To the young of today, the term "hero" usually means a military or sports figure or perhaps a movie or TV personality. For many young people, heroes are associated with parades. Most heroes worthy of recognition are not to be found in the ball field, at the head of a parade, or in the headlines. In the case of Judaism, our heroes teach more than history; they teach values.
For the most part, the heroes celebrated by Jewish tradition have been those of the spirit, possessing qualities of mind and character that have affected our people as a whole. The heroes of Jewish history have been men and women of courage, integrity, and steadfastness in the face of great odds. They have been responsible for spiritual or cultural achievement. They were individuals whose example continually rekindled the average Jew's belief in our people's destiny and in the capacity of the ordinary Jew to overcome religious and moral obstacles.
It is not surprising that Judaism discovers heroism in everyday people--parents who endure fatigue to eke out a livelihood for their families; noble hearts who give of their own meager possessions to clothe, feed, or shelter those less fortunate; and individuals with a fighting spirit and staying power who stand their ground in matters of religious and ethical conviction. Nor is it any wonder that the sages in the Ethics of the Fathers declared, "Who is mighty? One who conquers his evil inclination."
Ten heroes of the ancient past, near past, and the present are listed. From these, the candidate should select and identify four, or choose any other four Jewish heroes who have contributed to Jewish life. Chances are that most Tiger Cubs will confine their selections to the first five names, since these are the best known. The parent partner or counselor is therefore urged to expand the candidates' horizons by encouraging them to go beyond the familiar. If adequate, printed source materials on the lesser known personalities are not easily obtainable, the youngsters should be coaxed to consult a local rabbi, Jewish educator, or community leader.
In this connection, remember that for purposes of personal identification, only male figures have been listed. You should not hesitate to suggest female personalities and allow the candidate to substitute one or more of them for names on the list.
Good references for background information on the Biblical and post-Biblical figures on the list are:
Leaders of Our People, Volumes 1 and 2, by Joseph Gumbiner, Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
Lessons from Our Living Past, Behrman House (the teacher's guide is especially helpful).
Stories from Our Living Past, Behrman House.
Jewish Heroes, Books 1 and 2, by S. Weilerstein, United Synagogue of America.
Abraham
Father of the Jewish people, the first Hebrew believer in the one God, Abraham needs no introduction. The Torah and the midrash have interesting stories about Abraham with which the Maccabee Award candidate should be familiar.
Selected References
Gross, page 169
Also consult:
First Book of Bible Heroes, Part 1, by Dona Z. Meilach. Ktav Publishing House.
A Child's Introduction to Torah, by Shirley Newman, Behrman House.
Lessons from Our Living Past, Behrman House (also the Parent Parallel Study Kit).
Moses
Few candidates will not know about our people's leader and lawgiver who led us out of Egypt and presented us with the Torah. Israel's major prophet, the only one according to our tradition, to whom God revealed himself directly and not through the medium of a vision or a dream, Moses was known to his people endearingly and reverently as "Moshe Rabeinu" or "Moses, our teacher."
Selected References
Gross, pages 170-171
Also consult:
"The Baby Moses," by Laura Simms, in the Exploring Our Living Past series, Behrman House.
"The Crown of Pharaoh," four-page activity booklet in the above series.
First Book of Bible Heroes, Part 1, by Dona Z. Meilach. Ktav Publishing House.
A Child's Introduction to Torah, by Shirley Newman. Behrman House.
"Moses and the Lost Lamb," in Stories from Our Living Past, Behrman House.
King David
Best known to children for saving his people from Goliath, the Philistine giant, David was the second King of Israel. Having crushed the Philistines who had been harassing the Israelites for almost a century, David made Jerusalem his peopIes capital. Under his leadership, the land was safely secured for the Hebrews from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. David had other claims to fame, however. He was the composer of the Psalms and his friendship for Jonathan, son of King Saul, earned the admiration of the sages.
Selected References
Gross, pages 173-179
Also consult:
First Book of Bible Heroes, Part 2, by Dona Z. Meilach, Ktav Publishing House.
Lessons from Our Living Past, Behrman House (also the Parent Parallel Study Kit)
"David and the Spider," in Stories from Our Living Past, Behrman House.
Mordecai
Cousin and guardian of beautiful Esther who was destined to become Queen of Persia, Mordecai was the male hero of the Purim story. He dared defy the king's second-in-command and prodded Esther to act boldly in order to save his people from the cruel fate Haman had in mind for them. Thanks to Mordecai and Esther, we annually celebrate one of Judaism's merriest holidays.
Selected References
The Jewish Catalog I, pages 133-136
Trepp, pages 158-160
Also consult:
"Purim," in the Our Holiday series, by Miriam Schlein, Behrman House. This is one of the features of the Home Start subscription series.
Jewish Holidays, Jewish Awareness Worksheets, Behrman House, Book 2.
Judah Maccabee
A children's favorite, Judah Maccabee looms larger than life in the Hanukkah drama. One of five warrior sons of Mattathias, Judah led his ragged band of guerrilla fighters to a stunning victory over the well-organized and well-equipped battalions of Antiochus, king of Syria.
For Judah and his followers, this was not a war for territory or might. It was a struggle for freedom of religious belief and practice. In short, it was a war for the right to be one's self. As such it was a landmark victory in man's striving for spiritual and intellectual liberty.
How the Maccabees entered Jerusalem, cleansed the Holy Temple of the defiling idols placed there by the Syrians and rededicated that sanctuary to the worship of God is a familiar saga to the average Jewish child.
Selected References
Kolatch, Volume 1, pages 260-262
The Jewish Catalog I, pages 130-131
Trepp, pages 137-141
Also consult:
"A Great Miracle Happened There," by Laura Simms, in the Exploring Our Living Past series, Behrman House.
"Hanukkah," in the Our Holidays series by Miriam Schlein, Behrman House (also featured in the Home Start subscription series)
A Picture Book of Hanukkah, by David A. Adler, Holiday House.
The Hanukkah Story, by Marilyn Hirsh, Hebrew Publishing Co.
Hillel
Hillel's heroism was one of courage, patience, steadfastness of purpose, and endless kindness and understanding. Truly inspirational is the tale of how he almost froze to death on the roof of the academy in order to imbibe Torah. Equally warming is the response he gave to the gentile who sought to learn the whole of the Torah while standing on one foot. The mind-opening aphorisms attributed to Hillel in the Ethics of the Fathers can be the source for many food-for-thought sessions with young people.
Selected References
Gross, pages 10, 15, 186-187
Kolatch, Volume 2, pages 259-261, 307
Also consult:
Lessons from Our Living Past, Behrman House
Basic Judaism for Young People, Volume 2, by Naomi Pasachoff, Behrman House, pages 126-127.
If I Am Only For Myself--The Story of Hillel, by Aaron H. Blumenthal, United Synagogue Commission on Jewish Education.
My People, Abba Eban's History of the Jews, adapted by David Bamberger, Volume 1, Behrman House, pages 53-57.
Akiba
The life of the sage, Akiba, provides many uplifting lessons for young people. An unknown shepherd, virtually illiterate until the age of 40, Akiba became one of the most renowned Jewish scholars and teachers of all times. The sacrifices his wife made so that he might study Torah; the esteem in which he was held by his people; the thousands of students and disciples he raised; his defiance of the Roman emperor's decree prohibiting Torah instruction; and the stirring tale of his martyrdom are the stuff of which inspirational leg-ends have been woven.
Selected References
Gross, pages 189-190
The Jewish Catalog II, pages 238-239
The Jewish Catalog I, page 146
Kolatch, Volume 2, pages 210-212, 298-299
Kolatch, Volume 1, pages 88, 153, 162
Also consult:
Lessons from Our Living Past, Behrman House.
Basic Judaism for Young People, Volume 2, by Naomi Pasachoff, Behrman House, pages 11, 120-121, 138-140.
My People, Abba Eban's History of the Jews, adapted by David Bamberger, Volume 1, Behrman House, pages 67-72. -
Haym Salomon
One of the heroes of the American Revolution, Haym Salomon gave of his wealth to help save the newly proclaimed republic. Though he came to America from Poland only 4 years before the Declaration of Independence, his patriotism was so ardent that he suffered imprisonment. He subsequently became official broker to the Office of Finance of the Continental Congress, working with Robert Morris to maintain the public credit of the infant government.
Salomon is also reputed to have used his personal funds to aid such patriotic leaders as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
Selected References
Gross, pages 214-215
The Jewish Kids Catalog, page 52
The Jewish Catalog II, page 393
Also consult:
My People, Abba Eban's History of the Jews, adapted by David Bamberger, Volume 2, Behrman House, pages 22-23.
Theodor Herzl
Generally credited with being the father of modern political Zionism, Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897. A highly successful Jewish playwright and journalist, he was so profoundly affected by the infamous Dreyfus trial in France that he became the foremost spokesman and activist for a Jewish homeland. His impressive turnabout, his untiring efforts to convince kings and potentates of the justice and urgency of the Jewish claim to a homeland, as well as his untimely death in 1904 at the age of 44, make absorbing narratives for young people.
Selected References
Birnbaum, page 525
Gross, page 257
The Jewish Catalog III, pages 323-324
The Jewish Kids Catalog, pages 68-70
Also consult:
"The Herzl Miracle," chapter 14, My People. Abba Eban's History of the Jews, adapted by David Bamberger, Volume 2, Behrman House.
Antoly (Natan) Shcharanzky
Shcharansky affords the parent or counselor a unique opportunity to introduce Tiger Cubs to a live Jewish hero who has become a legend in his own time. Furthermore, his rare courage and fighting spirit, and his release after years of incarceration in Soviet hard-labor camps, provide a natural springboard to teach about Soviet oppression of its Jewish citizens.
As in the case of so many others, Shcharanskys crime was that he wanted to leave Russia to live in Israel. He was arrested and accused of being a spy for the United States. President Jimmy Carter told the Russians that this was not true, but his government was intent on making an example of him and he was put on trial.
The viciousness and ferocity of the Soviet government's desire to quell the Jewish dissident movement was brought to the attention of the entire world by the way Shcharansky was treated. He was sentenced to many years in prison, but not before he made a number of statements in court which made all of world Jewry proud of him. He showed his great courage when he said: "One would think I would be sorry, but I am not. I am happy because I have lived at peace with my conscience... I am happy that I helped people... I am happy to have witnessed the process of liberating Soviet Jewry. For more than 2,000 years, my people have been dispersed. Wherever Jews were, they would repeat every year, 'Next year in Jerusalem.' At present. I am as far as ever from my people ... and many hard years ... are in store for me. To my wife and my people, I can only say, 'Next year in Jerusalem.'"
Other Jews in Russia also showed the world their bravery. They stood outside the courtroom and sang"Hatikvah,"the national anthem of the State of Israel.
Selected References
Shcharansky--Hero of Our Time, Martin Gilbert, Viking Press.
Note: Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky: The Journey' Home, recently published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
In addition, Random House has announced plans to publish Shcharansky's memoirs in the fall of 1987, focusing on his decade of imprisonment and persecution.
Optional Heroes
As pertains to Deborah, Queen Esther, Maimonides, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben Gurion and Golda Meir, the counselor is referred to the standard works enumerated earlier. The most useful will be the Encyclopedia Judaica, the Jewish Catalog series, the Jewish Kids Catalog, Builders of Israel and Abba Eban's My People.
The World Zionist Organization in New York and the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., are good resources for information on the last three personalities.
