Goals - Students will:
- become familiar with the roots of the Jewish people, B’nei Yisrael (the Children of Israel), through their study of Bereshit (Genesis).
- make connections between the actions and values in the Torah and their own lives.
- learn how to wrestle with the words and meaning of Torah through the study of Bereshit.
- learn how Midrashim (explanations and interpretations of Biblical texts) help us expand upon the words of Torah.
- develop facility in using the Chumash (Torah book) and learning how to find parshiyot (weekly portions).
- become familiar with the concept of God as portrayed in Bereshit and begin to understand that concepts of God have evolved throughout the ages.
- gain an understanding of the land of Israel as a modern country as well as the setting of the Bible.
- begin to explore the Sho’ah through stories of resistance
- develop basic Hebrew reading fluency.
- develop familiarity with the bracha (blessing) formula.
- begin to make a connection with blessings and spiritual times in their lives.
- develop an understanding of the Shema as a central prayer in Judaism.
- develop an understanding of the location, meaning, and purpose of the blessings surrounding the Shema.
- achieve functional skill at recognizing key Hebrew roots, prefixes and suffixes, and use them to begin to approximate the translation of prayers.
- begin to develop an understanding of the evolution of Jewish worship.
- begin to feel comfortable following along and participating in student services.
- begin learning how to prepare a d’var Torah as a class and present it at student services
- begin to feel comfortable leading familiar prayers in small groups at family services
- gain experience adding creative prayers to family services
Topics:
- Book of Bereshit and relevant Midrashim
- Development of the concept that we are partners with God in our role of sustaining God’s creation
- Exploring God concepts in Bereshit
- Comparing ancient and modern cities in Israel
- Introduction to Sho’ah (Holocaust) through age appropriate trade books
- Hebrew reading fluency
- Hebrew grammar – identifying roots and understanding general meaning
- The formula and meaning of blessings
- The Shema and surrounding blessings
- Participating in and following along in services
- D’var Torah
Fourth Grade Class Services: Kitah Bet (grade 4) students and parents will have 3-4 family services in the Downstairs Meeting Room, on Fridays throughout the year. Each service will be led by some of the Kitah Bet students and their parents and will include creative input from the families. Kitah Bet services are followed by a pot luck dessert.
