Religion & WorldviewsJudaism25 min★★ difficulty

Shabbat and the festival year

One day in seven, work stops. Shabbat is the clearest example in any tradition of a belief made into a habit of time.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Explain how festivals, worship and rites of passage express belief

Key learning points

• Shabbat
• The festival year
• Rites of passage

This lesson at a glance

25 minutes
15 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

festivalsworshippassageexpressbelief

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 15 · Discover7%

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Part 1 of 15

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Shabbat and the festival year

An English teaching video on this topic from Cogito. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Explain how festivals, worship and rites of passage express belief

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 15

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Shabbat

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 15

Learn

Shabbat

From sunset on Friday to nightfall on Saturday, observant Jewish families rest, eat prepared meals, attend synagogue and refrain from work as defined in Jewish law. Candles, blessings over wine and bread, and a shared meal open the day.

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 15

Learn

The festival year

Rosh Hashanah begins the new year and Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and repentance. Pesach retells the exodus from Egypt through a structured meal, the seder. Sukkot recalls shelter in the wilderness; Hanukkah remembers the rededication of the Temple.

Quick check

Part 5 of 15

Quick check

When does Shabbat begin?

Quick check

Part 6 of 15

Quick check

What does the seder retell?

Reset break

Part 7 of 15

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 15

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Rites of passage

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 15

Learn

Rites of passage

Bar and bat mitzvah mark the age at which a young person takes responsibility for the commandments, usually by reading from the Torah publicly. The ritual is about responsibility rather than a party, though most families hold both.

Quick check

Part 10 of 15

Quick check

What does bar or bat mitzvah mark?

Quick check

Part 11 of 15

Quick check

Which day is a fast of repentance?

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 15

Worked example

Worked example: linking a ritual to a belief

Question: what belief does the Pesach seder express? Answer: it expresses the covenant and memory. Foods on the plate stand for slavery and freedom, and the youngest present asks why this night is different — teaching the story to the next generation is built into the ritual itself.

Challenge round

Part 13 of 15

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Mastery quiz

Part 14 of 15

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Shabbat and the festival year

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. When does Shabbat begin?
2. What does the seder retell?
3. What does bar or bat mitzvah mark?
4. Which day is a fast of repentance?

Lesson round-up

Part 15 of 15

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

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Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Source

Two teachings on forgiveness

In Christian teaching, Jesus is asked how many times a person should forgive. He answers not seven times but seventy-seven — meaning forgiveness should not be counted at all. The Lord's Prayer links the two directions together: forgive us as we forgive others.

In Islamic teaching, one of the names of God is al-Ghaffar, the Ever-Forgiving. Muslims are taught that God's mercy is greater than any wrong a person can do, and that those who pardon others are closer to God than those who take revenge.

Both traditions distinguish forgiving from forgetting. A person may forgive and still expect justice, and may seek safety from someone who has harmed them.

Original paraphrases written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

What does each teaching say about how far forgiveness should go?
Explain how a believer might use one of these teachings after being hurt by a friend.
"Forgiving someone means letting them off." Give two views on this and say which is stronger, with reasons.

Reading and response
Reading
Read the lesson text again — especially any scripture, story or quotation — then write what it teaches and how a believer would use it.
2 paragraphs (PEE)
Extended writing
Writing
Answer the lesson's big question as an exam answer would: a clear view, a reason, a teaching or example as evidence, and a different view weighed against yours.
250–350 words
Belief in your own words
Writing
Explain what this belief means and give one example of how it changes what people do.
8–10 sentences
Different views
Writing
Write two different views on this question and say which you find stronger, and why.
2 paragraphs
Symbol or belief diagram
Diagram
Draw the symbol, place of worship or idea from this lesson with labels explaining what each part means, then photograph it.
1 labelled drawing

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Photos of paper work, diagrams or working outHow many minutes did the written work take?

Part 1 of 15 · Watch & discover

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