Middle School

Our Middle School Judaics Curriculum builds on our Lower School Curriculum. We introduce Mishnah/Oral Law in the 6th grade and we offer an exciting History of Israel curriculum - which, in addition to fostering a love for Ha'Aretz and an understaning of our history - prepares our 8th grade students for their big trip to the Holy Land.

Oral Law/Mishnah Curriculum

Jewish schools across the country dedicate many hours and resources to study of the Oral Law (be it Mishnah or Gemara), but more than 70% of all students are still unable to learn a page of Talmud on their own at the end of secondary school studies. How can this be improved?

Study of the Oral Law, or Torah She B’al Peh, in our day is radically different than in the days of the Gaonim (the leaders of the Jewish community in Babylonia during the 7th through 10th centuries) and the Rishonim (the Sages who shaped Jewish law and practice from the 11th to 16th centuries). Our Sages cautioned us not to transcribe Oral Tradition into writing (Gittin 60b), but persecutions and destructions eventually forced scholars to preserve the Talmud in texts.

The first full printing of the Babylonian Talmud was of the Catholic printer Daniel Bombergi of Venice, in 1520-1523. (Today we learn exclusively from the Vilna printing of the Talmud which dates to 1880.) Before Bombergi’s edition, the Talmud was learned orally or from handwritten manuscripts. As study moved from manuscripts to printings, the mentality of study changed. Manuscripts, being handwritten, tended to be more fluid and informal, scholars even corrected manuscripts on their own authority! Printed texts were seen as being more formal and less open to corrections. As such, they created a revolution, “exiling” as it were the Oral Tradition into the fixed format of literature.

How can we recapture the essence of that Oral Tradition? How can we make it come alive for our students? One approach is the Revadim (“layers”) method we currently use in our middle school to teach Mishnah and Gemara.

How does “Revadim” work? Revadim operates on a model of four stages of increasing complexity. Each stage presents a series of special learning skills.

The first stage is study of Mishnah with relevant skills.
The second stage teaches skills for comparison of the Mishnah with other oral traditions (such as the Tosefta, various beraitot and the Midreshei Halacha of Rabbi Akiba and Rabbi Yishmael) to arrive at a more balanced and complete picture of what the Tannaim (the earliest Sages mentioned in the Oral Law) taught. This comparison of Tannaitic sources is preparation for study of the Amoraim (the later generations of Sages quoted in the Oral Law) in the Talmud, who concentrated on resolution of contradictions in Tannaitic sources.
The third stage is study of Amoraic literature, which includes learning the various forms of Amoraic discussions, called “sugyot.”
The final stage is study of the anonymous, Aramaic-language text known as the “Gemara,” the “Talmud,” or the “stama d’talmuda.”

Chumash/Written Law Curriculum

In addition to reading and translating posukim, students learn to identify problematic words or phrases which prompt Rashi and other meforshim to comment. Students study Rashi’s question (or that of the other meforshim) on the word or phrase being analyzed and are then encouraged to offer thoughtful answers, even if their answers differ from those of the meforshim.
6th Grade students study the Book of BeMidbar (Numbers), specifically focusing on areas related to Middot (Character Traits). Middot are explored relating to the census and encampments, the Princess (Nasis) of each tribe, the Spies, Korah, Balaam, Pinchas (Phineas), B'Nei Reuven and B'Nei Gad. Students also learn specific laws/halachic sections of BeMidbar relating to Sotah (Accused Adultery) and Nazirites.
7th  Grade students study the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), specifically focusing on the Aseret HaDibrot (The Ten Commandments), Spies, Blessings, Holidays, Preparing to Conquer the Land, Establishing Law in the Land and Ruling the Land.

8th Grade Students study the book of Ezra and Nehemiah who led the Jews back to the land of Israel  after the construction of the second temple. We make a connection between this period, and the Jews returning to Israel in modern times as a result of the establishment of the State of Israel.

History of Israel

This curriculum is designed to help students learn about Jewish history – from Yehoshua’s conquest of the land to today’s current events which shape the tone and tenor of Modern Israel. The culmination of the three-year curriculum is our 8th grade trip to Israel.
The skill focus of this curriculum is very similar to that followed in our Social Studies curriculum for Middle School.
As this curriculum covers two millennia of Jewish history, it's not possible to cover all the events and nuances of each epoch touched upon. Instead, our goal is to impart one or two “big ideas” for each time period covered.