael.

Michael has a Jewish worldview and he lives in Manchester.

He's planning to visit Jerusalem with his family.

Michael says, "I can't wait to see Jerusalem.

It is a holy city for Jews, and I've always wanted to visit.

Every day, Jews throughout the world pray towards Jerusalem." Here's Nadia.

Nadia has a Muslim worldview and she is also planning to visit Jerusalem.

Nadia says, "Jerusalem is a sacred place for Muslims too.

We go there to remember the story of Prophet Mohammad's Night Journey when he went to heaven." Let's take a moment to check our understanding with a true or false question.

Jerusalem is only a place of pilgrimage for Jews.

You're going to want to pause the video now while you think, is the answer true or false, and why? The answer is false.

Jerusalem is a holy place for lots of different faiths, including Jews and Muslims. Well done if you got the answer right.

There are many holy or sacred places in Jerusalem for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. People with different worldviews come from all over the world on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

This photo shows how close together some of the holy sites really are.

You can see here a Muslim site of pilgrimage.

Muslims visit the Dome of the Rock, and this is where they believe Prophet Muhammad went up to heaven.

And you can see here a Jewish holy site.

Jews visit the Western Wall to see the remains of the Holy Temple.

Jews face towards Jerusalem when they pray.

So let's quickly check our understanding again.

You need to complete the two sentences: Muslims visit and Jews visit.

You're going to want to pause the video now once you complete this task.

I look forward to seeing what you put.

Well done for completing that task.

Hopefully you put something like this.

Muslims visit the Dome of the Rock and Jews visit the Western Wall.

Well done for completing that quick question.

It's time for our first main task.

Your job is to write two short paragraphs about Jerusalem, explaining why it is a place of pilgrimage for both Jews and Muslims. And you can use the sentence starters to help you.

You're going to want to pause the video now once you complete this task, and I look forward to seeing what you put.

I wonder what you said.

You might have said something like this.

Jews want to visit Jerusalem because it is a holy city for them.

Jews around the world pray in the direction of Jerusalem.

Jewish people visit the Western Wall to pray and remember the Holy Temple.

You might also have said, Muslims want to visit Jerusalem because it is a sacred place for them too.

Muslims visit the Dome of the Rock to remember the story of the Night Journey, when Prophet Muhammad went up to heaven.

Really well done for putting lots of effort in to complete that task.

Well, that completes the first part of our lesson on why is Jerusalem important to different faiths.

We are now going to look at: why did Jews visit the Western Wall? Here is a photograph of the Western Wall.

What can you see? And what might this tell us? You're going to want to pause the video now whilst you inspect this image more closely.

The Western Wall is one of the last remaining walls of the ancient temple in Jerusalem.

The Western Wall and the plaza in front of it are like a huge synagogue.

It is the holiest site in Judaism.

Here's Michael again.

Michael says, "I believe that God has never left the sight of the temple in Jerusalem, and that is why it is such a holy place." He says, "I am looking forward to seeing it for myself when I go there with my dad.

The Western Wall is really tall.

Everyone faces the wall to say their prayers.

It is open 24 hours a day so people can come and pray whenever they want to." And you can see there on the slide an image of the Western Wall at night, and there's still lots of people visiting it.

So let's take a moment to check our understanding with a true or false question.

True or false? Jews only visit the Western Wall in the day.

You're going to want to pause the video here whilst you consider which is the right answer.

So the answer is false.

And the reason why is that Jews can visit the Western Wall to say prayers whenever they want.

Well done for completing that quick question.

Here's another image of the wall.

I wonder what you can see? And why are these people visiting here? What do you think is happening? You're going to want to pause the video now whilst you inspect the image more deeply and consider these questions.

Well, Jews might write their prayers on slips of paper and put them into the cracks in the wall, and many people believe that God will receive them quickly because it is such a holy place.

And you can just make out some of those bits of paper in the cracks in this image.

Here's an image of some boys praying at the Western Wall.

Michael says, "These boys are praying at the Western Wall.

It looks like they have put some praises in the cracks of the wall.

I might do that when I go to Jerusalem." So let's take a moment to check our understanding.

What might people do at the Western Wall? There are two correct answers.

Will you choose: a, they pray as close to the wall as they can; b, they have a picnic; or c, they write prayers on slips of paper? You're going to want to pause the video now whilst you think, which of these are the right answers? The right answers are: a, they pray as close to the wall as they can; and c, they write prayers on slips of paper.

Well done if you got that one right.

Let's try looking at another image.

What can you see here? And what do you think is happening? What are Michael and his dad wearing? You're going to want to pause the video now to give you a chance to inspect the image a little more deeply.

I look forward to hearing what it is that you spot.

Michael says, "My dad is helping me to wear tefillin.

Tefillin are small leather boxes that we put onto our heads and around our arms. The boxes contain words from our holy book, the Torah." Michael continues saying, "My dad is wearing his prayer shawl, and we are both wearing tefillin.

We are dressed very smartly because I am going to celebrate my bar mitzvah at the Western Wall." Michael says, "After my bar mitzvah, I will be old enough to be responsible for keeping my own religion.

And I will do this by continuing to read the Torah and keeping its words close to me by wearing tefillin." Michael says, "I chose to have my bar mitzvah here as it is the holiest place in Judaism.

I was so excited to complete this important stage of my life at the Western Wall.

My dad's dream was for one of his children to have their bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah at this holy place.

He wants his family to continue these Jewish traditions, so he was happy too!" So let's check our understanding with a quick true or false question.

The Western Wall is only a place for praying.

True or false? So you're gonna wanna pause the video now whilst you think which the answer is true or false and why.

The answer is false.

The Western Wall is like a big synagogue.

Jewish boys and girls might choose to have their bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah there.

Well done if you got that answer right.

Okay, it is time for another main task now.

This is gonna come in two parts.

We're gonna start with this part where you need to complete the table.

Your job is to read the statements and decide if they are true or if they are false.

You're going to want to pause the the video now whilst you complete this first section of the task.

Okay, the next part of the task is this.

You need to use the information from the table and the slides to explain why Jews might visit the Western Wall.

And you can use the sentence starters to help you.

Jews might visit the Western Wall because.

When they get there, they might.

And some boys and girls might.

Again, you're going to want to pause video now once you complete this second part of the task.

Well, let's check our understanding and let's check what you put in that task.

For the table, you should have something like this.

The Western Wall is one of the last remaining walls of the ancient Jewish temple.

Well, that was true.

The Western Wall is not the only holy site in Jerusalem.

That's also true.

Jews might visit the Western Wall to have bat and bar mitzvah ceremonies.

That's true.

And Jews write prayers on pieces of paper and make a fire with them.

Well, that's false because prayers are placed in the cracks of the wall.

And for the second part, you might have said something like this.

Jews might visit the Western Wall because it is the last remaining wall of the Jewish temple.

It is the holy place for all Jews around the world.

When they get there, they might write prayers on slips of paper to put in the cracks of the wall.

They believe that God will hear their prayers more quickly in this holy place.

And finally, some girls and boys might choose to have their bat mitzvah or bar mitzvah at the Western Wall because they want to continue Jewish traditions.

Really well done for putting in lots of effort to complete that task.

Well, that brings us to the end of our lesson.

So let's take a moment to summarize our learning.

We've learned that Jerusalem is a place of pilgrimage for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We've learned that the Western Wall is the only remaining part of the temple at Jerusalem and is the holiest place for Jews.

We found out that Jewish people pray at the Western Wall.

And finally, that some Jews have special ceremonies like their bat or bar mitzvah at the Western Wall.

Well, it's been absolutely brilliant working alongside you to learn more about pilgrimage today.

You've done a fantastic job and you've lots and lots of effort in.

I look forward to working with you again soon, but it's bye for now.