Hebrew School Curriculum

 Hebrew School Curriculum

Overview: The goal of Shir Tikvah’s Hebrew curriculum is fluent siddur reading and an understanding of the key prayers in the Saturday morning service; prayers, blessings, and songs for home observance of Shabbat and the holidays; and selections from the Friday evening service.

When students have completed Hebrew School, they will be able to:

• Read the prayers in the siddur fluently
• Understand and translate key words and roots
• Discuss the theme of each prayer in English
• Connect key prayers to Jewish values and concepts
• Identify prayers that come from the Torah (ex: Mi Chamocha is the Song of the Sea from the Exodus story)
• Make connections between related prayers (ex: Yotzer Or is the prayer for the morning because it is about creating light, while Ma’ariv Aravim is in the evening service because it is about bringing on the dusk
• Place prayers in the order in which they appear in the service
• Participate in the rituals and ceremonies of Jewish life and understand traditions connected with the service (ex: the word Amidah includes the root “to stand” and therefore it is traditional to stand for this prayer during the service)
• Feel a sense of comfort and familiarity in the synagogue and the sanctuary
• Feel a sense of connection to Shir Tikvah and their Hebrew School Community