Beginning in our ELC, children have the opportunity to learn the weekly parsha in and out of their classrooms. Our ELC students engage in interactive and fun parsha learning with Principal Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, and our Lower School students gather to learn about the parsha with our Lower School Associate Principal of Judaic Studies. Handson experiences that connect children to the texts we learn, our holidays, and the Torah values we embrace take place throughout the grades. Children enjoy visits from Noach and his teva filled with animals, perform acts of chesed in our chesed tent in honor of Parshat Vayera, ride ponies to simulate Mordechai’s experience in Shushan, learn with their family members at a Rashi evening, and spend time with their grandparents
exploring Jewish texts.
Our students are charged with learning the texts of the Torah and spend time in their classes deciphering the text and exploring it. We begin teaching Chumash in Grade 2, Rashi in Grade 3, Navi in Grade 4, Mishna in Grade 5, and Gemara in Grade 6. All classes are Ivrit b’Ivrit, although students with limited Judaic Studies skills can be placed in classes primarily taught in English when they reach Middle School. Text study and chevruta are at the epicenter of all Tanach and Gemara work. Grade 3 students are offered a Ta’amei Hamikra course which allows them to understand the punctuation and trope of the Torah to enhance their understanding.
In the Middle School, through an exciting program called Limud@SAR, students are offered a wide array of supplemental Torah learning opportunities including Chidon HaTanach, Daf Yomi L’Yeladim, Mishna Madness, Torah & Cocoa Club: Halacha Yomi, Ta’amei HaMitzvot, a pre-Shabbat tisch (including cholent), Torah Road Trip (an advanced Torah learning elective), and more. We help students prepare for meaningful bar and bat mitzvah celebrations by offering parent-child learning programs in the evenings.