Our curriculum includes components of each of these courses:

  • Tefillah, prayer

  • Kriah, Hebrew Reading

  • Israel

  • Holidays

  • Mitzvot

  • Torah Stories

  • Values

   

TEFILLAH – Prayer:

Beginning with the youngest class, we sing well-known prayers, slowly increasing both the amounts of prayers and the depth of their explanations. Our goal is for our students to attain a familiarity with the words of the prayers, the mechanics that attach to those prayers (ie: when to stand, etc.), and its deeper messages. We visit the synagogue to get a taste of its culture. 

For many, prayer is an acquired taste. But if we focus on the purpose of prayer – a quiet escape in the busy-ness of our day in which we can concentrate on our Purpose – we recognize the necessity of the Prayer endeavor. If we can train ourselves from the youngest age to seek these touchstone moments, imagine the gift we’ve given ourselves?! 
Click HERE for further practice of the morning prayers.   
 

KRIAH – Hebrew Reading:

Our students learn to read and write Hebrew, and build vocabulary related to the mitzvot and holidays. Although the children will not be able to open a Torah or Prayerbook and understand its text, the fact that they can read the words in the original language helps forge a powerful bond with Judaism. Reading Hebrew connects the child to a 3,000 year old language, used by our people over all that time, no matter where we found ourselves. It is a language that is part of our heritage and helps each generation connect to its past. (Besides, Hebrew is fun for kids! Hebrew is purely phonetic, and decoding it is one big puzzle!) Please click here for a fuller description of our Kriah Curriculum.


ISRAEL – Our Land

Israel is our homeland, with significance to the past, present and future of the Jewish people. In story and song, our program emphasizes the inherent connection to this special land.


YOM TOV – Jewish Holidays:

Lessons on each of the (colorful!) Holidays will fill our calendar as we march from the High Holiday season, though Chanukah, Tu Bishvat, Purim, Passover, Lag B’Omer and Shavuot. Each holiday has a story, a message and cool traditions and customs! The students explore each holiday with hands-on activities and in depth discussions, with lessons spiraling upwards. 

Chabad hosts holiday celebrations for our students and their families, offering authentic experiential learning, adding dimensions to the student’s Judaic education.


MITZVOT – Divine Connectors:

Mitzvah, often translated as ‘good deed’, refers to actions that anchor lofty concepts into daily life. There are categories of Mitzvot that relate to the interpersonal; mitzvot that are holiday and Shabbat-related; related to life-cycle events; and mitzvot that are not intuitive (ex: eating kosher) but serve as a mechanism for honoring our relationship with G‑d. 

Our curriculum covers a broad spectrum of mitzvot, exploring how we do them, why we do them, and how our actions in general have the capacity to bring light to the world.


TORAH STORIES- History

6,000 years ago a story began…Our Story, and it is intrinsic to our identity as a people to learn the stories of our ancestors. But stories are much more than a body of knowledge of names and places. Stories give us the opportunity to engage with the personalities of the past, applying the lessons gleaned from their struggles and triumphs to our own lives. 
Our curriculum covers the stories in Genesis, Exodus and parts of Numbers. Additionally, we cover a selection of personalities from later on as well.


VALUES & ETHICS:

Good values can be compared to a bird’s wings. Sure, the bird’s body is what keeps it alive, but its wings makes it soar. Who am I? What do I stand for? What does ancient Jewish tradition have to teach me? Using stories and scenarios that have practical applications to our everyday life, students empower themselves with a Jewish Value System.