Outlining Your Torah Portion to Develop a Great Dvar Torah

Sample Chapter: The Outline for Preparing a Dvar Torah
from Reclaiming Bar/Bat Mitzvah as a Spiritual Rite of Passage [2]: An Empowering Guide for Students, Families, Educators, and Clergy by Rabbi Goldie Milgram 

Create an outline of your parsha, so that the flow of precisely what is happening becomes clear to you. Many of us learned folk versions of Bible stories in the early years of religious  school or got our impression of what the text is from Disney animations or Hollywood renditions of major stories like the Ten Commandments—these versions are all interpretations and tend to differ significantly from the actual words of the Torah. The original may prove to be a surprising and more interesting read for you!

Young adult B-Mitzvah students may not have been introduced to the idea of an outline in school yet. This is a very useful educational tool that students of all ages will want to know. Creating both detailed and short outlines will help to focus your mind and clarify the text for you. Many different Torah portions will be featured in this chapter along with many different approaches to formulating your d’var Torah. Let’s start with a short outline of Hayye Sarah, the life of Sarah (Genesis 23:1–25:18):

1:I.   Sarah dies and is buried.

     A.   Sarah dies.

     B.   Abraham goes to where she died and grieves for her.

     C.   He enters negotiations with the locals to buy a burial site for her.

     D.   Abraham obtains the site and the field it borders.

     E.   He buries her there, in the Cave of Machpelah.

II.  Abraham’s servant fulfills an assignment to find a wife for Isaac.

     A.   Abraham asks a senior servant to take the assignment of finding a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s family in the city of Nahor.

     B.   The servant departs and asks God for a sign of the right girl, which he decides would be one who draws water for him and his camels.

     C.   The sign is indeed fulfilled by a girl from Abraham’s kin, Rebecca.

     D.   The servant explains his reason for coming, of the amazing confirmation of the sign and asks for permission to bring Rebecca to Isaac.

     E.   The family wants time with Rebecca before she leaves.

     F.   The servant is determined to depart the next day.

     G.   The family asks her opinion, and Rebecca says: “I will go.”

     H.   The family holds a blessing ceremony and sends them on their journey.

III.Isaac and Rebecca meet and marry.

     A.   The servant guides Rebecca to a field where Isaac is meditating.

     B.   He looks up and sees camels approaching.

     C.   She sees Isaac and falls off her camel.

     D.   She finds out who he is.

     E.   The servant briefs Isaac on who she is.

     F.   Isaac takes her to his (deceased) mother’s tent, and they are married.

     G.   Isaac loves her and is consoled for the loss of his mother (Sarah).

IV.  Abraham remarries.

     A.   His wife’s name is Keturah.

     B.   Together they have six children and from them eleven grandchildren.

     C.   Still, Abraham’s estate goes to Isaac.

     D.   Abraham sends all his children by concubines away with gifts.

     E.   Abraham dies at 175 biblical years of age.

     F.   Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the cave with Sarah.

V.   The genealogy of Ishmael is given.

     A.   Ishmael has twelve sons.

     B.   All are princes with territory and towns.

     C.   Ishmael dies at 137 biblical years.

     D.   His sons go on to dominate their region.

Did the outline hold any surprises for you? Such surprises are a good place to start looking for a basis for your d’var Torah. Using a highlighter, I suggest that you differently color highlight the parts of the outline of your own Torah portion (parsha) where you were uncomfortable with the story, where you were intrigued and where you feel drawn to a topic for further study and perhaps your d'var Torah theme! Now, with your B-Mitzvah team, parent(s), or teacher, discuss.