MJCHS_curriculum

GAN
KINDERGARTEN

• Students will begin to learn Hebrew letter names and sounds as well as how to chant the Shabbat blessings for candles, wine, and the Hamotzi. 
• Students will be introduced to the major holidays. 
• Students will explore the symbols, ritual objects, and holiday greetings. 
• Students will learn the basic values behind weekly Torah portions.  
• Students will discover the land of Israel and its location on a map.

ALEPH
FIRST GRADE

• Students will learn to identify all Hebrew letters and their sounds as well as how to sing the Aleph Bet song and the Hanukkah blessings. 
• Students will discuss customs surrounding major holidays and compare them to the customs of their own families. 
• Students will explore the symbols, ritual objects, and holiday greetings through identifying their own family customs and traditions.
• Students will learn the basic values behind weekly Torah portions.  
• Students will study symbols of Israel including the flag and the Hatikvah. 

• Students will learn to read Hebrew vowels, learn months and numbers, as well as how to sing the four questions. 
• Students will learn the meanings behind the major holidays.
• Students will explore their own heritage through building a family tree.
• Students will participate in discussions and activities to instill a knowledge of Tzedakah and what it means to be a mensch. 
• Students will discuss Israel's location on the globe and investigate some of the major cities.

• Students will learn to read Hebrew through decoding letter and vowel blends, and start reading blessings and chanting th Shema and Ve'Ahavta.
• Students will learn holidays from a “how to” perspective: how we observe the holidays, what are the customs and blessings of the holidays, etc.
• Students will be introduced to the values of being a mensch and look at how Jewish values inform our qualities of kindness, compassion, and empathy.
• Students will study the biblical roots of the Jewish people beginning with the patriarchs and matriarchs in Bereishit (Genesis).
• Students will study the geography, cities, towns, and villages of the land of Israel.

• Students will learn the structure of the prayer services, the opening sections
  of the Amidah, Friday night Kiddush and related blessings, the half and full kaddish, Aleinu, and Ein K’eloheinu.
• Students will explore the Torah texts describing the holidays and learn how the holidays were originally described in the Torah.
• Students will study Jewish communities around the world, including opportunities for self-study by diving into one community and teaching it to their classmates.
• Students will explore the Exodus narratives, looking at the conditions of slavery, the leadership of Moses, the intervention of God, and the beginnings of nationhood and developing a new religious and national identity during the wilderness experience.
• Students will learn about the various waves of aliyah to Israel and the ethnicities that make up Israeli society today.

HAY
FIFTH GRADE

• Students will learn to chant and lead all of the component prayers of the Torah service, learn Havdallah for the end of Shabbat, and learn the prayers for the community, our country, and Israel.
• Students will explore how the Rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud changed, modified, and adapted the holidays and calendar to look more like the holidays we observe since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
• Students will study American Jewish history from 1654 through the 20th Century and its uniqueness in the Jewish experience, and will visit the Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.
• Students will study the children of Israel in their adolescence, investigate the ups and downs of wilderness existence in Ba'Midbar, issues of leadership, complaining about conditions, reward and punishment, rebellion and reconciliation. They will explore how the God-Moses relationship changes from that in the Book of Exodus.
• Students will investigate the structure of Israel’s parliamentary democracy, how its government is different from democracy in the United States, and the unique challenges of maintaining a Jewish and democratic state.

• Students will begin the year with a review of the Torah service components, learn Haftarah and Torah blessings, learn all the hymns for the end of the Shabbat morning service, Vayomer (3rd paragraph of the Shema), and Birkat HaMazon (grace after meals).
• Students will survey how we celebrate the holidays today and look at how our celebrations differ from those of Jews in Israel and in other parts of the world.
• Students will study selections of Leviticus and Deuteronomy: the holiness code, civil law between citizens, justice, even-handed treatment for all in the law, laws of charity, laws of purity, laws of Kashrut, getting ready for the conquest of the land, the end of Leadership for Moses, and the transmission of leadership and knowledge.
• Students will study the rituals and milestones of the Jewish life cycle, including rituals surrounding birth, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, marriage and divorce, and death and mourning.
• Students will study the nuance of Israel’s recent history and conflicts, that
  not all problems have easy solutions, and that not all decisions are the correct one.

• Students will work with their Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutors on Torah and Haftarah readings, and on their Divrei Torah.
• Students will survey the narratives of the early books of prophets, Joshua, Judges and I Samuel, covering the period from conquest to kingship.
• Students will do a deep exploration into the causes and events leading up to the Holocaust.
• Students will continue their study of Israel to include elements of modern Israeli culture, music and literature.

HEBREW HIGH
&
HIGH HEBREW HIGH

Hebrew High is led by Rabbi Pont and will include more relaxed conversations around antisemitism, Torah life lessons, Talmud life lessons, Israel and Jewish pride, Israeli cooking, arts, technology and more. Students will learn from guest speakers, do community service projects and even enjoy some of the Rabbi's favorite movies and TV shows with Jewish values. 

High Hebrew High meets once a month at Fred & Murray's Kosher Deli, and is led by Rabbi Pont. The topics will vary each month and may include the occasional guest speaker as appropriate.