Between Him and Her: A Ketubot Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is based on a curriculum called דברים שבינו לבינה, created by

.אסתר בת-אם ויוספה משולם

This curriculum is designed for secular schools in Israel and is taught to high school students who are preparing for the בגרות exams. You can find the full curriculum here, and the sheet for this specific lesson is here.

Each of these curricular units contains six components:

1. A summary of the main idea of sugya

2. A description of how the sugya fits in to the curriculum as a whole

3. A full summary of the sugya

4. A list of concepts and personalities that are mentioned in this section, which the students are expected to learn about

5. Additional suggestions for enrichment or digital integration

6. Links to the material (Mishnah / Gemara) itself, with Steinsaltz’s explanations and a list of discussion questions

Essential Questions:

1. How does the Talmud conceive of the role of women in a marriage?

2. How might we, as careful readers of the Talmud, uncover clues to understand what today’s halakhic marriage looks like?

3. To what extent is a woman’s role in marriage economically determined, both in the Talmud and today?

4. How might you divide up the household labor in a committed relationship?

Learning Outcomes:

1. Learners will understand how the Talmud (at least in this sugya) constructs the role of women in a marriage.

2. Learners will think critically about how this ancient text might provide relevant ideas for constructing a marriage in the 21st century.

3. Learners will articulate the role of economics in determining and altering a woman’s role in marriage.

4. Learners will imagine how they might create roles for different partners in a committed relationship.

Guiding Assumptions:

1. The teacher aspires to guide the students, helping them to build independent learning skills, rather than teach frontally and provide them with all the information at the start.

2. There is a value in students working collaboratively and discovering what it means to be and to have a good חברותא.

3. Students can contribute to the world of Torah even as they continue to learn and develop their skills and knowledge.

4. Students are building a digital portfolio that they can refer back to over the course of years of learning.

Step 1: Students study the Mishnah in Hevruta (45 minutes, but adjustable)

Here is a sheet to guide student learning of the Mishnah. This sheet is designed to scaffold student learning of the Mishnah in hevruta. Students will have a 45 minute period to learn the Mishnah in pairs, followed by a 45 minute class period to discuss what they have learned.

Depending on the skill level of your students, you may choose to add additional materials to help them understand the Mishnah. For example, you might include Steinsaltz’s commentary in Hebrew, or the English translation, or provide more definitions of words and concepts before the students work independently on the material. You may also choose to provide more or less independent learning time, depending on the students and their schedule.

All of these resources are available on Sefaria, so the work may be done in books or on screens, at the discretion of the teacher.

Step 2: Class Discussion of the Mishnah (45 minutes, but adjustable)

This discussion has two primary goals. The first is to ensure that students understand the content and structure of the Mishnah. Here is the chart that the teacher and students might create together to describe and map out the Mishnah, which will help the teacher plan out the class discussion. Depending on the skill level of your students, they may first do this work independently and then gather as a class to compare and discuss, or you may choose to create this chart together as an in-class exercise.

The second goal is to generate as many questions as possible. These may be textual questions, or more conceptual inquiries. For example, students might ask about the missing information from the ״טעם״ category, or they might ask why these specific labors are mentioned, or they might ask what happens when a wife brings in three servants and has dispensed with all labors, but isn’t yet in the category of יושבת בקתדרא

Students might also have more abstract questions: What if a woman doesn’t want to do this work? What if a man doesn’t want his wife to do these things? What if different tasks are more important in the modern world? How do we think about divisions of labor in a modern marriage? At this stage, the goal is to gather as many questions as possible, and encourage the students to see that to carefully read and question the Mishnah is to embody the activity of the Gemara!

Step 3: Students study the Gemara independently

Begin by assigning homework to give students the opportunity to work through the text at their own pace, with the support of a video lesson. This sheet, with embedded video, may be copied and assigned to students. Because the text is on a Sefaria sheet, students can click to open related links, and can take notes on the sheet. Using Sefaria’s assignments feature, work is assigned, graded, and stored on Sefaria, so that students and teachers automatically save copies of the work, the student responses, the teacher’s comments, and the grade.

Step 4: Students study the Gemara in Hevruta (45 minutes, but adjustable)

Here is a sheet to guide student learning of the Gemara. This sheet is designed to scaffold student learning of the Gemara in hevruta. Note that this sheet repeats some of the questions from the homework assignment. This is intentional, and is in place so that students have the opportunity to review, discuss, and collaborate with others. Students will have a 45 minute period to learn the Mishnah in pairs, followed by a 45 minute class period to discuss what they have learned.

As with the Mishnah, this activity can be adjusted to support your students in their context. All resources (including commentary, translation, and dictionaries) are available on Sefaria, so the work may be done in books or on screens, at the discretion of the teacher.

More advanced classes might also include this piece of the Gemara.

Step 5: Class discussion (45 minutes, but adjustable)

Because students have already read the Gemara, and have had the opportunity to hear it read and translated, this discussion will focus on addressing any outstanding questions or issues that the students face. The teacher may choose to review the basic content and structure of the sugya as well. From there, the conversation will transition into a discussion of some of the larger questions about this section, including: What labors do you think need to be included in planning for sharing a household in the 21st century? What are some ways that couples might divide them?

In the course of the class discussion, we will read and process this source:

הרב יעקב אריאל, מבנה המשפחה המודרנית (תחומין כב, עמ' 133):

יש חיובים שלמרות שהם חלק מהסכם הכתובה, בכל זאת איש לא יחייב כיום אשה לקיימם, כגון: רחיצת פניו ידיו ורגליו של הבעל או עבודה בצמר וכדו' (עי' שו"ע אה"ע סי' פ).

לעומת זאת יש דברים אחרים שנשים קיבלו על עצמן. למשל, רוב הנשים עובדות כיום מחוץ לביתן. בודאי עבודת האשה מחוץ לביתה פוטרת אותה מהמלאכות שהיתה חייבת בהן בעבר בתוך הבית. אשה העובדת במשרה מלאה מחוץ לבית פטורה מבישול, מכיבוס, מאפייה, מאריגה ומיתר עבודות הבית. רבות מעבודות אלו נעשות היום ע"י מכשירים (האם רק האשה חייבת להפעילם?). חלק מתמלא ע"י קניית מוצרים מוכנים, כגון: בגדים ואוכל מבושל (האם רק האשה חייבת לקנותם?)

הרב יעקב אריאל- (נולד בשנת 1937) – מורה ופוסק, עד לאחרונה שימש כרב העיר ברמת גן ואב בית הדין לדיני ממונות בעיר. כיהן כנשיא ארגון רבני "צוהר".

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, “The Modern Family Structure,” Techumin Vol. 22, pg. 133

There are some obligations which, despite being a part of the ketubah agreement, would not be considered obligatory by a husband nowadays, such as washing the husband’s face, hands, and feet, spinning thread, and similar labors.

In contrast, there are other things that women have accepted upon themselves. For example, most women today work outside the home. Certainly, working outside the home exempts her from the household labors in which she was obligated in the past. Most of these labors are done today by machines (can only the woman run these machines?). Part is filled by finished items available for purchase, like clothing and cooked food (is only the woman obligated to purchase them?).

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel (b.1937) is a teacher and halakhic decisor, and until recently served as the rabbi of Ramat Gan and the head of the Rabbinical Court for monetary matters in the city. He was named as the president of the rabbinical organization “Tzohar.”

How is Rabbi Ariel building on the Gemara? How is his approach the same or different? What do you think about his approach?

Step 6: Student Challenge - Build your own Gemara

Students will create their own “sugya” that describes how they believe household labor should be broken up in the context of marriage. This will build off of this sugya, as well as other related sugyot that they have studied. What tasks need to be taken care of? Should they be assigned to a particular person in advance of the marriage? If not, how will the couple ensure that they are done? What might be offered as prooftexts? What counter arguments do they want to include?

Students will do this by creating a sheet on Sefaria and adding texts to the sheet. Below is a paragraph describing the assignment, and the rubric used to evaluate their work. All of this may be adjusted based on time and skill level.

Assignment: Build Your Own Gemara

Now that you have studied some of Chazal’s ideas about the allocation of household tasks, create your own “sugya” that addresses the following questions:

1. What tasks need to be taken care of when two people are sharing a home? Start by making a list that is appropriate to our lives today.

2. Should they be assigned to a particular person in advance of the marriage? If not, how will the couple ensure that they are done? Write up a plan - or draw it, or make an audio or video presentation to be embedded into your sheet.

3. What texts or other media - Torah texts, as well as secular articles, videos, or music - might be offered as proof or support for your ideas? Create a list of at least 2 Torah texts and at least 2 outside texts that support your ideas. Use Sefaria and/or Google to find appropriate sources.

4. The Gemara always includes opposing voices. What counter arguments do they want to include? Make a list of at least two counter arguments. They can be your own ideas, or ideas that come from opposing Torah or pop culture sources.

Now, imagine that you want to teach others about your system, just as you learned this sugya in the Gemara. Use the information you have collected to create your own Sefaria sheet, designed to teach and convince others to adopt your system of dividing labor. Make sure to EXPLAIN each source or piece of media that you add, and WRITE a concluding paragraph that sums up your argument.

Rubric:

You can use this rubric as a checklist to ensure that you’ve completed all the pieces of the assignment. I’ll also use it to grade your work, on a scale of 0 (incomplete) to 5 (outstanding) for each piece.

Assignment	Expectations	Score	Comments
List of labors: What tasks need to be taken care of when two people are sharing a home?	The list demonstrates a thoughtful approach to constructing a shared life, and is presented in a way that is comprehensible (think of this as your “Mishnah.”)
Plan for assigning labor in advance, or rationale for how to divide it up as you go	This plan is written, illustrated, or otherwise presented clearly and has an explanation for the rationale (this is the continuation of your “sugya.”)
Proof: Two Torah sources	Two sources are presented and their meaning and importance in this context are clearly explained.
Proof: Two outside sources	Two sources (may be texts, videos, audio, pictures, etc.) are presented and their meaning and importance in this context are clearly explained.
Counterarguments (Two)	Two counterarguments, cited properly if they are not your own, that represent viewpoints about the division of labor that oppose your own. These need to be clearly presented and explained.
Presentation	All materials should be clearly and neatly presented, well-organized, on Sefaria sheet.
Concluding argument	A concluding paragraph to wrap up your “sugya,” which summarizes your argument, will help the learner understand what they are meant to take away from your source sheet.
Focus and Energy	During the time you and your hevruta work on this project, you will be focused on the work and on your partner, and the two of you will invest the time and energy necessary to succeed!