Curricular Description
Our Curricular LENSES
At Breitman Hebrew School we focus on identifying with Judaism’s unique values system and its wide range of knowledge and skills. To make this a reality, our academic program is designed around five "courses" which serve as lenses through which we can impart these important goals.
WHY WE STUDY PRAYER: 
In the ‘busyness’ of everyday life, prayer gives us the opportunity for introspection. It is a quiet time in which we retreat into our inner-selves and develop a personal relationship with our core Jewishness. These touchstone moments allow us to evaluate our spiritual growth and reaffirm our connection to our deeper self.
HOW WE STUDY PRAYER:
Beginning with the youngest class, we introduce prayers and songs - increasing both the amounts of prayers and the depth of their meanings, as the students progress. Ultimately, 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.
WHY WE STUDY HEBREW READING: 
There is great value to Hebrew literacy. Ideally, Hebrew reading should be more than just about learning a series of letters and vowels. Attaining the skill of reading Hebrew, accessing our common language, enables our students to identify with their common identity and imparts a sense of belonging. By studying to read Hebrew, our students can - eventually - read from original texts, and explore the roots of Jewish practice. They begin to see the Hebrew language holistically, rather than just as a splinter skill.
HOW WE STUDY HEBREW READING: 
Our Kindergarten children are introduced to the Hebrew alphabet through games, crafts, songs, and stories - gaining comfort with the letters. In Grades 1 and 2, we begin integrating letters and vowels. The students learn the patterns of Hebrew, learning how to piece letters together and sound short words. We also begin to study the numerical values of the Hebrew alphabet. From Grades 3 onwards, our students are all inducted into the ALEPHchamp system. In this highly motivated learning environment, students are divided by skill into various color levels, with a designated reading teacher who oversees the progress of each student. When a student feels ready to move onto the next level, they simply arrange to be tested. In this way the Aleph Champ program empowers the individual, stressing self-motivation and personal goals while encouraging group work. At ceremonies, held both in the middle and at the culmination of the year, family and friends are invited to a celebration of each student's accomplishments. Skills learned in the Aleph Champ program cross over into all curricula: implemented while saying prayers, learning holiday liturgy, and in a variety of other ways.
WHY WE STUDY JEWISH HOLIDAYS: 
As human beings living on Earth we all live in a natural system, a system framed by time and space. Because time seems to be in life’s background, just ‘framing’ our lives, it’s easy to lose sight of each moment’s special character.
The Jewish calendar helps us with that. The cycle of holidays stimulates our sensitivity to time, and grants us the opportunity to celebrate its uniqueness. With mindful awareness of these special moments, we have the power to propel our backdrop onto life’s center stage.
HOW WE STUDY THE JEWISH HOLIDAY:
We see the Jewish calendar operating as a complete unit. In this framework, the Jewish holidays spiral on one another and build on similar concepts. In sync with this spiraling pattern, this course addresses both the particular messages of each holiday and its purpose within the larger context of the Jewish year. Our holiday curriculum builds not only previously studied holidays, but on the information covered in preceding years. In this way the material grows with the students and expands their holiday knowledge, depth and skills.
THE CORE IDEA OF EACH HOLIDAY:
High Holidays are a time for us to take a serious look at ourselves, (re)connecting with our deepest potential and launching a new beginning toward a ‘Better Me’.
Sukkot we move out of the serious, contemplative mode. We feel and express the palpable joy that comes from integrating our deepest values into our everyday lives.
Simchat Torah is the time we celebrate the ‘map’ which G‑d gave us (the Torah), and which provides access an integrated, meaningful life.
Chanukah is a time when we connect with the idea of firm commitment to identity and values, and recognize the incredible inner strength we can unlock in ourselves through maintaining that commitment.
Purim is the time to recognize that life is more than it appears to be; looking beneath the veneer, we can find beauty and meaning.
Pesach, The Festival of Liberation, celebrates our individual freedom from our personal ‘Egypts’, soaring above our limitations to actualize our inner selves.
Sefirat Ha'Omer - During the Sefirah period, we focus on self-refinement period in preparation for receiving the Torah.
Shavuot - In the revolution at Sinai, Hashem presented us with a Torah, a program through which life in its entirety could be imbued with meaning.
WHY WE STUDY JEWISH HISTORY: 
6,000 years ago a story began…Our Story. It is intrinsic to our identity as a people that we learn the stories of our ancestors. But stories are much more than a memorization of names and places. Stories are the threads that connect us to each other, to our past, present and future.
Sometimes it is only through the stories of others that we can best understand ourselves. At times it can be very difficult to understand the world we live in and find the power to make good choices. The study of history allows us to take a step back and distance ourselves from our present reality. In the cloak of time, we feel safe enough to listen and engage with the personalities of the past, applying the lessons gleaned from their struggles and triumphs to our own lives.
HOW WE STUDY JEWISH HISTORY:
This seven-year course is designed to foster a sense of self, explore the reason for creation, and propel the continuation of Our Story. Because of its immense scope, this program captures the child's own unfolding identity and discovery process. Learning this six-thousand-year-old story in such an intimate fashion allows our students to see themselves as writers of history and begin enabling the next chapter of our nation's development.
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COURSE 1: THE GENESIS PROJECT: A World with a Purpose ( Year 1 - 2,100 corresponding to 3,760 B.C.E. - 1,160 B.C.E.) ...explores Creation of the world, the unfolding of the human journey, and the purpose of our existence. COURSE 2: THE EXODUS PROJECT: A Nation is Born (Year 2,100 - 2,448 corresponding to 1,160 B.C.E. - 1,312 B.C.E.) ...explores the Hebrews’ experience in Egypt (the Passover saga), and its eventual birth as the Jewish Nation through receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. COURSE 3: THE DESERT PROJECT: A Nation Matures (Year 2,448 - 2,488 corresponding to 1,312 B.C.E. - 1,272 B.C.E.) ...explores the Jewish struggle with its newfound identity, as they wander for forty years in the desert after receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. COURSE 4: Rising Sun - the Jewish Kingdom (Year 2,488 - 3,100 corresponding to 1,272 B.C.E. - 660 B.C.E.) ...explores the Jewish entry into the Land of Israel, and its establishment of an extremely successful (spiritually and materially) commonwealth. COURSE 5: Hope in the Darkness (Year 3,100 - 3,828 corresponding to 660 B.C.E. - 68 C.E.) ...explores a millennium of anti-semitic persecution, including the destruction of two Jewish Commonwealths, and the Jews’ heroic efforts to find hope and faith amidst the suffering.
COURSE 6: Torah: The Soul of Survival (Year 3,828 - 4114 corresponding to
COURSE 7: The Last Leg: Finding Freedom and Facing its Challenges (Year 4,114 - 5,768 corresponding to 1654 - Today) ...explores the last four centuries of Jewish struggle in Europe, our ultimate enfranchisement and our present struggle to maintain identity in the face of freedom.
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WHY WE STUDY ‘MITZVOT’:
Mitzvot give us the opportunity to anchor lofty concepts in daily life. By performing good deeds, we implement our knowledge in a real and meaningful way. Connecting learning with doing enables us to transform the world. Mitzvot honor our relationships with G‑d, with each other, and with the world. 
HOW WE STUDY ‘MITZVOT’:
Every year specific Mitvot are selected for exploration on a school-wide scale. Taught in a 4-year cycle, the material covered in the Mitzvot curriculum is imparted in an informal, spirited and creative fashion. Instead of decontextualized learning, the Mitzvah course focuses on the implementation fo the selected Mitzvot in the form of school wide projects, community events, and exciting trips. 
The Mitzvot we will be exploring this year are (in alphabetical order):
1. Brachot (blessings over various foods and special occasions
2. Care and respect for ritual articles
3. Jewish pride and identity
4. Responsibility to ourselves, Hashem, each other and the world at large
5. Synagogue: Getting familiar with your House of Prayer
6. Torah: Its assembly/production, its usage, its significance.
7. Tzedaka (charity, empathy for those in need)
In future years we will be exploring other Mitzvot, such as:
Israel: Its sanctity and centrality to Jewish identity, Kosher, Maintaining and caring for the environment, Mezuzah, Respect for animals, Shabbat, Visiting the sick, Welcoming and caring for guests, etc.