The Rabbi Sidney and Shirley Steiman Religious School

Our goal is to develop a positive, joyous and informed Jewish identity that links home and synagogue. Religious School is offered for Kindergarten through tenth grade. 11th & 12th graders participate in a monthly Rabbis seminar. Our one-session school meets on Sunday mornings from 9:30 to noon and teaches Jewish history, customs and celebrations, Jewish thought and values. Special huggim (clubs) complement more formal instruction. Time is devoted not only to developing important skills and knowledge, but to nurturing the life of the spirit. Family Shabbat & holiday programming supplements our Sunday classes.

For additional information, please contact George Kelley, Youth & School Administrator, 253-3441

2008-2009 Religious School Begins on Sunday, September 7, 2008

CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

Each year in the Beth-El Zedeck Rabbi Sidney and Shirley Steiman Religious School builds upon the knowledge gained during the previous year.   Each class studies Torah, God/Belief, Israel and Peoplehood and Lifecycle events with activities and stories appropriate to their particular age group.  This education can be summarized as follows:

Kindergarten

Torah:  Introduction to Jewish ideas, values and storiesGod /Belief:  The synagogue and the role of Rabbis and Cantor.  Basic prayers are introducedIsrael/ People hood:  Israel through songs and stories

Lifecycle/Calendar:  Students are introduced to the Holy Days through celebration, song and ritual.

First Grade

Torah:  Bible stories: Creation through Abraham and SarahGod /Belief:  Major prayers of the services and special Holy Day blessingsIsrael/ People hood: Israel as a homeland for the Jewish peopleLifecycle/Calendar:  Holy Days through children’s literature Additional Material:  Hebrew Enrichment before formal Hebrew instruction begins

Second Grade

Torah:  Bible stories from Abraham and Sarah through Moses and the ExodusGod /Belief:  What we believe about God; the meaning behind familiar prayersIsrael/ People hood: The land of Israel in the early history of our peopleLifecycle/Calendar:  Holy Days and their central values, e.g. Yom Kippur – forgiveness; Sukkot - Thanksgiving Additional Material:  Hebrew Enrichment before formal Hebrew instruction begins

Third Grade

Torah:  Bible:  The Early Prophets; the stories of Joshua, the Judges, Samuel and KingsGod /Belief:  The meaning of holiness as expressed in the rituals and symbols of Jewish traditionIsrael/ People hood: History of the building of the modern state and its geographyLifecycle/Calendar:  The major prayers and customs of the Holy Days ( i.e. Ushpizim, Al HaNisim, Tu BiShevat Seder, Shelach Manot )

Fourth Grade

Torah:  Bible: The later Prophets; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah and AmosGod /Belief:  The meaning of prayer.  Why pray?  To whom do we pray?  As expressed in the rituals and  symbols of Jewish traditionIsrael/ People hood: Jews around the world—how we are connected

Lifecycle/Calendar:  The Jewish Calendar:  how we count time

Fifth Grade

Torah: Rabbinic Torah Commentary.God /Belief:  The Jewish lifecycle from birth to death—rituals and ceremoniesIsrael/ People hood:  Jewish history – the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism (2nd Century B.C.E. - 6th Century C.E.)Lifecycle/Calendar: How the Holy Days evolved from the Bible to the present

Sixth Grade and Seventh Grades

These two years are tied together and much of the study carries from one year into the next.

Torah:  Read your lives into Torah. God /Belief:  Finding God:   What does our tradition say?  What do we say?  Our neighbors’ religions and traditions: Christianity, Islam, Eastern traditionsIsrael/ People hood:  Jewish history – Middle Ages to the beginning of Modernity (7th Century – 18th Century C.E.);  great Jewish personalities and the beginnings of ZionismLifecycle/Calendar: Holy Days beyond Honey Cake, Hanukah candles, and HamantashenAdditional Material:  Rabbis’ Bar/Bat Mitzvah Family Seminar

Eighth Grade

Torah:  Holocaust LiteratureGod /Belief:  Faith in light of the tragic events of the HolocaustIsrael/ People hood: Jewish History in the Modern Age: from the Holocaust to the establishment of the state of Israel and the rise of American JudaismLifecycle/Calendar:  Yom HaShoa; Yom Ha’Atzmaut; Commemoration of tragedy and celebration of survival and renewal.

Ninth Grade

Torah:  Current events through the lens of JudaismGod /Belief:  The evolution of the Jewish construction of GodIsrael/ People hood: The movements of Judaism: Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Orthodox; introduction to Jewish mysticismLifecycle/Calendar: Bible readings for the Holy Days, e.g. Jonah, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Song of Songs

Tenth Grade

Torah:  Job: Exploring questions of good and evil;  Ruth: Shavuot  Jewish identityGod /Belief:  An introduction to Jewish thinkers, i.e. Heschel, Buber, Kaplan, etc.Israel/ People hood: What does Judaism say about current ethical dilemmas?  Euthanasia, abortion, capital punishment, free speech, separation of church and state, etc.Lifecycle/Calendar: What are we confirming?

Additional Material: Jewish trip to New York City with the Rabbis; Tikkun Olam program throughout the year