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Zayin

Zayin

HEBREW/PRAYERS

Zayin students, having learned the basic components of the Shabbat morning service, run a learners' minyan with the help of their teachers, and spend time refocusing on the meanings and functions of tefillot through special lessons.  

HOLIDAYS/HISTORY

Zayin students revisit holidays through a historical lens, exploring the difference between our sacred myths and what we know about Jewish history, for example around the holiday of Chanukah. 

The primary focus of the Zayin year is a deep exploration of Jewish history from the rabbinic period through contemporary times, with special focus on the Holocaust and Jewish life in America.  The Holocaust is explored through materials from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, film, and literature.  
 

BIBLE

Parshat hashavua (the weekly Torah portion) is studied with an emphasis on rabbinic commentaries (especially Rashi).  Students begin to see and feel the perpetual cycle of Torah study through the years by participating in it themselves.  
 

VALUES

The Zayin value is Chochmah (wisdom).  This theme is explored in family education through developing the skills to write a d'var Torah using both Torah text and commentaries as well as our personal questions and insights.  In class, students work through contemporary, relevant ethical dilemmas, using skits and debate to come to conclusions and then exploring rabbinic literature which has developed to answer these very questions for the Jewish people. We hope to build in Zayin students both the curiosity and the feeling of entitlement to ask hard questions of Judaism and to seek out meaningful answers provided by our tradition, while finding their own voice in the mix. 

OTHER

The Zayin history curriculum is augmented by a trip to the Lower East Side.

Vav and Zayin students participate in Monday night chuggim.  Chuggim include Israeli cooking, Jewish film, creative writing, Facebooking the siddur, Jews who rock, and intergenerational trope training.  Chuggim are a highlight of our Monday nights and allow students to extend their learning according to personal interests.
 
Tue, May 13 2025 15 Iyar 5785