Robert E. Wallace, Ph.D.

Category: 2-Torah

  • Genesis 1:1-3

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    Robert Wallace
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    In the students groups, I asked them to read Genesis 1:1-3 in at least four different translations. They were permitted to use their translations. I was lucky enough to have native French and Spanish speakers as well. The students were then to email me a list of the group members and the differences in wording which…

  • Source Criticism

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    Robert Wallace
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    For a discussion on source criticism in an upper level Torah class, I provided a email from me to my dissertation supervisor from late in my PhD program. The email had several quotes in it from different readers on the committee which I was responding to (without providing quotation marks). I had stripped away dates and replaced…

  • Covenant

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    Robert Wallace
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    For this exercise, I talked about the importance of “remembering.” I first asked them to talk about their holiday traditions in their family. Then I compared the German and Japanese ways of talking about the atrocities in WWII. Then we looked at Deuteronomy 6 and the command to “Remember” and “Teach.” I asked them which…

  • Covenant

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    Robert Wallace
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    I had the students read the passage in Lev 25 on the Year of Jubilee. I then had them adapt the rules of monopoly to conform to the Year of Jubilee. They were very creative in some of their rules. Each of them were picking up on different aspects of the game, and focused on…

  • Covenant

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    Robert Wallace
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    I showed the students five different passages from the NT that seemed to portray different attitudes toward Christians and “law”. From the sermon on the mount where Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, to Eph 2:15 where Jesus came to abolish the law. I then asked them what was a Christian’s responsibility to the…

  • National Beginnings

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    Robert Wallace
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    As a class we watched three scenes. The “Chicago Way” scene from The Untouchables, The Lex Talionus verses from Exod 21, and the redemption scene from “The Mission.” I then asked them in their groups to discuss which of these scenes best represented God in the story of the Exodus. The exercise worked very well.…

  • Ancestors & Type Scenes

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    Robert Wallace
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    I put together a variety of internet memes to talk about type scenes. I showed them the meme, then I asked “What do you have to know for this to be funny?” and “What can I change and still make a joke work?” I then showed them a series of changed memes that I made. They…

  • Cain & Abel

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    The students did a sociogram of the story. I asked them to note who the main character was, and then symbolize that relationship on the white boards. They connected them with dotted lines (for distance), double solid lines (for closeness), etc. We then discussed what they saw. Some were very creative. This activity turned out…

  • Flood

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    Robert Wallace
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    The students designed their own etiologies. I showed them a picture of the faculty in full regalia, dressed for opening convocation. I assigned two groups. One had to write an explanation for why we dressed in that manner that demonstrated the faculty’s piety. One had to write an explanation that demonstrated our wickedness. Some of…

  • Genesis 3

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    Robert Wallace
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    We analyzed four different artistic depictions of the fall from Italy, Japan, Indonesia and an American child’s coloring book. After each picture, I asked the students to discuss in their groups, “What do you see?” and “What do you wonder about?” At the end, I asked them whether each was a good reading or a…

  • Creation

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    Robert Wallace
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    I had the groups each read one text: Gen 1, Gen 2, Psalm 74, Psalm 104, or the Enuma Elish. I asked them to note the order of creation, name of God used, how humanity is discussed, the tone, etc. At the end we discussed the implications of these different playlists (and we referenced the Enuma…

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