The curriculum of the Religious School of Congregation Beth Israel emphasizes the development of Jewish insights and perspectives.  Jewish values are taught through the study of Torah and holiday observation as well as through discussion of mitzvot, God, and prayer.  Children are encouraged to recognize the values of our heritage as they further develop their creative thinking and expression. 

Our curriculum is based on established “Enduring Understandings” behind each of our curriculum topics.  Our goal is to teach to the underlying concepts and values that we want the children to carry with them into adulthood.

Many activities are used to reinforce the ideas we teach.  In addition to the academic classroom instruction, a different specialist teaches the children some of the cultural aspects of Judaism each week including music, cooking, Israeli dance, storytelling, and art.  Computers are available to be used as tools to accentuate and supplement our regular curriculum. Students participate in a weekly age appropriate service in order to familiarize the children with the basic prayers and structure of the service.  Parents are encouraged to participate in Tefillah with their children.   Shabbat Services on the first Friday evening of each month are geared towards families.  We strongly encourage parents to understand that services are a part of their child’s spiritual education.  This team approach to education gives a well-rounded sense of what it means to be Jewish.

Our middle school program meets on Sunday mornings most weeks.  These students will meet one Saturday morning per month so that the students become familiar with the Shabbat morning service.  Attendance on all of these dates is required and must be made up if missed for any reason.  Sunday morning curriculum for middle school students will focus on Judaic studies, and the Saturday morning curriculum will focus on Torah Study.  Parents are encouraged to attend the Congregation's Shabbat services and Torah study.

Teachers of each grade level approach the areas of study in an age appropriate manner and depth. The content areas include: 

Jewish Holidays

Jewish History

Sacred Texts

God, Prayer and Spirituality

Hebrew

Israel

Mitzvot, Ethics & Values

Jewish Life Cycle

A more detailed description of the areas of study is available from the Director of Education. This information includes the universal Enduring Understandings and the Evidences of Understanding for every grade for each curriculum topic. 

As always, the single most important factor in developing positive Jewish feelings in children is the attitude of the parents.  Regular school attendance, participation in Shabbat dinners and Shabbat and Festival services by all members of the family show our children that Judaism is indeed an important part of our lives.

Congregation Beth Israel offers a mid-week Hebrew program for children beginning in the fourth grade, or nine years old.  Enrollment in the Religious School program is required of all Hebrew School students. The program continues through their B’nai Mitzvah year.  The four-year course of study is designed as follows:

KITAH ALEPH – By the end of the school year, all students should recognize all letters and vowels in the Hebrew alphabet. Students should be able to sound out any word written in Hebrew. They should have a working vocabulary of 25 simple words and be able to read the Shema and the Barchu and discuss their meaning.

KITAH BET – By the end of the school year, students should be able to read the V’ahavta, Yotzer and Ma'ariv Aravim fluently and understand its meaning.  They should also have the ability to read and lead candle blessings, and the Kiddish (short version), the Motzi and the Passover Four Questions.  They should have at least a 50-word vocabulary that they can recognize and understand. 

KITAH GIMMEL - By the end of the school year, all students should be able to read fluently all the prayers from the Sabbath evening and morning service that we do in Hebrew at CBI (V'ahavta, Avot, G’vurot, Kedushat Hashem, Avodah,  Ma’ariv Aravim, Yotzer, and Torah blessings).  They should be able to read the Chanukah candle lighting blessings, the Passover Four Questions and the blessing for when we study Torah.   They should have a basic vocabulary of 75 Hebrew words that they can read and write (without vowels). 

KITAH DALET – By the end of the school year, all students should be able to read smoothly all the prayers and chant the ones we normally chant.  They should be able to participate in the Torah service including chanting the Torah and Haftorah blessings. They should know the themes in the service: Creation, Redemption and Revelation and the main message of each prayer: praise, thanks, petition.  They should be able to translate completely the Shema, Barchu, and the prayers before and after the Torah reading.  They should have a vocabulary of 100 words as well as being able to read and be comfortable writing many words without vowels.

Rabbi Greenbaum teaches the Kitah Dalet class during their pre-B’nai Mitzvah year.  This enables our students to develop a strong relationship with the Rabbi prior to their becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah.  It also encourages their continued participation in the Confirmation program.

In addition, we weave Modern Hebrew words into our regular interactions with the students.  We ask them to familiarize themselves and add some of these words to their vocabulary.

At the end of the school year we will hold a “Vocabulary Bee” as a fun challenge for the students.  The students will be tested on their vocabulary words for their level and the top student of each class will receive a prize.

In order to learn a foreign language, home practice is mandatory.  Occasionally students require additional assistance to keep up with their class.  In this case, the child’s teacher will recommend outside tutoring.  Each level of Hebrew is built on the previous skills.  Therefore students are only promoted to the next level if they have mastered their current requirements.   Report cards will be sent out in January as well as at the end of the year to inform parents of their student's progress.  Parents are encouraged to contact their child's teacher with any questions or concerns.