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Hebrew Learning Circles Programs

Programs for Children
Programs for Adults
Detailed Curricula

PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN
Personal Mentorship
One-on-one mentorship best serves the special needs of some students. A period of personal mentorship is an integral part of the Bar/t Mitzvah preparation process. 60 or 90 minute sessions.

Tinokot, Young-Ones
A parent-child Circle ages 1-6. This Circle offers Jewish life and celebration experiences for young children and their parents in a creative and experiential mode. Primary themes are Shabbat and holiday stories and practices. Activities include crafts, food preparation, games, songs, candle lighting and blessings, Hallah baking and eating, ritual object making, story telling, puppetry, and much more. 90 minute sessions.

Nitzanim, Buds A beginner's level Circle, second through fifth grade. Students learn Hebrew reading skills, basic liturgy skills, Torah stories, holiday observances, and Hebrew songs. The innovative Hebrew Hevrutah curriculum is used for language training. An experiential curriculum involving creative arts is used for teaching Judaica. 90 minute sessions.

 Amirim, Tree Tops A two year Bar and Bat Mitzvah track
This program has three components:
  1. Skills - Hebrew reading, and Torah/Haftorah chanting
  2. Jewish Basics - Students learn the names and historical evolution of Jewish classical texts. They become acquainted with the lives and teachings of central Jewish figures. Students learn the broad time-line of Jewish history. They become familiar with basic concepts of Jewish spirituality. Students perfect their mastery of Hebrew language and ritual skills. They learn the practice of Mitzvah as a measure of becoming a responsible participant in the community. In that context, they explore the meaning of adolescent rites of passage.
    This Circle is designed to equip the Bar and Bat Mitzvah child with the experience and understanding of Jewish culture and spirituality.
  3. Personal mentorship - The student learns his or her ceremony-specific assignments:
    1. D'var Torah, speech
    2. Torah and/or Haftorah chanting
    3. Sh'ma and other selected prayers
    4. A Mitzvah project (community service)
90 minute sessions.


Nesharim (Eagles)
A post Bar and Bat Mitzvah Learning Circle. Students choose to explore areas of Jewish interest and/or choose to strengthen and deepen their ritual and Hebrew language skills. The Circle can be arranged as a 90 minute weekly session or alternately as a monthly social/educational program. Post Bar/Bat Mitzvah learning is rewarded with a series of teen life-cycle ceremonies. At age fourteen, students celebrate the Bar/Bat Yeholet (high skill) ceremony at which they mark the transition from middle school to high school in a Jewish context. At age sixteen, students celebrate the Atzma'ut (independence) ceremony, at which they mark the beginning of driving privileges and responsibilities in a Jewish context.

 Mishpaha, Family
A child-parent Bar and Bat Mitzvah learning track. This creative, multi-modal shared study offers the parent(s) and child an opportunity to seek answers, develop tools, and find growing meaning in Judaism. Child and parent will learn together, separately and interactively through the pedagogical approach that will best meet their needs and learning styles.
This unique program empowers the child and family. The program helps demonstrate that the Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation experience is a natural extension of shared familial life, love and values. The experience conveys to the child that consciously exploring sensitive core issues such as faith, spirituality, and identity is a beneficial and maturing pursuit. 90 minute sessions.

Hagigot, Celebrations
A series of family-centered, kid-friendly, holiday and Shabbat celebrations. These gatherings afford learners the opportunity to proudly demonstrate ritual skills acquired during Circle sessions and much more (see semester calendar).

 Teva (Nature) Experience
An educational outdoor weekend retreat for Bar/Bat Mitzvah track students and their parents. Students gain an appreciation of Judaism's deep roots in nature. Guided nature and leadership challenges enhance students' rite of passage perparation. Activities include games, storytelling, campfire, sports, hikes, food making, discussions, and Shabbat rituals.

PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS
First Step
Through textual study, shared inquiry, and discussion students survey customs, history, the Jewish calendar, and selections from classical Jewish literature and beliefs. The course provides the beginner level student with a bird's eye view of Jewish culture and religion.

Jewish Storytelling
Storytelling is an ancient Jewish sharing and teaching medium. From the beginning of the Jewish people in the Sinai desert, through the period of the Hasidic masters, until this very day, stories have nurtured and sustained us as a people. Participants will share stories from Jewish folklore as well as exchange personal and family stories. Tricks of the storytelling craft will be explored.

 The Mysteries Of The Hebrew Alef-Bet
A Jewish Spiritual Journey
The Hebrew letters are repositories of the deepest secrets and understandings of Jewish tradition. Every letter is a unique distillation of numerology, graphic symbology, semantic connotation, and Divine mystery. Together we unpack these ancient teachings and make them relevant to our lives as spiritual seekers of the twenty-first century through textual study, shared inquiry and experiential practice.

 Besht Learning
Rabbi Israel Ba'al Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement, also known as the BESHT, was a radical social and spiritual reformer of Judaism in eighteenth century Eastern Europe. His teaching, as well as his modeling of universal love, wisdom, and spiritual discipline resonate deeply to this day. The Light and Fire of The Baal Shem Tov by Yitzhak Buxbaum will serve as the primary discussion text.

 DETAILED CIRCLES CURRICULA
Tinokot, Young-Ones - A parent-child Circle ages 1-6
Nitzanim, Buds - second through fifth grade
Amirim, Tree Tops - Bar and Bat Mitzvah track two year curriculum
Mishpaha, Family - Parent/s & child together one semester curriculum

 Tinokot, Young-Ones
A parent-child Circle ages 1-6
This Circle is designed to provide a multi-age, multi-generational Jewish experience for children (infants through first grade) and their parents.

Curricular track objectives, rhythm and content:
The curriculum will enable children and parents to use basic Jewish ritual words, sing Jewish songs, and perform basic and age-appropriate observances.

Frequency: weekly
Session length: 90 minutes
Location: A participating family's home
Session Rhythm:
  1. Greetings - (5 minutes)
  2. Activity - (30 minutes)
    • Crafts and food preparation
  3. Circle time - (10 minutes)
    • Games and songs
  4. Snack time and table rituals - (30 minutes)
    • Hallah, grape juice, holiday treats accompanied by corresponding songs and blessings
  5. Story time / puppet show - (10 minutes)
  6. Closure activity - (5 minutes)

 Nitzanim, Buds Second through fifth grade
The Basic Curriculum is designed for second through fifth grade Circles. The curriculum follows 5 distinct tracks:
  1. Hebrew reading skills
  2. Basic ritual skills
  3. Bible stories
  4. Holiday symbols and observances
  5. Hebrew songs
The innovative Hebrew Hevrutah curriculum is used for language training (More information is available upon request). Experiential teaching methods involving crafts, drama, games, and music are used to teach liturgy, Hebrew Bible stories, Holidays, and Jewish songs to address the range of students' learning styles.

Curricular track objectives, rhythm, and content:
Frequency: weekly
Session length: minimum of 90 minutes
Location: A participating family's home
Session rhythm:
  1. Hebrew song (5 minutes)
  2. Hebrew reading (25 minutes)
  3. Judaica (45 minutes)
    1. Ritual skills
    2. Bible and other traditional Jewish stories
    3. Holidays
  4. Hebrew song (5 minutes)
Hebrew Songs
The objective of this track is to help the learner develop an effective relationship with Jewish culture through its music. Learning circles open and close with a song. Students will be able to sing a variety of modern and popular Hebrew folk songs.

Hebrew Reading Skills
Our objective in Hebrew language instruction is to help the learner become literate in the texts he or she is most likely to encounter in his or her Jewish life, i.e. the Torah and Siddur (prayer book). Therefore the Hevrutah Hebrew Study Series focuses on reading fluency and basic vocabulary. Upon completion of the intermediate workbook the student will be able to read Hebrew fluently.

Basic Ritual Skills
The objective of this track is to enable the learner to feel competent and confident about basic Jewish ritual skills. The student will be able to recite Berakhot (Blessing formulas) said at a variety of festive and/or personal occasions.

Hebrew Bible and other Stories
The objective of this track is to provide students with a broad mythological foundation upon which they will be able to construct an ever developing Jewish identity. Students will become familiar with selected stories from the Hebrew Bible and other Jewish classics. The characters and values in each story will be explored. Some of the stories taught include, the story of creation, Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, Abraham and Sara's journeys, the binding of Isaac, Jacob's dream, Joseph and the multicolored coat, the exodus from Egypt, the stories of King David and King Solomon. The student will be able to list major Jewish classical figures and tell stories associated with them. Students will also be able to explain how each figure and story models positive and moral values that can guide their lives.

Jewish Holidays
Holidays are focused times of reconnection with identity, history, community, and family. The objective of this track is to enable the student to become a competent and confident participant at these peak moments. Holiday customs, traditions and meanings will be taught as they come around the calendar cycle. Students will be able to list basic customs, traditions and meanings of major Jewish holidays.

Amirim, Tree Tops A two year Bar and Bat Mitzvah track
The Bar/Bat Mitzvah curriculum is designed to provide the student with:
  1. An integrated set of basic Jewish skills
  2. A variety of Jewish cultural and spiritual experiences
  3. A forum for reflection on the student's coming-of-age.
The instructional approach is student-centered and inquiry-based. The student is encouraged to become a competent, confident, and independent Jewish learner. The curriculum aims to equip the student with a solid foundation, from which he or she will make emotionally secure and well-informed future choices about Jewish lifestyle and practice.

Curricular track objectives, rhythm, and content:
The graduating student will be able to competently perform his or her Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonial assignments. The student will be able to confidently participate in Jewish family or synagogue observance. The student will be able to intelligently discuss his or her Jewish identity.

Frequency: weekly or twice weekly
Session length:
  • Bar/Bat Mitzvah track - minimum of 90 minutes
  • Private mentorship - minimum of 60 or 90 minutes
Location:
  • Bar/Bat Mitzvah track - At a participating family's home
  • Private mentorship - HLC office
Circle session rhythm
  1. Hebrew song (5 minutes)
  2. Hebrew reading and or ritual skills (25 minutes)
  3. Judaica (45 minutes)
    1. The Jewish library of classical texts
    2. Jewish heroes and their stories
    3. Holiday observance and Jewish calendar
    4. Values clarification
    5. God, spirituality, and ethics
  4. Hebrew song (5 minutes)
First Year Topics:
  1. The Jewish library of classical texts (14 sessions)
  2. Jewish heroes and their stories (6 sessions)
  3. Holiday observance and Jewish calendar (7 sessions)
Second Year Topics:
  1. Values clarification (7 sessions)
    1. Discussion of Jewish adult privileges and responsibilities
    2. Discussion of Mitzvot - distinguishing Jewish skills and actions.
    3. Discussion of Jewish identity.
    4. Discussion of adolescent rite of passage
  2. Jewish heroes and their stories (5 sessions)
  3. God, spirituality, and ethics (8 sessions)
  4. Holiday observance and Jewish calendar (7 sessions) - See above
Second Year Personal Mentorship Topics:
D'var Torah (speech), Torah chanting, prayer skills, ethics and Mitzvah project (30 sessions)

Textbooks:
  1. Hebrew Hevrutah Series Workbook
  2. Sim Shalom Siddur
  3. Humash (Hebrew Bible)

 Mishpaha, Family
Parent/s & child together one semester curriculum
This curriculum is designed to enhance the child's and family's Bar/Bat Mitzvah experience. The shared nature of this learning modality demonstrates to the child that the Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation experience is an extension of shared family life, love and values. The child will learn as much from the parent's mere involvement as he or she will learn from presented content. Parent and child are encouraged to raise their own questions, concerns, and life experiences relating to Judaism. The program facilitates an opportunity for parent and child to learn alongside one another, about one another, and from one another.

Curricular track objectives, rhythm, and content:
Child and parent will become equally prepared for each of their clearly defined and separate roles at the Bar/Bat Mitzvah service. The child will be equipped for continued constructive explorations of his or her Jewish identity.

Frequency: weekly
Session length: 90 minutes
Location: HLC office
Circle session rhythm:
  1. Ceremony skills (30 minutes)
  2. Judaica themes (30 minutes)
  3. Holiday observance and other skills (30 minutes)
Topics to be explored:
  1. God and Jewish spirituality
  2. Mitzvah as a model for adult responsibility
  3. Tzedaka (helping others)
  4. Torah as sacred book and concept
  5. Shabbat - the Jewish concept of non-linear time
  6. "Jewish" - ethnicity, faith, or both?
  7. Dilemmas related to being Jewish in our time:
    1. How do I celebrate/practice Judaism when "tradition as I have experienced it" doesn't speak to me?
    2. Am I Jewish, am I universal, or both? If both, in what proportion?
    3. One of my parents is born a Jew; the other is born non-Jewish. What does that make me?
    4. American Jew or Jewish American? Which am I?
    5. Who cares about Israel, and why?
  8. Other topics of choice
Skills taught:
  1. Chanting from the Torah
  2. Reciting Hebrew prayers
  3. Friday night table rituals: Candle lighting, Kiddush, Hallah blessing
  4. Tying Tzitzit knots
  5. Wrapping Tefilin
  6. Others