(15-20 minutes)

1. The teacher will convene the class/group and review the Jewish Time Jump: New York game. In this discussion it is critical that students understand the perspectives of the different historical characters.
2. Begin by asking students to list all of the characters they can remember from the game, including: workers (both union members and those who did not join unions), factory owners, reporters and newspaper editors, allies to workers such as members of the Women’s Trade Union League, and shtarkers (tough guys hired by owners to beat and intimidate strikers).
1. Ask: Who were the different people or characters we have read about or encountered in the game?
2. What did this character or group want, and how did they try to achieve their goals?
3. These can be listed or displayed visually (on whiteboard, blackboard, projector, or large paper) so students can see them clearly. All of these people relate to labor, so there is no need to shift out of the labor frame (Jewish Time Jump: New York has many frames: women’s history, labor history, immigrant history, Jewish history).
4. If you have completed Module 2, you may want to bring out the chart you made of “Working Conditions” and “Reasons Workers Stayed” for reference during this activity.
5. After you have developed a close-to-comprehensive list, ask:
1. Which characters do you relate to the most, and why?

(45 minutes)

1. Prior to the start of class, display the four Jewish texts on the walls of the classroom.
2. At this point, if you have not done traditional Jewish text study before, you may want to provide a brief introduction to the sources and the tradition of text study in Judaism. Feel free to use the information provided in the introductory essay to this module.
3. Have students walk through the text display, giving them time to read through each text.
4. Next, assign students to four groups—one group for each text (you may have multiple small groups working on the same text if you have a large number of students). You do not need to use all of the texts, but it is good to use at least two so you can compare them to one another.
5. In their small groups, have students read the texts and talk through the accompanying discussion questions. The teacher should float from group to group, ensuring that students understand the nuances of each text.
   1. Text 3, Mishnah, Bava Metzia 7:1 might be particularly challenging for some students, and they may need your help parsing the text. The central issue in this text is defining minhag hamakom or “the custom of the land.” In other words, students must identify what the custom was in factories at that time in order to decide if and how Jewish factory owners were following Jewish law. On the one hand, almost all factories had labor practices that would be considered egregious in the US today. On the other hand, if that was the custom—the way business was conducted at that time—this text could be interpreted as supporting factory owners’ continuation of negative labor practices.
6. Once students finish discussing the questions and have a good understanding of their text, they should prepare a short presentation for their peers. During the presentations, it might be helpful to display the group’s text in a way that everyone can see it. Each presentation should introduce the ideas in the text to the other groups and show their understanding of the text in relation to the issues at hand. Ask:
   1. Does this text seem to favor the perspective of the worker or the factory owner, or is it neutral? What makes you say that?
7. At the end of each presentation, ask if any of the other groups have a different interpretation of the text or another perspective on how it could be understood.

Alternative Methods for Traditional Text Study Activities

Method 1: Large Group

If you have a small class, or if traditional text study is new for your group, you may want to read at least one of the texts and discuss the questions together as a large group. Be sure to give as many different students as possible an opportunity to share their ideas. Encourage students to offer different perspectives by asking “Does anyone see/understand this text differently?” or “Does anyone think this text is saying something different?”

Method 2: Ask, Uncover, Explain

If your class has done traditional text study before, or if you are looking for a more interactive activity, begin the same way as the method above.

After students have had a chance to see and read each text once, give each student (or pair of students) three different color markers, sticky notes, or pieces of paper (one each for “ask,” “uncover,” and “explain.”

1. At this point, decide whether students will look at one text or respond to all four.
2. For each text, students should post one response for each of the prompts, as follows:
   1. Identify: Who is responsible in this text? What are their responsibilities?
   2. Uncover: What do you think the author(s) wanted Jews to learn from this text?
   3. Explain: Does this text seem to favor the perspective of the worker or the factory owner, or is it neutral? What makes you say that?
3. When students have commented, come together as a large group and discuss the final question of each text. Ask: Does this text seem to favor the perspective of the worker or the factory owner, or is it neutral? What makes you say that?

(30 minutes–1 hour, depending on how much time you give students to work on their projects.)

1. There are two options for closing activities. Educators may choose to assign one activity or allow students to decide which they would like to do. Educators may also choose whether to have students work individually or in groups.
1. Create Your Own Business: This can be done either individually or in small groups. Students will design their own modern-day business model based on the guidelines provided in the Jewish texts they have studied. Students may choose to write out a plan, create a visual art piece or poster, or make a video of a “pitch” explaining their ideas.
2. Making a Case: Students will imagine that they are legally advising a union or a factory owner. Using the texts studied in this lesson, a student will prepare a case based on Jewish law that advocates for their client’s goals/interests.
2. Provide activity handouts, explain the activity to students, and answer any questions they have.
3. Allow students at least 20 minutes to work on their piece.
4. Educators should decide whether to have students present their work to the class, to one another in small groups, in pairs, or not at all.