INTRODUCTION:

Planning a trip to a rage room or axe throwing venue? Bring deep, meaningful Jewish text into the mix by connect the Kabbalistic concept of broken vessels (the origin of the term Tikkun Olam!) to Moses smashing the tablets. Close by taking home a shattered shard as a reminder that holiness exists within brokenness. 

PROGRAM OUTLINE:

• Pre-Activity (15-20 minutes) 
• Activity: Go forth and rage! 
• Post-Activity (15-20 minutes) 

Pre-Activity (15-20 minutes) 

• Read the first page of this source sheet together, then have participants pair up to reflect on the two questions at the bottom.  
• Hand out Sharpies. Invite participants to write on the items they are about to smash: “Write down something in your life or in the world that currently feels broken, overwhelming, or stuck.” 

Activity: Go forth and rage! 

• Before participants exit, hand out gloves and bags and say: “Society usually tells us that breaking things is a mistake, a loss of temper, or a disaster. But in Jewish tradition, brokenness isn’t something to hide or throw away. Now, using these safety gloves, select one small, blunt shard of glass or ceramic from an item you smashed, and place it into one of these bags.” 

Post-Activity (15-20 minutes) 

• Read the second page of the source sheet together, then discuss the questions at the bottom in pairs or as a group. 
• Together, ask: “What does your shard represent to you tonight? Is it a reminder of a moment you let go of control, a pain you released, or a spark of energy you want to hold onto?” 
• You can close by saying: “Keep this shard somewhere visible like your desk, bookshelf, or dresser. Let it be a reminder that you don’t have to be perfectly ‘whole’ or perfect to be sacred. Like the Ark in the desert, we make room for both our wholeness and our broken pieces. And like the shattered vessels, our mistakes can also contain holiness.”