Kindergarten/1st Grade:

Students in Kindergarten and 1st Grade will receive an introduction to Hebrew.  They will learn to recite the Shema and the Blessings over the candles, wine and challah.  Everyone will be able to practice these blessings on a weekly basis when the students share juice and challah during class time.  In addition, students will be taught the Hebrew alphabet.

Jewish holidays, Torah stories and Mitzvot will be emphasized in this fun classroom experience using many hands-on activities including art, stories, music, drama, cooking, and educational games.  Each holiday will be taught as it occurs throughout the year with a special emphasis on Shabbat and Havdalah.  Traditional Torah stories will be a part of your student’s Jewish studies adventure.  Stories will include: Creation, Noah, Jacob’s Dream and Moses by the Burning Bush.

Significant emphasis will be placed on Mitzvot.  This will include the following topics: Tzedakah, visiting the sick, food for the hungry, saving the Earth, welcoming guests, and Talmud Torah.  The class will also help students form a framework for spiritual thinking by exploring questions about God.

2nd Grade/3rd Grade:

Since second and third graders are learning to read Hebrew. Hebrew reading readiness and review along with the Shabbat blessings will be practiced.  All students at this level will participate weekly in a mini-Shabbat, which will include the blessings over the candles, wine and challah followed by refreshments (which will be provided by parents on a rotating basis). There is an emphasis in our second and third grade curriculum on Jewish values and Bible study. This will give our students a deeper sense of understanding of Judaism.

To bring the excitement of the Torah to life and into the lives of the students, each session will include learning about the Parashah (Torah portion) of the week.  Each Parashah lesson will include a summary of the story, a chance for students to interpret the story’s meaning and relevance today, and other unique activities (such as the chance to help God finish creation, to help Noah pick the right animals and to stand with Abraham as he tries to count the stars in the sky).  This interactive learning will enhance students’ knowledge of the Torah and its importance to the Jewish People. 

Jewish holidays will be celebrated and made a part of the student’s education, including Shabbat and Havdalah.  Students will also enjoy an in depth look at mitzvoth, including feeding the hungry, tzedakah, visiting the sick, keeping the earth, welcoming guests, guarding your tongue and Talmud Torah.  Hands-on activities will help students integrate the lessons of the commandments into their lives. 

Students will continue their spiritual exploration by learning how to encounter God through moments in their lives.

4th Grade/5th Grade/6th Grade

Students at this level will study the traditional Judaic Studies including holidays, the weekly Torah portion, and practicing of Shabbat blessings with a weekly Shabbat celebration including juice and challah.  Students will also explore their spirituality and learn how to live as partners with God.

Emphasis will rotate among a more comprehensive review of the Bible, the history and geography of Israel and the Jewish lifecycle. The Jewish lifecycle is a year-long journey through the most significant milestones in a Jewish life, including Brit Milah and Brit Bat, Baby Naming, Consecration, Bat/Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, the Marriage Ceremony, the Funeral and Rituals of Mourning.

We are going to institute a new Hebrew curriculum based upon a program developed by the Union of Reformed Judaism called Mitkadem. Mitkadem is an innovative, self-paced Hebrew prayer and ritual program designed to empower every child to learn Hebrew. Mitkadem was created with an understanding of the realities of supplementary Jewish education (e.g., limited time, inconsistent student attendance, different levels of Hebrew knowledge, different levels of motivation and involvement with Jewish practice) and is part of a comprehensive approach to Hebrew education.

The Mitkadem program consists of twenty-three Ramot (levels) that introduce letters and vowels, prayers from the worship service, Jewish concepts, basic grammar, and vocabulary. The first two Ramot develop reading skills and ritual vocabulary. Ramah 1 is a pre-primer, focusing on Hebrew reading readiness through letter recognition. Ramah 2 is a primer, teaching Hebrew letters, vowels, and the blending of letters and vowels to form syllables and words. Ramot 1 and 2 are teacher-directed, with a combination of independent study and group work. They are unique in that they begin to teach independent learning, the foundation of the upper Ramot.

Beginning with Ramah 3, Mitkadem becomes a self-paced, self-directed Hebrew learning program. Ramah 3 is the m’chinah or preparatory Ramah that introduces students to the Mitkadem system. Each subsequent Ramah covers a particular prayer or family of prayers that share a theme. As students successfully complete a Ramah (and pass both an oral and written test), they advance to the next. Rather than traditional textbooks, every Ramah includes a number of pamphlets with activities divided into five categories:

   Hakdamah:    Introductory activities that set the stage for the theme of each prayer and related activities.
                               These activities serve as an “advanced organizer” for the unit and must be completed before moving
                               on to the remaining activities.

    K’riah:              Reading activities that drill decoding skills, fluent reading of the prayer, and if appropriate, chanting
                                of the prayer.

    Otzar Milim:   Vocabulary activities drill key words and important phrases found within the prayer.

    Dikduk:             Grammar activities teach and have students use roots, prefixes, and suffixes found within the prayer.

    Divrei T’filah:  The activities in “Words about Prayer” emphasize concepts and critical thinking skills. In this
                                  section, students delve into the theological and philosophical ideology expressed in Jewish liturgy.

The Ramot are designed for self-study, and students work through them at their own pace, individually or in small groups.

The second and third graders will start with Ramah #1 and the fourth graders will begin with Ramah #3. Although the fifth and sixth graders first complete Ramah #3 to introduce them to the Mitkadem system each student will be individually tested to determine which Ramah he/she will move to after Ramah #3. In this way each student will be working at his/her own level and will be able to progress through the Ramahs at his/her own pace. Any seventh grade student who wishes to continue his/her Hebrew studies can do so by also completing Ramah #3 and then moving to his/her own level. The individual Ramahs will be available to parents who wish to have their children review their Hebrew studies at home. Contact the Educational Director for a price list.