Seventh Grade (Zayin)
Students in seventh grade follow several tracks of study.
Hebrew
- Fine-tune their reading skills and discuss the meaning of the Shabbat liturgy for which they will be responsible during their B’nai Mitzvah
- Introduced to Biblical Hebrew in order to gain familiarity with the type of Hebrew they will see in their Torah and Haftarah portions
- Begin to learn modern, conversational Hebrew, as spoken in Israel today
D’var Torah (10 week course)
- Develop the skills used in Torah interpretation (Midrash)
- Study rabbinic commentaries on the Bible
- Create a first draft of their B’nai Mitzvah D’var Torah
- Practice presenting their D’var Torah publicly
Israel (10 week course)
- Study the history of modern Israel with special attention to the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Discuss current events in Israel as they unfold
American Jewish Experience (10 week course)
- Examine the history of Jewish life in America
- Explore how American culture has influenced the Jewish community
- Learn about the differences between Reform Judaism and Judaism’s other branches
Holocaust
- Study the history of the Holocaust
- Relate the lessons of the Holocaust to current events and issues concerning prejudice and intolerance