Religious School
These first years of Jewish learning are spent immersed in the stories of the Bible and what it means to be a Jewish child. A variety of resources are used to expose students to Bible stories that have been loved throughout the generations, giving them a sense of personal place within the realm of the greatness of Jewish history. In addition, students are given a cursory exposure to the Hebrew alphabet to prepare them for their first grade year. Study of Jewish holidays is also included as a part of the curriculum.
First graders are introduced to key Jewish terms through their learning about the Jewish holidays, the synagogue and the family. Through creative activities and stimulating materials, the students begin to understand what it means to be Jewish.
The students in second grade use the URJ Chai Curriculum which focuses on the themes of Torah, Avodah (worship) and G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness). Through a variety of meaningful, age-appropriate activities, the students will begin to understand what it means to be a Jew and live and Jewish life.
The third grade class is introduced to the stories of the Torah and explores the lessons they teach us for living our lives today. The students will understand how these stories have shaped Judaism and continue to offer guidance for living a Jewish life.
Fourth graders again use the URJ Chai Curriculum, exploring more advanced understandings of the core topics of Torah, Avodah (worship) and G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness). The Torah focus is on the concept of brit/covenant as presented through stories in the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy. Avodah looks at the concepts of keva and kavanah, fixed prayer and intention during worship. In the area of G’milut Chasadim, the students explore how behavior influences relationships with family and friends.
During this year, sixth graders will learn about Israel: the land and the people. By examining the history that led to the creation of modern Israel and look at life in the Jewish state, the students will develop an understanding of the significant role that Israel plays for all Jews. A second part of the class will look at selections from Jewish literature as a window to Jewish traditions and values.
The students in seventh grade will return to the core stories of the Torah, examining them at a more mature level to understand their meaning and contemporary lessons. In addition, the class will examine a variety of approaches to Judaism to understand their differences and what all Jews have in common.
Using the texts Modern Jewish History for Everyone and Jewish History: The Big Picture, the eighth grade class begins in the year 1772 with the study of the partitions of Poland and ends their study of Jewish history in the present day. They cover the history of Jewish life in Western and Eastern Europe, Zionism, the Holocaust, the State of Israel, and Jews around the world. Their studies are interactive—world maps, timelines, pictures, movies, and guest speakers are all used to make the historical information come to life.
HEBREW HIGH SCHOOL
Our Hebrew High School curriculum is much like the curriculum of a public high school: student must meet certain requirements in regards to academics, and then take other electives according to their interests. Students in ninth grade take “Ethics” and three 10-session electives, two of which must be considered “academic.” Students in tenth grade take Confirmation and three 10-session electives, one of which must be considered “academic.” Eleventh and twelfth grade students take a mix of academic and elective courses—six 10-session electives during the course of the school year. Madrichim take a year-long Jewish leadership course as a part of Hebrew High School (see section “Madrichim”)
The ninth grade ethics class curriculum is a combination of Rabbi Ronald H. Isaac’s book “Critical Jewish Issues, A Book for Teenagers,” experiential learning activities mainly drawn from Tom Jackson, short films, and group discussion. The students drive the class direction with guidance; they determine what the most pressing issues are. The teacher acts as a facilitator to ask how these ethics issues fit into a Jewish life.
The tenth grades explore the topic of Jewish identity through a variety of articles and resources on such issues as Being Jewish in a non-Jewish World; Who is a Jew?; Recognizing and responding to anti-Semitism; The meaning of Israel; and Why be Jewish? Toward the end of the year, the class prepares for Confirmation on the evening of Shavuot by creating a worship service, choosing a theme, and writing a d’var Torah based upon the theme.
ELECTIVES: (Fall Trimester 2010)
Cooking and Culture (Amy King-Schoppert)
Conversational Hebrew through Music (Josh Kay)
Tikkun Olam: Making the World a Better Place (David Snyder)
Chumash: The Torah In-Depth (Eli Weinstein)
HEBREW SCHOOL
This introductory year of Hebrew uses the primer Shalom Uv’racha (Script Edition), to expose students to the letters and vowels that are the building blocks the reading and writing the Hebrew language. Through the use of meaningful and familiar Hebrew words, students learn how to decode the language step-by-step through reading and writing activities. Also introduced at this step of learning are simple prayers and blessings that make use of the key vocabulary introduced in the text. The goal of this year is to allow students to grow into proficient Hebrew readers at its conclusion.
Fourth grade Hebrew students continue their Hebrew studies with activities to reinforce their newly acquired reading and writing skills. They also begin using the Hineni series (a Behrman House publication), which teaches them the opening prayers in the Shabbat morning service, as well as prayers and blessings for home observance, through the acquisition of key vocabulary words, roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Kitah Hey students continue with book two of the Hineni series, in which they learn over 90 key prayer words and dozens of roots, prefixes, and suffixes while they explore the meaning of the Shabbat morning Amidah and selected Friday evening prayers.
This fourth year of Hebrew school is designed to begin to prepare students for the upcoming transition to active prayer leader in the community. Students spend half of their Hebrew school time working with our original Tefillah cards curriculum, an individualized-learning program in which students move at their own pace through the study of prayers and blessings. The other half of their Hebrew school day is spent acquiring the skills necessary to chant Torah. Through this process, the students build on their Hebrew sight-reading skills, vocabulary, and learn the melodies for the basic Torah trope clauses.
As the students complete their formal Hebrew school education, they continue to become familiar with the Tefillah cards in order to master the prayers of the Shabbat evening and worship services and become familiar with their meaning and background.
In addition, the students learn about the structure and development of the liturgy, Jewish ritual objects such as tallit and kippah, and other topics relating to prayer and Jewish worship.
