| Tanach: Sh'mot (Book of Exodus)* The Exodus drama informed and shaped the culture and religion of Israel. How does the story of liberation and revelation influence our ethical and social consciousness? What details did ancient Sages add to the spare Biblical text? What insights did scholars of the Middle Ages draw from it about God's relationship to Israel and the world? How have modern commentaries expanded our grasp of the character and role played by Moses? |
| Rabbinics: Introduction to Mishnah The letters of the Hebrew word mishnah in a different order spell neshamah, which means soul. Mishnah is called the soul of Judaism, the first and most vital codification of the Oral Tradition that transformed Judaism. Mishnah addresses all aspects of Jewish life -- civil and criminal law, marriage and divorce, Shabbat and festival observances, rules about food and the Land of Israel, and spiritual purity. |
| Siddur: Weekday and Shabbat What are the building blocks of weekday and Shabbat services? How do they fit together? What words and phrases from the Tanach are incorporated into siddur texts? How does the siddur express Rabbinic theology, ideas and values? How do weekday and Shabbat prayers give voice to basic existential questions about our lives as Jews? |
| History: Modern Jewish History (1700 to present)* In what ways did "emancipation" in Europe affect the Jewish people? When and where did Jews prosper and when and where were they persecuted? What effect did citizenship in modern nation-states have on Jewish identity and community? How did the Jewish people meet the challenges of large scale immigration? How did the Holocaust impact communal life and consciousness in modern Israel and the Diaspora? |
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| Grade 9 |
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