Jewish People: Haym Salomon

Grades: 4-6        Though its usage may well be broader, this material was specifically designed to be used in fourth to sixth grade as a personality centered introduction to Jewish history. We know that many schools struggle with a problem of (a) knowing that research suggests that sequential history cannot really be studied until seventh or eighth grade, but (b) also knowing that if history is not taught in the fourth to the sixth-grade slot, many students will never have an opportunity to study it.

Therefore, what we have created is a series of “biographies” that tell individual stories in the context of background, that can be mastered during this period. Each of these units is designed to:

• Tell the story of a significant, influential, Jew
•  Set that story in a specific historical period
• Expose students to the use of primary source material/texts
• Use the conflicts in our subject’s life for a source of values
• Provide tools for a review of key concepts

The individual biographies can be considered “quilting squares” and can be assembled in any fashion that the teacher or curriculum designer desires. They can be clustered within a historical period, gathered by theme, or sequenced o demonstrate a historical flow.

In 1776, the British seized nearly every house of worship in New York, including the Mill Street synagogue, and used them as storage houses and barracks. A pair of Redcoat soldiers broke into the synagogue one night and stole a pair of silver Torah decorations and desecrated the ark. Haym used his influence to convince the British authorities to withdraw from the synagogue (allowing the Jews to worship there again) and informed them of the silver theft. The soldiers were punished (by flogging, a typical military punishment at the time) and the authorities allowed Jews serving in the British and Hessian armies to worship with the New York Jews.

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