Temple David Weiger Religious School
All students will study Hebrew on an age appropriate level using the Mitkadem self-paced curriculum.
SACRED JEWISH TEXTS
Sacred Texts – La’asok b’divrei Torah / Engaging in words of Torah
Pre-k-2 Genesis and other key Torah stories
3-4 Highlights of Torah, Prophets and Writings
5-7 Highlights of Torah, Prophets and Writings
8-10 PG -13 Texts with commentaries and midrashim
From Scope & Sequence:
- Texts become sacred when they are inspired by God in partnership with people.
- Sacred Text is our guidepost to ethical behavior.
- Sacred Texts teach the history of our people and connect us to the past, present and future.
- One avenue for deepening our relationship with God is through studying sacred texts.
- A text is sacred because of its basis in Jewish values.
Possible School-wide activities:
- Demonstration by sofer
- Book burial
- Make a yad
- Compare the same section on our three Torah scrolls
- Hebrew calligraphy
- Compare the Torah covers used for different holidays
- Daf Yomi
- Torah/Ark Tour of local synagogues
- Biblical garden tour
- Make a mezuzah including writing the text
- Interfaith presenters about their sacred texts
- Create a ritual around changing the Torah covers for each holiday
- Create a new set of Torah covers
- Enhanced Simchat Torah celebration
- On first day of religious school, each family passes the Torah to the next.
- Throughout the year, each family takes “ownership” of one portion and presents it at the morning gathering
Pre-k-2 Genesis and other key Torah stories
Fundamental Ideas (same for all grades)
Source: Scope & Sequence
- Texts become sacred when they are inspired by God in partnership with people.
- Sacred Text is our guidepost to ethical behavior.
- Sacred Texts teach the history of our people and connect us to the past, present and future.
- One avenue for deepening our relationship with God is through studying sacred texts.
- A text is sacred because of its basis in Jewish values.
Key Points:
The Torah is one way that we hear God’s voice and the voice of the Jewish people. Through studying major stories in the Five Books of Moses with a focus on Genesis stories, students will get to know their extended family, how our people were formed and how we are to act. Through art, music and rituals, students will deepen their internalization of the holiness of the Torah.
Evidence of Understanding:
- Students will know the blessing for Torah study in Hebrew and simple English
- Students will feel that the matriarchs and patriarchs are their family members
- Students will be able to describe what is in the Torah (stories, laws, teachings, customs)
- Students will be able to put biblical stories in order
- Students will be able to explain the basic teaching/value associated with each story
- Students will explain that our special relationship with God comes from God’s gift of Torah to us
Texts Used:
- Teach Me Torah, Part I & II
- The Alef to Tav Activity Book
Special Activities:
- Look at the Torah scroll
- Learn how to undress/dress the Torah scroll
- Compare a codex (book) of the Torah to a scroll
3-4 Highlights of Torah, Prophets and Writings
Fundamental Ideas (same for all grades)
Source: Scope & Sequence
- Texts become sacred when they are inspired by God in partnership with people.
- Sacred Text is our guidepost to ethical behavior.
- Sacred Texts teach the history of our people and connect us to the past, present and future.
- One avenue for deepening our relationship with God is through studying sacred texts.
- A text is sacred because of its basis in Jewish values.
Key Points:
The Hebrew Bible (TaNaKh) is more than the Torah (5 Books of Moses); it includes the Prophets and Writings. Students will learn basic stories from each of the sections of the Hebrew Bible and how they interconnect thematically and historically – for example, that five different books from Writings are each read on five holidays and how Torah and Prophets are connected through the Haftarah cycle. Through art, music and rituals, students will deepen their internalization of the holiness of the Torah.
Evidence of Understanding:
- Students will know the blessing for Torah study in Hebrew and English
- Students will be able to retell the stories and other texts studied and their meaning
- Students will be able to define TaNaKh and its parts in Hebrew and English
- Students will understand the connection between the Torah and Haftarah (found in Prophets)
- Students will explain the connection between the holidays and five scrolls (found in Writings)
Texts Used:
- Being Torah
- Mitkadem
Special Activities:
- Study the Torah Study, Torah and Haftarah blessings
- Look at the Torah Scroll
- Compare and contrast a TaNaKh and Chumash
- Tour the Rabbi’s collection of books related to Torah study
- Look at the Scroll of Esther
- Attend a Shabbat morning Torah study as a class – or better yet, lead it!
5-7 Highlights of Torah, Prophets and Writings
Fundamental Ideas (same for all grades)
Source: Scope & Sequence
- Texts become sacred when they are inspired by God in partnership with people.
- Sacred Text is our guidepost to ethical behavior.
- Sacred Texts teach the history of our people and connect us to the past, present and future.
- One avenue for deepening our relationship with God is through studying sacred texts.
- A text is sacred because of its basis in Jewish values.
Key Points:
Students will have an opportunity for in-depth Torah study, recognizing the value of Torah l’shma – studying for its own sake including exposure to commentary and midrash. They will be able to differentiate between TaNaKh and Torah, cull our values from the stories of our patriarchs and matriarchs and discuss what makes a text sacred, including different movements’ relationship to the texts. For example, traditional Jews believe that the Torah was spoken word for word by God from Mt. Sinai whereas most Reform Jews believe that the Torah was written over time by people, inspired by God, leading each student to wrestle with his/her relationship to the commandments and with God.
That reading Torah is ritualized within the Shabbat morning service invites learning about the order of the Torah service and the prayers that accompany reading Torah versus Torah study.
Through art, music and rituals, students will deepen their internalization of the holiness of the Torah.
Evidence of Understanding:
- Students will know the blessing for studying Torah in Hebrew and English
- Students will explain the value of Torah L’shma
- Students will express the difference between truths and Truth
- Students will share their opinions of how God and science coexist
- Students will share their beliefs about whether the Torah is God’s word
- Students will explain, and consider enacting, the rituals around reading Torah including kissing the scroll, lifting it, changing the covers, etc.
- Students will explain how the weekly Torah portions are determined and what causes breaks in the cycle including holiday readings and leap years.
Texts Used:
- Torah Toons 2
- Chumash
- Mitkadem
Special Activities:
- Attend a Shabbat morning Torah study as a class – or better yet, lead it!
- Create weekly Torah haikus
- Read Reform Judaism’s 10 Minutes of Torah weekly
- Torah lifting calisthenics
- Fundraise for a breast plate for one of the Torahs that doesn’t have one
8-10 PG -13 Texts with commentaries and midrashim
Fundamental Ideas (same for all grades)
Source: Scope & Sequence
- Texts become sacred when they are inspired by God in partnership with people.
- Sacred Text is our guidepost to ethical behavior.
- Sacred Texts teach the history of our people and connect us to the past, present and future.
- One avenue for deepening our relationship with God is through studying sacred texts.
- A text is sacred because of its basis in Jewish values.
Key Points:
Because biblical stories are taught in an age-appropriate way, some texts are either not studied in younger grades or not studied in full. These “PG-13” texts demonstrate that Torah is truly a way of life and covers every aspect of life – demonstrating when life is lived according to its highest values and when it isn’t and that both are valuable lessons. Through art, music and rituals, students will deepen their internalization of the holiness of the Torah.
Evidence of Understanding:
- Students will know the blessing for studying Torah in Hebrew and English
- Students will be able to cite the source of the texts studied
- Students will become acquainted with the textual tools that aid Torah study such as Chumash, midrash, commentary and online resources including www.sefaria.org
- Students will retell the basic stories and messages of the texts studied
- Students will cite different commentaries and midrashim including the date of authorship
Texts Used:
- Select Biblical Stories possibly including:
- Adam & Eve
- Cain & Abel
- Noah’s Ark (end)
- Sarah, Hagar, Abraham and Ishmael
- Judah & Tamar
- Joseph & Potiphar’s Wife
- David & Batsheva
- Samson & Delilah
Special Activities:
- Have each student re-read their Bar/Bat Mitzvah Torah portion in the course of the year
- Propose a better way to throw candy during Bar/Bat Mitzvah services