Fall Course - Beginning on the first Tuesday in November, 2009

MySpace/YourSpace: Is My Life any of your Business?
This course addresses modern-day issues that teens often think about: Suicide and self-harm, drugs and alcohol, extreme sports and avoiding danger, terrorism, the value of money and life, and one’s obligation to strangers.

 Detailed Course Overview

JLI for Teens 2009

Lesson One, Heroes and Hoodlums begins with a dramatic real-life case caught on video, where a man who was struck by a hit-and-run driver was left to die on a city street in Hartford, Connecticut. This class explores Judaism's unique perspective on morality and how the Torah requires one to do more than just not harm others. It is part and parcel of our mission as Jews to come to the aid of our fellowman, to serve as G-d's partner in perfecting the world.

Lesson Two, Collateral Damage explores the value of life versus the value of material possessions. We examine a news story from Katrina where a man sues his neighbor for stealing his motorboat and rescuing over 100 people trapped in their homes. We also talk about the Ford Pinto scandal where engineers decided not to repair a problem that caused the car's gas tank to explode on impact. According to the bean-counters at Ford, it would cost them less to pay for the damages to victims of the accidents than to repair the problem itself.

Lesson Three, Living on the Edge takes us to a very powerful discussion about suicide and self-harm. Do I not have the right to take my own life? Who, if not me, is the owner of my body? The government? My HMO? We also talk about risking one's life by taking drugs or engaging in dangerous and extreme sports. We conclude with a discussion about selling bodily organs for transplantation.

Lesson Four, Last Man Standing, examines the conflict between the obligation to preserve the life of our fellow man, and the obligation to preserve one's own life. We also explore the question whether one is required to risk one's own life to save another. At the end of the lesson we discuss terrorism and hostage-taking – does Judaism recommend that we negotiate with terrorists?

Lesson Five, Abortion on Demand? *addresses one of the most contentious moral issues in the world today: abortion. Does a woman have the right to end her pregnancy if she so wishes? Or, does the unborn baby have a "right to life"? We look at a news story about a woman expecting triplets who underwent a "reduction" to avoid damaging her career. We also discuss abortions performed in China and India on female fetuses because parents prefer a male child. The lesson contrasts two extreme positions on abortion and then presents Judaism's perspective on the sanctity of an unborn life. Lesson Six, Life Worth Living looks at the value of a life that is unproductive. Does Judaism believe in a right to die? We examine a case where a doctor allegedly administered a fatal dose to four terminal patients to relieve their "suffering". Does Jewish law promote the concept of mercy-killing? We conclude our lesson and the course talking about the human being's role in bettering the world, how he or she is allowed – or even required – to "play G-d.