Behar/Bechukotai- Graphs, Patterns, and Calculation Activities

"Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When a man will express a vow to Hashem regarding the valuation of souls, the valuation of a male shall be: for someone twenty years of age to sixty years of age, the valuation shall be fifty silver shekels, of the sacred shekel. If she is female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. And if from five years of age to twenty years of age, the valuation of a male shall be twenty shekels and of a female ten shekels. And if from one month of age to five years of age, the valuation of a male shall be five silver shekels; and for a female, the valuation shall be three silver shekels. And if from sixty years of age and up, if for a male, the valuation shall be fifteen shekels; and for a female, ten shekels. But if he is destitute for the valuation, then he should have him stand before the Kohen, and the Kohen should set his valuation; according to what the hand of the person who makes the vow can attain should the Kohen set his evaluation." ~Vayikra 27:1-8

In this section of this week's parsha, we learn about the standard valuation for donations that are vowed to the Beit HaMikdash on behalf of family members. We have the standard valuations, and we are also told that if someone makes a vow but doesn't have the funds to meet the standard valuations, the Kohen can make a determination of an appropriate valuation for that person. This week I would like to look at some activities for students of varying levels based on the standard valuations that are listed.

To begin, let's organize the information (older students could be asked to chart this information for themselves by identifying and organizing the information in the passage):

Note that this could also be organized into two charts- one for males and one for females. This breakdown might be clearer for some students when trying to separate information on males and females in follow-up activities.

Related Activity Suggestions:

• Graph It!- A good way to compare data of this nature is by graphing it. This information lends itself well to a double bar graph, with a category for each age grouping, and two bars within each category (one for males and one for females). The left side of the bar graph (y-axis) would indicate the number of shekels donated. As always, grade levels recommended are an approximation, and individualization for students is necessary to meet their actual ability levels. K-2 students could fill in a pre-made class-sized graphing chart as a class activity, with older students also copying the information onto personal graphs. Grades 3-5 students could create individual graphs on pre-printed graph templates with spacing indicated for different levels of labeling, and then graphing the information. Students in grades 6+ could create their own double-bar graph from start to finish.

• Is there a pattern?- Looking at the table above and/or the double-bar graph created in the first activity, students can look for comparisons between males and females at each age group. They can also look for comparisons between the different age groups for males and then between the different age groups for females. 
• What trends do they see over a person's lifetime? Is this consistent for both men and women? Why do they think the valuations may have been set in the way that they were?
• After making note of comparisons, older students could look for specific numerical comparisons between males and females in each age group and then across the data for males and females at different age groups. Are any of the ratios between groups consistent in any way? Rashi's note on 27:7 is also relevant to these comparisons, as he specifically points out some differences in the ways that the valuations change between the different age groups.

• Problem Solving- Processing the information through sample family valuations- Using the valuations given, students could be provided with sample problems with different family groupings to calculate the valuation for each family. Students could also create their own sample families to calculate or switch with friends to calculate. What about students' own families? What would each student's personal family valuation be if they were donating to the Beit HaMikdash? Can older students come up with an algebraic formula for calculating the valuation for any given family scenario?