Writing a D’var Torah

Model: read a verse, ask a question, share a personal connection, offer a lesson.

Children wonder and discover; you facilitate more than you lecture.

• What does my Torah portion mean to me?
• How do I find my own message in an ancient text?
• What do I want to teach my community?

A d’var Torah is a personal teaching drawn from the text — the moment a B’nei Mitzvah student becomes a Jewish teacher. This unit gives a simple framework: text → question → insight → message.

• D’var Torah — words of Torah
• Drash — interpretation

“What if I disagree with my portion?”

Wonderful — wrestling with the text is exactly what a d’var Torah can do. Your honest voice matters.

• Children learn to interpret a Torah text and form their own insight.
• Children draft a short d’var Torah in their own voice.

Honor every child’s interpretation; there’s no single ‘right’ message. Support varied expression (spoken, written, visual).

Folktale. Bruriah Outwits the Scholars (Talmudic) — a brilliant woman whose interpretation wins the day.

Changemaker. Nechama Leibowitz — a beloved teacher who taught the world to read Torah closely.

Take a position in your d’var Torah — then voice the strongest objection to it.

“Your child is learning to write a d’var Torah. Try at home: ask what message they’d want to teach the community.”