[Avodah] More on Mitzvos and Iyun

[saul mashbaum]

Regarding curriculum for high school students for whom the text-based iyun shiur is essentially a turn-off (discussed by RMB and RYGB):

I think that the recent spirited discussion of a the halachic implications of hiring a worker whose services are ultimately not needed very nicely illustrates an idea I have advanced before: a shiur based on a series of "court cases" can prove interesting to many otherwise unmotivated high school students. Ok, the learned Avodah participants are not bored 14 year old boys, but the principle is the same: court cases are inherently interesting, and almost everyone will be inclined to have an opinion on the matter at hand and be interested in its resolution. Material germane to the case at hand can be presented to the students (verbally or as texts), and the students can be guided to determine which side of the dispute each concept introduced tends to support. I think such a shiur would go far in involving the students in serious learning, according to their capacities, developing an appreciation for the concepts and procedures of the halachic process, and promote interest and 
motivation in the students. Even in a more standard text-based gemara shiur, some of the time (from one to several days a week) could be devoted to this type of study.

Such a shiur  would surely involve a relatively great amount of preparation, but of course once this was done the material  could be used many times.

Saul Mashbaum