The Rabbi Sacks Torah v'Chochmah (TvC) Curriculum is built upon the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework, which calls for articulating the Big Ideas/Key Concepts and Essential Questions that students will explore through this curriculum. For teachers who join the TvC cohort, the yearlong training experience will provide the support and guidance to transform the Big Ideas and content goals described in this Teacher's Guide into assessments and learning activities that will help students gain deeper understanding of timeless ideas and ideals.

In particular, this first Unit from the Rabbi Sacks Machshevet Yisrael Course will explore the concept of "Emunah" through an analysis of sources from the Torah and Rishonim as well as Rabbi Sacks and other modern scholars. One of the central issues that will be explored here is defining what "emunah" actually means - for Rambam and others, it requires a specific cognitive belief that God exists. Rabbi Sacks, on the other hand, defined emunah much differently and focused on emunah as a form of trust or faithfulness in response to the experiences of uncertainty and failure that are central to the human condition.

This unit will focus on the following Key Concepts and Essential Questions, and include Affective takeaways and reflections for students for each source.



Here's what students will take away from this section:

• The term emunah - "faith" - in the Torah is not about "belief," but instead connotes an attitude of commitment and fidelity, even in the face of uncertainty or hardship.
  

Key questions that will be explored throughout this section:

1. What does the word “faith”/emunah mean?
2. What does it mean for a person to have faith?
3. How does faith influence a person’s experience, actions, commitments in the world?