Using the documentary film 93Queen, which follows the early days of the first all-women Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) corps in a Hasidic Jewish community in New York City, students will learn how a group of trailblazing women faced resistance but succeeded in changing their community from within by founding Ezras Nashim. Within the context of the importance of tradition and respect for custom within the Hasidic Jewish community, students will explore the universality of the women’s journey to create change and establish a new expression of faith in a culture that may be unfamiliar, in order to appreciate the magnitude and groundbreaking work of these women.

OBJECTIVES
In this lesson, students will:
● Explore the different approaches to evolving religious/cultural practices
● Draw parallels between the work of Ruchie Freier and other women trailblazers, identifying the universal aspects of the first all-women EMT corps, Ezras Nashim
● Write an essay about strategies for changemaking in different cultures

GRADE LEVELS: 10-12 grade

SUBJECT AREAS
English/Language Arts, World and US History, Religion, Sociology, Gender Studies

MATERIALS
● Internet access and equipment to watch film clips from 93Queen

ESTIMATED TIME NEEDED
1 class period with extension activities and homework

Film clips provided in this lesson are from 93 Queen.Access the streaming clips for free on POV's website by visiting www.pbs.org/pov/educators.

Step 1: Defining Culture, Ethnicity and Religion

Have students discuss in small groups this question and summarize their discussion to report back to the class:

● Why do people seek to change or reform their religious or cultural traditions?

Introduce the terms culture, ethnicity, and religion and define them as a class. Discuss what is shared and what is distinct about each term. Fill in the definitions if students need further support.

Culture: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time.

Ethnicity: of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background.

Religion: a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity.[1]

Step 2: Meeting Ruchie and Borough Park, Brooklyn

Before playing Clip 1 ask students to share if they know any of the traditions and practices of the Hasidic Jewish Community. You may also elect to have students create a K/W/L table to keep track of “What they know, What they want to know, and what theylearned?

Play Clip 1. Have students to respond in writing to these prompts after watching the film clip

● What term(s) would you use to describe the community in Borough Park? A culture, an ethnicity, or a religion and why?

● What do the three concepts share? Can you think of examples of how culture, ethnicity or religion have been modified, both in the film and in history?

● Are there any similarities between the Ezras Nashim organizers’ struggle for recognition and respect and challenges you’ve encountered or observed in your culture?

Step 3: Why Change a Tradition?

Play Clip 2 and Clip 3 in sequence. Organize students into pairs and discuss in their reactions and responses to these prompts:

● What are Ruchie and her fellow organizers’ primary reasons for creating an all-women volunteer EMT corps serving women in the Hasidic community?

● In your own words, describe the different viewpoints of the supporters and opponents of Ezras Nashim.

● Ruchie presents Ezras Nashim as a preservation of the spirit of Jewish law, if not the literal customs as they’ve been practiced. Can you think of any examples of a change in which the spirit of a principle or belief system has been preserved while the practice itself has been modified? Consider interpretations of the United States Constitution and modifications to your own family’s customs.

Step 4: Making Connections

Final Film Clip: (Vimeo 1:00:31 - 1:06:40; 6:06)

Explain to class that in this final clip, students will see the culmination of the women’s hard work and perseverance. End class by asking students to brainstorm parallels between the skills Ruchie and the women of Ezras Nashim used to create change in their community and other moments of progress within the history of the women’s movement.

EXTENSIONS/ADAPTATIONS

1. Essay Writing: Have students write an expository essay identifying the strategies used by the women to found Ezras Nashim, identifying parallels with other women who have worked to change the status quo in their community or industry. Students can write research an aspect of their own present-day culture, their ancestors’ culture, or another community (being careful to do thorough background research).
2. Judge Ruchie Freier Today: At the end of 93 Queen we see that Ruchie Freier wins her election to preside as a judge in civil court. Have students read this article from the New York Times to learn more about Judge Freier’s work and her perspective.

[1] Each definition is summarized from https://www.merriam-webster.com/.

This is a list of organizations, websites, articles, etc. that may be helpful to teachers in developing the lesson, or for students as they are researching.

The Film
POV: 93Queen
The film’s official POV site includes a discussion guide with additional activity ideas and resources, steps to borrow the DVD from the POV Lending Library, and other resources.

93Queen.com
The film’s official website provides information on the film, extensive press coverage on the film and filmmakers, as well

Tablet Mag: After Years of Delays, Women’s EMT Corps to Launch in Brooklyn

This news article provides an overview of Ezras Nashim’s journey to launch.

POV: Media Literacy Questions for Analyzing POV Films
This list of questions provides a useful starting point for leading rich discussions that challenge students to think critically about documentaries.

For more information on the Hasidic Community you can direct students to the PBS site “A Life Apart: Hasidism in America”

STANDARDS

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects (http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf)

RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

W.9—10.2d Use precise language and domain—specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.

W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

SL.11—12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

SL.11—12.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.

SL.11—12.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis and tone used.

Content Knowledge: (http://www2.mcrel.org/compendium/) a compilation of content standards and benchmarks for K-12 curriculum by McREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning).

Language Arts, Standard 1: Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process.

Language Arts, Standard 2: Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing.

Language Arts, Standard 8: Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.

Language Arts, Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.

This resource was created, in part, with the generous support of the Open Society Foundation.